White Sox Acquire Rios

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Aug 11, 2009 2:20PM

Kenny Williams, what did you do? We really thought you were smarter than this. We agreed with you when you traded for Jake Peavy, but we aren't so sure about your latest move. On Monday, the White Sox acquired Alex Rios from the Toronto Blue Jays after making a waivers claim for the 28 year old outfielder late last week. The Sox gave up nothing to the Jays, but assume the balance of Rios' 7-year, $69.8 million contract signed before the 2008 season.

We still find it hard to believe that the White Sox were intending to commit over $60 million to an outfielder who hit .297 with 24 home runs and 85 RBIs in his best season, and whose stats have declined since signing his monster deal. So far in '09, he's hitting .264 with 14 homers and 62 knocked in. We remain convinced that Williams' waivers claim was a defensive move to prevent AL Central leading Detroit Tigers from replacing Magglio Ordonez with Rios.

Lending credence to our theory was Williams comment over the weekend, when asked to address the waivers claim rumors, "A lot of players getting claimed every day. Why is this a big deal? You’d be hard pressed to find good players that teams put claims on that are just let go for no compensation." And yet that's exactly how Rios landed with the White Sox. So... did somebody call your bluff, Kenny, and stick you with their white elephant when you blocked another trade? Or, do you really believe that Rios is the long term solution in center field for the Sox?

Perhaps you can tell us where Ozzie Guillen plays Rios in the team's lineup this year. Likely joining the team on Tuesday, there's no apparent place for him in the lineup. Carlos Quentin's healthy, Scott Podsednik continues to hit well in the leadoff spot while playing center field and Dye remains the team's top overall hitter so the outfield looks full. Jim Thome's hitting well as DH, so there's no need there either. In spite of his huge contract, Rios seems destined to be relegated to fourth outfielder in place of Dewayne Wise or the newly acquired Mark Kotsay. Is he really a difference maker when it comes to helping the team win now?

Given his salary, Rios will crack the lineup in 2010 -- it's just a matter of determining at whose expense. We think Williams could have made a better decision on tuning up the roster if he'd waited until after the season was over, and if Rios was still his top choice, we have a feeling he'd still be available.