It would have appeared that the Chicago White Sox had parted ways with pitcher Freddy Garcia after the 2010 season. However, a return to the south side may still be in the cards for the veteran right-hander.
If a report from SI.com is accurate, the White Sox may be looking to bring Garcia back into the fold.
Garcia hasn’t been signed by another big league club as we head into February. The Yankees and Orioles have shown interest, but New York’s signing of Bartolo Colon may have signaled the end of their courting of Garcia.
What does that mean for the White Sox?
Garcia went 12-6 as Chicago’s fifth starter in 2010. Despite a 4.64 ERA, his win total was third highest on the team. For the price of a million dollars, he proved to be a bargain for the club.
Ozzie Guillen, White Sox manager and related to Garcia by marriage, has shown that he can get production from the 35-year-old hurler in two different stints with Chicago. Would Kenny Williams pony up enough scratch to extend Garcia’s second run with the organization?
More importantly, how would re-signing Garcia shake up the White Sox pitching situation as it currently stands?
Garcia would likely be back in the starting rotation, which would mean two things:
1. The White Sox are looking for insurance because they realize Jake Peavy may not be ready for opening day.
2. The White Sox plan to use Chris Sale out of the bullpen, at least for 2011.
One could speculate that signing Garcia on the cheap could pave the way for a starter to be dealt. If that was the plan, why wait until now to make this move?
The Sox didn’t expect Garcia to be on the market for this long. He still may sign with another team, but the fact that Chicago may be back in the mix could be an indicator of how the White Sox rate their pitching corps going into Spring Training.
Or could it be Ozzie Guillen’s way of helping out Garcia by generating some interest for a guy who proved to be a valuable arm last season?
With Guillen, you never know. We’ll see how the rumors shake out this week.
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