The Chicago White Sox, at this point, is like the friend begging for a slice of a pizza he did not pay for. Basically, they are out of money or over budget or in need of a bailout or some kind of term involving spending too much or not having enough money.
Then again, everyone thought that was the case before the Sox signed middle reliever Jesse Crain to a three-year, $13 million deal.
OK, after that deal the Sox are officially done, right? The team is already near a franchise-record payroll, sitting close to $120 million with $121 million in 2008 being the record.
Rumors have begun to surface that the Sox may still be in the hunt for free agent closer Rafael Soriano, who is rumored to enjoy the idea of playing for Ozzie Guillen.
Sidenote: Sox fans seem to forget, although Guillen brings a lot of extra baggage (his son, Oney, puts the “twit” in Twitter) with his antics, a lot of players seem to be enticed to come to the team to play for him.
Although some abnormally large players, who shall remain nameless, seem to enjoy leaving on a ridiculous note, complaining about having to compete for a role they were terrible in the year before. We’ll call this player Bobby J. No, better yet, let’s call him B. Jenks.
But back to business, rather than talking about two people who are not even part of the Sox organization arguing back and forth in the manliest of fashions, via a microphone and a Twitter account.
The Sox would certainly go over the team’s record payroll, if they were to sign Soriano. Soriano made $7.25 million last year and even though the market for the 31-year-old closer has been quiet, one has to think Soriano is looking for a multi-year deal.
After 45 saves, a 1.73 ERA, 57 strikeouts in 62.1 innings last season with the Tampa Bay Rays and 27 saves, a 2.97 ERA, and 102 strikeouts in 75.2 innings with the Atlanta Braves in 2009, wouldn’t you?
If the Sox did want to swoop in and steal Soriano from the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels and the Baltimore Orioles, they should do so quickly. As soon as Brian Fuentes gets his multi-year deal, worth probably five million per year, Soriano’s demand will skyrocket. After all, Soriano had a better season last year than Fuentes and he is the only Type A closer on the market.
Soriano would most likely step right into the closer role for the Sox with Matt Thornton, Sergio Santos and Crain filling out the bullpen, leaving the option of moving Chris Sale to the fifth starter spot if Jake Peavy’s return takes longer than expected.
But there’s no way the Sox can afford Soriano…can they?
Like the friend who doesn’t order anything and waits for the scraps, the Sox could be asking the American League East, “Are you finished with that?”
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