Serious Baseball: White Sox Roll the Dice on Thome

No they didn’t, did they? For real, seriously? They really didn’t trade away a good fielding 28-year-old center fielder and some good prospects for a 35-year-old horrible-fielding first baseman with a bad elbow and some cash, did they?

Yes, that is exactly what the White Sox did. They did trade away 28-year-old center fielder Aaron Rowand, along with pitching prospects Giovanni Gonzalez and Daniel Haigwood to the Philadelphia Phillies for 35 year old Jim Thome and $22 million. Even though it may be hard to believe, they actually did it.

Here is a look at each of the involved players 2005, and career statistics along with their salary information:

White Sox receive:

Jim Thome (35 year old first baseman, guaranteed $43.5 million dollars through 2009, with an option worth $10 million more if exercised in 2009)

2005: 193 AB, .207/.360/.352, 7 HR, 30 RBI, -1 BRAA, -1 FRAA, 1.0 WARP3

Career: 5919 AB, .281/.408/.562, 430 HR, 1193 RBI, 463 BRAA, -67 FRAA, 89.0 WARP3

White Sox also receive $22 million to help pay Thome’s due salaries

Phillies receive:

Aaron Rowand (28 year old center fielder, due $3.25 million in 2006 with a player option worth $3.25 million, or a team option worth $5 million in 2007)

2005: 578 AB, .270/.329/.407, 13 HR, 69 RBI, 16/5 SB/CS, -5 BRAA, 7 FRAA, 6.0 WARP3

Career: 1647 AB, .283/.387/.451, 54 HR, 211 RBI, 38/12 SB/CS, 9 BRAA, 15 FRAA, 18.6 WARP3

Giovanni Gonzalez (20 year old LHP with only 131.0 IP of professional baseball experience, minor league contract):

Minor League Career: 131.0 IP, 13-6, 2.82 ERA, 6.7 H/9—0.6 HR/9—3.2 BB/9—11.2 K/9

Daniel Haigwood (22 year old LHP, minor league contract):

2005 (Double A Birmingham): 67.3 IP, 6-1, 1.74 ERA, 5.2 H/9—0.0 HR/9—4.1 BB/9—10.2 K/9

Minor League Career: 332.0 IP, 32-11, 3.36 ERA, 7.7 H/9—0.5 HR/9—4.0 BB/9—9.0 K/9

OK, now that you’ve look at the stats, you agree with me right? Well if you don’t, take a look at Thome’s WARP3 from each of the past three seasons before he got hurt last year:

2002: 10.8
2003: 7.8
2004: 6.0

I don’t think I have to make a progression chart for you to see that this is a downward trend, and a steep one. And this is the player the White Sox received for Rowand, who in his only two seasons of full-time duty posted WARP3 figures over 6.0 both times—and is only 28.

Also, as I have pointed out in this article, at the positions on the left end of the defensive spectrum (SS, CF, C, and 2B), defense is more important than offense. If a team is lucky enough though to have a player in these positions that can field well and give them any above average production whatsoever they have a huge edge over the competition because these players are such a rare commodity. And guess what? By taking a look at Rowand’s BRAA you can see that does he just that, gives a team above average production from a “defense first” position while playing great defense. To sum it all up, Aaron Rowand is a tremendous asset to any team that gives them a huge edge over every other team.

Folks, this trade wouldn’t even be justified if the White Sox traded for Thome for Rowand straight-up, and the Phillies agreed to pay all of Thome’s his salary.

If Thome’s decline before his elbow injury didn’t scare teams away, I’d have thought the elbow injury would have, but I guess I was wrong. But wait, the White Sox aren’t just giving away Rowand here, they are giving away two good pitching prospects, and adding $21.5 million to their payroll at the same time.

Why? Seriously, I’m asking why?

After asking this question several times over the past few days I’ve mostly heard this answer:

“The White Sox needed to trade Rowand to make room for hot prospect Brian Anderson to take over in center field. He is a five tool player that is also a great fielder like Rowand.”

To that I say that I’m very happy to see a team looking out for it’s prospects, but the White Sox should have made Anderson prove himself first. I know he had great minor league statistics and all, but he only has 34 Major League AB’s. This is not nearly enough reason to rid your team of a player like Rowand.

So, is there any good that comes out of this trade? Yes, there actually is a slight amount, and that is the fact that the White Sox will get to use Thome as a Designated Hitter, completely eliminating the chance that is defense will cost them any runs—which it would.

But is that worth $21.5 million dollars, losing great defense at a position where defense is of utmost importance, and two good pitching prospects? No sir.

Lastly, I would just like to restate the fact that Rowand is 28, and Thome is 35. I will leave that statement to your interpretation.

If there are any more ways that you can think of that I can show or say how bad of a deal this was for the White Sox, please email with them and I will be more than happy to use them in a future article.

By the way, White Sox fans, please don’t think my opinion means anything, because last off-season I thought the White Sox made a terrible trade when they dealt Carlos Lee to the Brewers for Scott Podsednik and Luis Vizcaino. Yet, they ended up winning the World Series, so maybe this is a good sign.

Thank you for reading. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions, please do not hesitate to email me at frnkbndy@yahoo.com.