White Sox Acquire MacDougal; Will Soriano Follow?

Today the White Sox acquired Kansas City Royals closer Mike MacDougal in an attempt to strengthen their unreliable bullpen. The Sox sent minor leaguers Tyler Lumsden, who was 9-4 with a 2.69 ERA in double-A, and Daniel Cortes, who was 3-9 with a 4.10 ERA in single-A, to the Royals. It looks as if MacDougal's role will be the primary setup man for Bobby Jenks. MacDougal missed the first 3 1/2 months of the season due to a right shoulder strain, but did not allow a run in four relief appearances after being activated from the 60-day DL. Last season, he pitched in 70 1/3 innings, a career-high, and went 5-6 while posting 3.33 ERA. From May 19 to Aug. 20, MacDougal converted 15 consecutive save opportunities. As a rookie in 2003, he earned a roster spot on the AL All-Star team, while setting a club record with 68 appearances and 27 recorded saves.

MacDougal is a solid pickup for the Sox, but this move is not nearly enough if they seriously want to contend for the Wild Card. Yes, let me make myself prefectly clear, I do not think that the White Sox can overtake the Tigers for the division crown, not even if they acquire Alfonso Soriano, which brings us to the hottest rumor floating around right now. According to ESPN's Tim Kurkjian, the White Sox are "extremely close" to pulling off a deal that would send Soriano to the Sox in exchange for a package which would include Brandon McCarthy. According to sources, Soriano's first choice is to stay with the Nationals, but he doubts that his agent, Diego Bentz, and the team will agree to a deal before the deadline (July 31st). A potential roadblock in any deal involving Soriano would be his recent demand for a no-trade clause. Any team looking to trade for him would have to be willing to add this to his already existing contract. Soriano will also be a free agent at the end of the year, so if the Sox were to add him to the team, there is no guarantee that he would remain in Chicago beyond this season. I think that the Sox would also have to give up Brian Anderson in the deal but it is looking more and more as if he is a bust and I see Soriano as a perfect fit in LF, moving Scott Podsednik back to CF where he began his career with the Milwaukee Brewers. The big question is whether or not this is a good move in the long run for the Sox meaning if the trade does happen to propel them into the playoffs. With Soriano in left and Podsednik in center, there is no doubt that the Sox are much worse defensively than they were last year. Not only that but Ozzie Guillen would then be forced to change his entire lineup. Podsednik is the most comfortable when he is batting leadoff but so is Soriano. You have to remember that Soriano struggled when the Nationals slotted him into the middle of their lineup. It was not until he was moved to the leadoff spot that he bagan to really turn it on. So let's say Guillen bats Podsednik first and Soriano second. Where does that leave Tadahito Iguchi? He is a classic number two hitter and moving him down to the bottom half of the lineup might take him off his game. It seems that there are plenty of reasons to both trade for Soriano or forget the idea all together.

That said, I think that if the White Sox manage to pry Soriano away from the Nationals, this automatically makes them a lock for the Wild Card. I stay true to my statement above, that Detroit will win the AL Central, because the Tigers are more than willing to make a move which will put them over the top, especially if they feel backed into a corner by the White Sox getting Soriano. If the slugging Dominican does indeed sport black pinstripes before the trade deadline, look for the Tigers to step up their persuit of Bobby Abreu. With this, I think that both teams would be back to square one as far as the amount of talent on their respective rosters, the edge slightly nudging its way toward the Tigers due to their superior all-around pitching staff, starters and bullpen included. That is unless Williams has something else up his sleeve... It should be an interesting 7 days to say the least.

This just in: The White Sox are refusing to give up McCarthy in the potential deal for Soriano. This appears to be a huge snag and may cause all talks between the two teams to cease. This could possibly allow the Tigers to swoop in and steal Soriano away at the last second.

The White Sox also lost 7-4 tonight to the Minnesota Twins. The Sox now move 7 1/2 games out of first place while the Yankees, 1 1/2 games behind, and the Twins, 2 games behind, inch closer to the wild card spot which the Sox currently occupy. Let's just say, with the White Sox closer to third place than first, they better make a splash at the trade deadline or they'll be home watching the playoffs this year. Stay tuned.