Kenny Williams Is Up To Something...but What?

Kenny Williams is up to something.

The Nick Swisher trade surely is the prelude to something else, something bigger — what, I don't know.

I don't buy for a second that the 2009 White Sox will go young at three positions — second base, third and center field.

Trading Swisher saves money. So does the exchange of Juan Uribe, a free agent, for Wilson Betemit. So will the trades of right-hander Javier Vazquez and perhaps first baseman Paul Konerko or even right fielder Jermaine Dye.

In the meantime, I wouldn't be surprised to see Williams, the White Sox's general manager, pursue one or more upgrades over Josh Fields at third, Chris Getz and Jayson Nix at second and Brian Anderson and Jerry Owens in center.

Angels third baseman Chone Figgin, a longtime favorite of the White Sox, could become available if the Angels trade for the Rockies' Garrett Atkins.

Dodgers center fielder Juan Pierre could be another option if the Dodgers pay a sizable percentage of the $28.5 million he is owed over the next three seasons.

Free-agent second baseman Orlando Hudson also would make sense; the White Sox plan to move Rookie of the Year runner-up Alexei Ramirez to shortstop.

No question, the sagging economy will force some teams to scale back. The White Sox could fall into that category. But after winning the AL Central title, they are not going to turn into the South Side Marlins.

Remember in Dec. 2004 when Williams traded Carlos Lee to the Brewers for Scott Podsednik, Luis Vizcaino and a minor leaguer?

That trade, like the Swisher deal, made little sense at first glance.

But Williams turned his $8 million savings on Lee into Tadahito Iguchi, A.J. Pierzynski and Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez — and the White Sox won the 2005 World Series.

Swisher, coming off a season in which he batted .219 and played part-time in the final two months, yielded only Betemit and two minor-league pitchers. But to isolate this move would be foolhardy when it almost certainly is part of a larger plan.

Swisher is owed $22.05 million over the next three seasons, Vazquez $23 million over the next two. White Sox officials initially believed that Hudson would be too expensive for them on the open market. But if they pare enough salary, maybe not.

Kenny is up to something. Stay tuned.

SWISHER: A NEEDED CHANGE

Some with the Yankees believe that White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was one of Swisher's problems; big personalities both, perhaps they were destined to clash.

Some with the White Sox, however, say that Swisher was a less-than- ideal teammate, at times acting selfishly, particularly when he was not hitting.

"We still love the guy and the energy he brings," Williams said. "We certainly believe he's going to have a bounce-back season next year. But we felt the fit just wasn't good enough to continue on down this road."

The question is, will Swisher be a better fit with the Yankees?

Williams said that Swisher hit into poor luck last season. Swisher's .249 batting average on balls in play supports that point. The American League average was .301.

On the other hand, if Swisher's brashness was an issue under Guillen, it might be even more of an issue under Joe Girardi, the Yankees' stern manager.

It also might not sit well in a clubhouse dominated by three of the game's great professionals — Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera.

The guess here is that Swisher will tone down his act, humbled by his experience with the White Sox. He has been traded twice in 11 months, and he turns 28 on Nov. 25. His career is at a crossroads.

LOADS OF LEFTIES

Left-hander Damaso Marte made a smart move by signing a three-year, $12 million contract with the Yankees before the opening of the free-agent market.

Marte ranked as a Type A free agent in a market flooded with left-handed relievers. Any team that signed him would have lost their first available draft pick in 2009.

Few clubs will be willing to pay top dollar and forfeit a top draft pick when they can pursue other options. Angels lefty Darren Oliver, like Marte, is a Type A free agent. He, too, might want to re-sign quickly.

Speaking generally of the market, one agent said, "The elite 30 or so players will get paid. But the middle class is going to get crushed.

"MLB had a formula that worked last year and now they have the economy as a perfect and fair reason to drag numerous players down. I believe there will be more than 100 unsigned players in the first week of January."

AROUND THE HORN

One rival executive predicts that the Rangers will make a strong run at free-agent closer Kerry Wood, who was born in Irving, Tx., a suburb of Dallas; Wood has allowed only three home runs in 90 2/3 innings the past two seasons, making him a reasonable choice for hitter-friendly Rangers Ballpark. The Rangers are also among the teams interested in the Rockies' newly acquired Huston Street, who attended the University of Texas ...

A's general manager Billy Beane scoffs at the notion that his pitching staff will be too young for the team to contend. "There's no such thing as pitching being too young," Beane says. "People said that in 2000. We weren't supposed to be in it because we had Hudson, Mulder and Zito in the rotation. No one knew how good they were. Give me young talent over experience any day of the week." ...

Outfielder Jeremy Hermida could be the next arbitration-eligible Marlin to be traded, but having already moved four others, the Fish are now flexible enough to be choosy. The Cubs like Hermida as an affordable left-handed hitting option in right field, and the Rays are among the other teams interested ...

Many in the industry were surprised by the Cubs' willingness to part with Class AA right-hander Jose Ceda for one year of righty Kevin Gregg. Ceda, 6-foot-4 and 275 pounds, is a big, strong reliever with dominating power stuff. "He looks like Armando Benitez," one exec says. From a scouting perspective, that's a compliment.

This article originally published on FOXSports.com.

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