"Big Game" Javy Vazquez Shipped Out...What Does It All Mean for White Sox?

As of now, we don’t know exactly what the White Sox will receive in exchange for Javier Vazquez. Whatever the final package ends up being, though, one thing is for sure. The veteran right-hander has thrown his last pitch on the South Side. 

The move adds the White Sox to a growing list of teams that includes the New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks who were under the misconception that the talented right-hander would finally come into his own in their uniform.

Vazquez’s best year came in 2007, when he won 15 games for the Sox. He entered 2008 as the staff ace and looked dominant for a few stretches throughout the season. But this trade was a case of “what have you done for me lately?” 

After being asked to step up by manager Ozzie Guillen in the final weeks of the season, Vazquez melted down and lost his last four starts while posting an ERA over 15.00. He blew a 3-1 lead in game one of the ALDS and would have been shipped to the bullpen had the Sox advanced to the next round.

In all fairness, Vazquez did win 12 games for the White Sox and had a ton of quality starts and pitched a ton of innings from 2006-08. No one has ever questioned his desire. If anything, the right-hander tends to let his fire get the best of him at times.

The trade leaves the back end of the White Sox rotation wide open. In-house candidates Clayton Richard and Lance Broadway’s names are the first that will pop on the depth chart. Both were called upon to pitch in big games during the 2008 pennant race, but Richard’s number was called more often.

Though he was inconsistent at times and he hurt himself with his glove seemingly every night out there, Richard held his own. For a rookie in a pennant race, he performed admirably. He threw seven innings of shutout ball in the Bronx before it all fell apart in the eighth. That is no small accomplishment for a team that was struggling in a pennant race.

Broadway has looked pretty good when called upon to start but his stuff doesn’t scare anyone. The fact that he is right handed actually helps his chances however as Ozzie most likely doesn’t want four lefties in his rotation. 

The dark horse is Aaron Poreda, the hard throwing left-hander from California. He was only drafted last year, but with a strong spring he could jump ahead of both Richard and Broadway. The reason I mention the four-lefty possibility is that if Richard and Poreda fill out the No. 4 and No. 5 slots in the rotation, they would join Buehrle and Danks and leave Gavin Floyd as the sole righty of the five.

General manager Kenny Williams will most likely fill one of the rotation vacancies in house. The fact that he gave up Vazquez for no established major leaguers with significant contracts may indicate that he is ready to use the nearly $26 million owed to Vazquez over the next two years elsewhere. Williams may not be in the CC Sabathia derby, but this move does allow him to look at a Derek Lowe or a AJ Burnett. 

I don’t think many White Sox fans will miss Vazquez. Unfortunately, he saved his worst for last in a White Sox uniform. It is quite possible that Williams will regret trading away a 12-win, 200-inning pitcher for the second straight year, but only time will tell. For now, the $13 million in salary will likely free him up to make another move or two.