John Danks Extension: A Curveball from Chicago White Sox GM Kenny Williams

Maybe Chicago White Sox GM Kenny Williams should put himself in the starting rotation in 2012.

After all, he's been tossing curveballs all offseason.

The latest bender from Williams comes in the form of reports from Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com: The rebuilding White Sox have signed lefty starter John Danks to a five-year contract worth about $65 million.

Did anyone see this coming? Really?

The ship on an extension for Danks was thought to have sailed when the team couldn't get a deal done either of the last two springs. It appeared that Danks would be shopped to another club in return for valuable prospects.

Didn't happen. Wow. That's quite a break on that move.

As the trade gaze now shifts to Carlos Quentin and Gavin Floyd, a question once again looms over Williams: Are the Sox rebuilding and cutting down payroll, or has Trader Kenny come down with a case of cold feet?

Sending Sergio Santos to Toronto seemed a strange way to begin the rebuilding effort.

It's stranger now that Williams still hasn't moved any of his big-money pieces for prospects.

In the case of Danks, many of us were resigned to see him traded. To hear that the White Sox finally got a deal done probably signals that the return on the young lefty was not to the liking of Williams.

Is he going to have the same reluctance to trade Quentin or Floyd if his price isn't met?

If that becomes the case, then the White Sox look to be a pretty similar club to the 2011 model, sans Mark Buehrle and Santos. Though some key names' having rebounded could factor into the upcoming season, Williams has made the club better so far this winter.

Salary will not drop significantly, nor will space be made for a player like Dayan Viciedo to break into the lineup.

Um...where's the rebuilding part?

If Williams wants to keep his team together, he has every right to do so as GM. Explaining away a trade of a closer you have recently signed for the next few seasons with the proclamation of rebuilding does need to be followed up on, however.

Forthcoming details of the contract will provide more of an idea of Williams' possible U-turn in strategy.

There's still time to get younger and cheaper on the South Side, and if this winter has taught us anything, it's that we should expect the unexpected from Williams.