Busy waiver day means little to White Sox
When A.J. Pierzynski landed on the disabled list with a fractured left wrist last week, the White Sox figured to claim a veteran catcher off waivers.
Sox general manager Kenny Williams immediately shot down the speculation.
“I've made no secret about it for quite a while that we are limited from a payroll standpoint at this point in time,” Williams said. “We haven't earned our fans' patronage enough to put us in that position, and that's nobody's fault except our own fault.
“Anything that would come across right now, even if it were appealing from a talent standpoint, we are not in a position to be able to do it.”
Not much has changed since Williams came right out and admitted the Sox are tapped out, but nonetheless, they are being linked to waiver-claim rumors.
The White Sox failed to take advantage of a Tigers loss, falling to Jered Weaver and the Los Angeles Angels 8-0 to remain 6½ games behind first-place Detroit.
In addition to reportedly putting in a claim for Twins designated hitter Jim Thome, the White Sox allegedly have put in a claim on another Minnesota left-handed slugger, Jason Kubel.
If either case is true, the Sox and Twins would have 48 hours to work out a deal.
Waiver claims are tricky … and confusing.
When the White Sox put in a waiver claim on Toronto's Alex Rios in August 2009, they apparently were trying to block him from going to the rival Tigers. The Sox insist they wanted Rios all along, and the Blue Jays were quick to shed the enigmatic center fielder and the $60 million on his contract through 2014.
The White Sox also claimed Manny Ramirez off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers last August. For roughly $4 million, all they got from Manny was 1 home run and 2 RBI in 24 games.
The thought of Williams going to Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and getting approval for another waiver claim or two is almost laughable. Teams with serious playoff aspirations are the ones that typically make waiver claims. The Sox do not fit that profile, at least not right now.
Would the addition of Thome — who played with the White Sox from 2006-09 — really make much of a difference? And Kubel?
The Sox would have to clear a roster spot for either player, which would be an interesting transaction considering they haven't been able to make room for top hitting prospect Dayan Viciedo all season.
A player on waivers can be pulled back if claimed, and the White Sox reportedly placed Paul Konerko, John Danks, Gavin Floyd and Matt Thornton on waivers Wednesday.
sgregor@dailyherald.com