Griffey, Hall out; Fields in at 3B
After Philadelphia beat Tampa Bay and won the World Series on Wednesday night, baseball's off-season officially began.
White Sox general manager Kenny Williams went right to work.
Thursday started with the signing of free-agent second baseman Jayson Nix to a one-year, $400,000 contract.
As expected, the Sox also declined to pick up the 2009 club options on veteran outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. and backup catcher Toby Hall.
And late Thursday afternoon, Williams confirmed that Alexei Ramirez is moving from second base to shortstop, meaning Orlando Cabrera's stormy stay on the South Side is over after one year.
In a surprising development, Williams said Josh Fields is going to be the White Sox' starting third baseman next season.
"When a guy can play, he can play," Williams said. "Josh Fields can play. He showed the year before (2007) he was ready to play third base in the major leagues. I'm not looking for another third baseman."
Joe Crede is headed for the free-agent market, assuming his back is healthy, and Juan Uribe also is a free agent.
That leaves Fields, who was slowed by a sore right knee this season after batting .244 with 23 home runs and 67 RBI for the Sox in 2007.
Fields has arthroscopic surgery on the knee shortly after the White Sox were knocked out of the first round of the playoffs by Tampa Bay.
"The only thing wrong with Josh Fields this year was his health," Williams said. "And it was more than just his knee. He was pretty banged up."
With Fields apparently set at third base and Ramirez more than capable of sliding over from second base to shortstop - which is his natural position - Williams expects Nix and top prospect Chris Getz to battle it out at second.
"I like the tandem there," Williams said. "They are baseball-type players, grinder-type guys that can do a lot of things."
Nix opened the 2007 season as the Colorado Rockies' starting second baseman, but he was designated for assignment at the end of April.
The 44th overall pick in the 2001 first-year player draft, Nix batted .125 (7-for-56) in 22 games with the Rockies. He also batted .303 with 17 home runs and 51 RBI in 67 games with Class AAA Colorado Springs.
Nix made international headlines in August while playing for the U.S. Olympic team in Beijing. Attempting to bunt in a game against Cuba, he was hit in the face and suffered a laceration above his left eye.
"He's a good player," Williams said. "As we sit here right now, he is a guy that is going to fit into our equation."
The Sox decided Griffey and Hall were not good fits.
Griffey, who turns 39 on Nov. 21, wanted to return to the White Sox in 2009 after coming over in a July 31 trade from the Cincinnati Reds.
But the future Hall of Famer struggled during his two-month stay, batting .260 with 3 home runs and 18 RBI in 41 games.
Griffey had a $16.5 million option for next season. The Sox and the Reds will split his $4 million buyout.
"After we sat down and reviewed the season and the direction we are heading, we made the decision," Williams said. "He was unbelievably understanding, and he said he never had so much fun playing baseball. I'm just sorry that, collectively, we couldn't get him on a bigger stage and let him win his first World Series."
Hall gets a $150,00 buyout after the White Sox passed on his $2.25 million option. The reserve catcher batted .260 with 2 homers and 7 RBI in 41 games with the Sox this season.