White Sox, Royals won't comment on Teahen deal
The rumored deal in which the White Sox acquired versatile left-handed hitter Mark Teahen from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for second baseman Chris Getz and infielder Josh Fields, remains a rumor for now.
The New York Daily News reported the deal was made with Teahen, a 28-year-old infielder/outfielder becoming a possible replacement for right fielder Jermaine Dye.
But not so fast, according to Royals general manager Dayton Moore.
"We're in discussions with a lot of clubs about a lot of things," Moore told the Kansas City Star. "There is nothing to announce yet, and we won't comment (about trade rumors) until there is something to announce."
The White Sox also refused any comment on the reports.
Teahen, who started 31 games in right field and 99 at third base, batted .271 with 12 home runs and 50 RBI for the Royals last season.
According to separate reports citing text messages from Teahen and Getz, neither of those two players knew anything about a deal being finalized.
According to the Kansas City Star, Teahen was paid $3.57 million last season and could collect $5 million or more in salary arbitration. Fields and Getz each were paid slightly more than $400,000 by the Sox last season. It's possible the Sox could receive monetary compensation from the Royals.
While such a deal would provide the Sox with flexibility and help lower Kansas City's payroll, the Royals already appear set at second and third and first with Alberto Callaspo, Alex Gordon and Billy Butler, respectively, suggesting the Royals may make another deal before this one can be completed.
Dye is expected to receive a $1 million buyout from the Sox.
With Teahan and Sox third baseman Gordon Beckham able to play multiple positions, it's possible the Sox may consider moving Beckham to second with Teahen at third.
Getz hit .261 last season as the Sox' starting second baseman while Fields batted .222 in 79 games before losing playing time to Beckham.
Earlier Thursday, the White Sox announced they had agreed to terms on a one-year, $1.5-million contract with free agent infielder/outfielder Mark Kotsay.
Kotsay, 33, played 40 games with the Sox after coming to the club in a deal with Boston for outfielder Brian Anderson.
After hitting only .136 in July (6-for-44), Kotsay batted .333 in August (10-for-30) and .361 combined in September and October (22-for-61), with an on-base average of .400 and a slugging percentage of .541 for the last 23 games of the season.
Overall, Kotsay hit .278 (52-187) with 4 home runs and 23 RBI in 67 games with Boston and the White Sox in 2009. After Kotsay was acquired by the White Sox on July 28, he went 33-113 (.292) with 3 home runs and 18 RBI in 40 games with Chicago.
The 6-foot, 210-pounder is a .281 career hitter with 313 doubles, 113 home runs and 632 RBI over 13 major-league seasons with Florida (1997-2000), San Diego (2001-03), Oakland (2004-07), Atlanta (2008), Boston (2008-09) and the White Sox (2009).
Since the start of the 1998 season, Kotsay ranks third among all major-league outfielders with 114 assists, trailing only Bobby Abreu (121) and Vladimir Guerrero (115).
Kotsay, who has appeared in 17 career postseason games, owns a .342 (26-76) lifetime average as a pinch-hitter, the fourth-highest mark among active players with at least 50 at-bats.