Teahen actually brings more than relief to Sox
Outside of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and some choice cuts of beef, not much good has been coming out of Kansas City lately.
At least that's the way the White Sox are looking at it.
Dating to 2006, when he acquired Royals relief pitcher Mike MacDougal in a trade for two pitching prospects, Sox general manager Kenny Williams repeatedly has been burned by players with KC bloodlines.
MacDougal. Andrew Sisco. Ryan Bukvich. Horacio Ramirez. Jimmy Gobble.
All five were flops with the White Sox, but there is one reason to be optimistic about the latest Kansas City import.
Mark Teahen is a third baseman, not a relief pitcher.
"Maybe that's the key," Teahen said with a laugh at SoxFest last month. "I've already been hearing about that from some of the guys here, so I guess it's up to me to turn that around."
Williams always has been a big Teahen fan, which is why he was willing to go back down a bumpy road.
"We really like what he brings to the club," Williams said. "He can do a lot of things, and he has some versatility on defense. He had to change positions when Kansas City brought up (Alex) Gordon, but third base has always been his best position."
The Sox head into spring training (pitchers and catchers report Sunday) emphasizing pitching and defense, and they are confident that Teahen at third base, Alexei Ramirez at shortstop, Gordon Beckham at second base and Paul Konerko at first base is an upgrade over last year's infield.
"I've always like playing third base; it's my natural position," said Teahen, who played 107 games at third last year, 32 in right field, 11 at first base and three at second base.
"I already feel comfortable because I've been playing against a lot of these guys for the last five years and I know I'm going to be at a set position."
The White Sox' offense is a big question mark, but Teahen should provide a spark. He batted .271 with 12 home runs, 50 RBI and a career-high 34 doubles last season.
"I'm ready to go," said Teahen, who came over from the Royals in a Nov. 6 trade for Chris Getz and Josh Fields. "I live really close (to the Sox' training camp in Glendale, Ariz.), so that makes it an even better trade for me."
So does the likelihood of playing on a better team than he ever did in Kansas City.
"Having not even played a game with this team, I can already tell it's the best team I've ever played with at the big-league level," the 28-year-old Teahen said. "Playing with a team that's already established, you know nobody has to do more than is expected.
"As long as everyone does what they're supposed to do, we should have a chance to get into the playoffs and see what happens from there.
"It's a different experience for me because I haven't been in this situation. They tried to do a lot of different things in Kansas City, but it never seemed to work out."
Let's talk SoxPost your White Sox questions for Scot Gregor at his "Chicago's Inside Pitch" blog at blogs.dailyherald.com