Williams mum on outfielder Alex Rios rumors

White Sox general manager Kenny Williams wouldn't discuss the rumors of his possible interest in Toronto outfielder Alex Rios, although he did admit to monitoring the waiver wire daily.

According to an ESPN.com report citing major-league sources, the White Sox "likely" were the team that put a claim in on Rios when he was placed on waivers Friday by the Blue Jays.

"I'm not confirming or denying any interest or any claims or anything, but if these things get out on a daily basis, boy, it's going to be a heck of an August around here in terms of how many players you claim and how many you don't claim," Williams said Saturday.

"A lot of players get claimed every day. Why is this a big deal?"

Picking up Rios on waivers doesn't make a lot of sense for the White Sox, who would be taking on another mega-contract to go with what they just added by acquiring Jake Peavy.

Rios is guaranteed $59.7 million from next season through 2014 with a club option of $13.5 million in 2015.

And Rios, 28, is not having a year to match his contract. He is batting .261 for the Jays with 12 home runs and 58 RBI.

Toronto has until Tuesday to make a decision on Rios. The Jays can either let the claiming team keep him, work out a trade or pull Rios off waivers and keep him.

Try it again: Jose Contreras will attempt to put his recent struggles behind him today when he starts the series finals against Cleveland.

Contreras, 0-3 in his last 4 starts with a 6.52 ERA, has been working on correcting some mechanics in the last few days.

"If your shoulder flies open, you don't know where it's going to go," Contreras said through an interpreter. "My confidence is there. I've had two bad starts and I've been working on things I need to work on. I feel healthy and think I can help this team down the stretch."

Manager Ozzie Guillen sees a simple solution for Contreras' troubles.

"Jose needs to throw strikes," Guillen said. "I think one thing about Jose is he needs to be more aggressive. I think he tries to pace himself and save himself for later. It doesn't work; that's my opinion.

"Give me two innings with your best stuff and I'll take that. Don't go pacing yourself around."

Not interested: Don't look for John Smoltz to wind up in a White Sox uniform after being designated for assignment by the Red Sox.

"John Smoltz is one of the best pitchers in baseball history, so I think he certainly deserves the respect to take a look at, but I'm very cognizant of the makeup we have now and the team chemistry we have now," Kenny Williams said.

"With our pitching, in particular, everybody fits in their right spot and I'm very reluctant to make any changes other than what we already have in-house that is down below."