Sox deal Garland to Angels for shortstop
Two weeks ago, the White Sox rolled the dice on shortstop Juan Uribe for one more season.
Knowing all too well Uribe's inability to keep himself in shape contributed to his poor batting average (.234) and on-base percentage (.284) this year, the Sox scoured the landscape and determined a better replacement was not available.
Shortly after the Sox announced that Uribe had accepted a $4.5 million offer, setting off a wave of dismay among the fan base, Tony Reagins approached Kenny Williams at the general manager meetings in Orlando, Fla.
"He said, 'Wow, I was just getting ready to see if you had any interest in (Orlando) Cabrera,' '' Williams said. "We did.''
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Reagins, who took over as the Los Angeles Angels' GM on Oct. 16 after Bill Stoneman stepped down, stayed in touch with Williams.
On Monday, the two sides agreed to a trade that sent starting pitcher Jon Garland to the Angels in exchange for Cabrera.
"He's one of the best shortstops in the game, and one of the most well-rounded,'' Williams said of the 33-year-old Cabrera. "We saw an opportunity to acquire one of the best shortstops in the game and one of the smartest in the game, somebody who can fit into the No. 2 spot in our lineup for 155 games.''
Cabrera is signed through 2008, and the Angels are picking up $1.5 million of the $9 million remaining on his contract. Garland also is entering the final year of his contact and Los Angeles is picking up the entire $12 million.
Not only is Cabrera coming off his second Gold Glove season, the 5-foot-9, 185-pounder batted .301 with 35 doubles, 8 home runs, 86 RBI, scored a career-high 101 runs and stole 20 bases in 155 games with the Angels.
In 2007, the White Sox finished last in the majors in batting average (.246), on-base percentage (.318) and batting with runners in scoring position (.243).
An 11-year veteran, Cabrera tied for the American League lead with 11 sacrifice hits, ranked third with 63 multihit games and finished sixth in hits (192).
As for Uribe's future, it looks like he's heading for another team.
Williams called the 29-year-old shortstop Monday and said both of his voice mailboxes were full. He did leave a message with Martin Arburua, Uribe's agent.
"My message to (Arburua) was, and is, the truth,'' Williams said. "The truth of the matter is we went into negotiations to redo his contract with the best intentions and understanding that other options were not as attractive as bringing him back.
"Well, that changed. I'm trying to make the ballclub as good as it can be. This move gives us a better chance to win a title than what (Uribe) has shown me.''
Williams talked to Cabrera on Monday and said the veteran infielder is thrilled with the trade. Williams also expressed confidence Cabrera will quickly agree to a contract extension once the rest of the 2008 roster falls into place.
As for Garland, Williams already is taking hits for moving a proven starter for a position player with some mileage on the odometer.
Before going 10-13 with a 4.23 ERA this season, Garland won 18 games both in 2005 and 2006.
Acquired from the Cubs in a July 1998 trade, Garland is 92-81 (4.41 ERA) in 246 games (223 starts) over eight major-league seasons, all with the White Sox.
"It's exciting for me,'' Garland said of the trade on a conference call Monday. "It just didn't work out in Chicago last season.
"It's definitely a challenge. I'm preparing myself, looking forward to trying to get the Angels back to the World Series and to win another title.''
The White Sox still have Mark Buehrle, Javier Vazquez and Jose Contreras in their rotation, with John Danks and Gavin Floyd expected to fill the final two spots.
Trading Garland comes as no surprise, given the right-hander is heading toward free agency and the Sox have three young starters -- Lance Broadway, Gio Gonzalez and Jack Egbert -- who pitched well in the minor leagues in 2007.
"These are guys that have progressed to the point where we feel they're knocking on the door,'' Williams said. "We felt we were covered enough on the other end to make this move.''