Ventura accepts inevitable loss of some good players

On the first day of the 1975 winter meetings, White Sox general manager Roland Hemond sat at a table in a Florida hotel lobby that featured an eye-catching sign — “Open for Business.”

Hemond proceeded to make four trades before midnight on the opening day of the meetings, and he still talks about the rapid wheeling and dealing with a mixture of pride and embarrassment.

Is current Sox GM Kenny Williams going to pull a Hemond at next week’s winter meetings in Dallas?

Probably not, but speculation is growing that the White Sox are preparing to unload players as baseball’s annual swap meet draws near.

Williams is usually the one making the calls trying to acquire talent.

But with the Sox coming off a 79-83 season despite a franchise-record $128 million payroll, other teams have been doing the calling.

High-priced Sox players like John Danks, Carlos Quentin and Gavin Floyd appear to be in high demand.

That sets up an interesting week ahead for Williams, and new Sox manager Robin Ventura is also going to be in Dallas to monitor some potentially major movement.

“I think it’ll be decided there,” Ventura said of the winter meetings. “I’ve kept in contact with Kenny with different things that kind of come up. Obviously, I would love to hand the ball to John Danks 30-plus times, and Gavin Floyd the same thing, and have Carlos in right.

“It’s kind of a wish list, but that’s not always going to be able to happen. I don’t think (Williams) knows; I don’t know. That’s the interesting part about going there.”

The Atlanta Braves have been after Quentin for years, and they could still use his potent bat. From the White Sox’ vantage point, Dayan Viciedo is ready to take over in right field and the Braves are loaded with quality young pitching.

As for Danks, he is eligible for salary arbitration and has turned down at least one multiyear offer from the Sox.

Floyd is signed for a reasonable $7 million next season, with a $9.5 million club option for 2013.

However, the right-hander is a disappointing 33-37 over the past three seasons after going 17-8 in 2008.

Like he said, Ventura would like to manage Quentin, Floyd and Danks next year, but he played the game long enough to know how things work.

Ventura talks with Williams on a regular basis, but the decision to start slashing payroll goes all the way to the top with chairman Jerry Reinsdorf.

“I think that’s where it gets difficult,” Ventura said. “(Williams) wants these guys, too. There’s a business side of the game that’s not always fun when a season like last year happens. That’s just part of the game.

“Guys being wanted by other teams, it’s going to come up. You look at it kind of two ways. For me, it’s nice that people are calling and asking about players. That means you have good players. I realize who we have and I hope we bring a lot of them back.

“But if there’s a time in Dallas that we talk about certain people, and if it’s worth making that move, I will definitely voice an opinion.”

sgregor@dailyherald.com