The White Sox have signed 26-year old righty swinging 2B Jayson Nix to a 1-year deal. Nix played in 22 games for the Rockies last season and he was 7 for 56 (.125 avg, .395 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 2 RBIs and a stolen base. But, Nix was very solid in AAA as he played in 67 games in which he was 80 for 264 (.303 avg, .964 OPS) with 63 runs scored, 17 homers, 51 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. It will be interesting to see if Nix can hit American League Pitching better than he did in the N.L. Still, this was a same gamble by the White Sox as Nix has some upside.

The White Sox have declined backup catcher Toby Hall’s option for the 2009 season. 33-year old righty swinging Toby Hall played in 41 games for the White Sox last season and he was 33 for 127 (.260 avg, .635 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 2 homers and 7 RBIs. In two seasons with the White Sox, Hall played in 79 games in which he was 57 for 243 (.235 avg) with 15 runs scored, 2 homers and 10 RBIs. The White Sox will likely have no problem finding a catcher who can produce more with the bat than Toby Hall has the last couple of years.

The White Sox have declined a $16.5 million dollar option for the 2009 season on Ken Griffey Jr. 40-year old lefty swinging Ken Griffey played in 41 games for the White Sox last season and he was 34 for 131 (.260 avg, .752 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 3 homers and 18 RBIs. Griffey will likely have to take a huge pay cut for the 2009 season but some team will be happy to snap him up. He has now played in 2,521 games in his major league career and he is 2,680 for 9,316 (.288 avg, .920 OPS) with 1,612 runs scored, 611 homers, 1,772 RBIs and 184 stolen bases.

The White Sox have outrighted 26-year old righty swinging Donny Lucy and 31-year old righty swinging Paul Phillips to AAA making them both free agents. Lucy played in 12 games in AAA ball in 2008 and he was 12 for 43 (.279 avg, .791 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 2 homers and 6 RBIs. Lucy played in 8 games with the White Sox in 2007 and he was 3 for 15 (.200 avg, .400 OPS). Paul Phillips played in 4 games with the White Sox last season and he was 0 for 2 (.000 avg). He also played in 73 games in AAA last season and he was 68 for 253 (.269 avg, .669 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 2 homers and 17 RBIs. The White Sox won’t miss either of these guys as catchers like these are a dime a dozen.

The White Sox have outrighted 26-year old righty swinging IF/OF Jason Bourgeois to AAA making him a free agent. He played in 6 games with the White Sox in 2008 and he was 1 for 3 (.333 avg, 1.000 OPS) with a double. He also played in 127 games in AAA ball in which he was 146 for 510 (.286 avg, .739 OPS) with 83 runs scored, 9 homers, 48 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. Bourgeois will likely get a spring training invite from some team looking for a backup infielder/outfielder but the White Sox won’t miss him.