The White Sox have outrighted 31-year old righty reliever Mike MacDougal to AAA making him a free agent. MacDougal always has had good stuff but he just can’t throw enough strikes to be effective. He pitched in 16 games (0 starts) for the White Sox last season and he was 0-0 with a 2.12 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP. In three years with the White Sox, MacDougal worked in 95 games (0 starts) in which he was 3-6 with a 4.38 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP. Some team will be willing to give MacDougal a shot in spring training in 2009.

The White Sox have claimed 28-year old righty Kelvin Jimenez off waivers from the Blue Jays. Jimenez pitched in 15 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals last season and he was 0-0 with a 5.63 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP. Jimenez has pitched in parts of two seasons in the major leagues covering 49 games (0 starts) in which he is 3-0 with a 6.82 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP. Jimenez has a good arm but the White Sox coaching staff will have to teach him how to pitch.

The White Sox have made a few holes on the roster as of late and it will be interesting to see what they do over the winter to fill them. The White Sox will likely be in on Rafael Furcal and Orlando Hudson which will probably be the #1 priority in free agency. If they miss on these guys they will likely go for a middle of the road veteran to start at 2B or SS with Mark Grudzielanek, Mark Loretta, David Eckstein, Omar Vizquel and Cesar Izturis being considered. Center field is a huge hole for the White Sox but not much is available in free agency there as Jim Edmonds and Mark Kotsay are the cream of the crop. The White Sox could also go cheap in CF and bring in Chris Duffy or Cory Sullivan to compete with Jerry Owens and Brian Anderson for the starting job. The White Sox also need a 2nd lefty to team with Matt Thornton in the bullpen. They might aim high here and bid for Joe Beimel, Jeremy Affeldt, Brian Shouse, Arthur Rhodes, Darren Oliver, Dennys Reyes, Alan Embree or Will Ohman. If they want to go cheap Trever Miller, Ron Villone and Ray King will be considered. With Toby Hall let go the White Sox will need a backup for A.J. Pierzynski. Look for the Sox to consider Paul LoDuca, Dave Ross, Eliezer Alfonzo, Henry Blanco and Gregg Zaun for the job.

The White Sox have traded Nick Swisher and minor league pitcher Kaneoka Texeira to the Yankees for Wilson Betemit, Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez. Swisher played in 153 games for the White Sox last season and he was 109 for 497 (.219 avg, .742 OPS) with 86 runs scored, 24 homers and 69 RBIs. The White Sox were expecting a lot more than they got from Swisher so they decided to cut bait and run. 22-year old righty reliever Kaneoka Texeira pitched very well in the minors for the White Sox last season. He pitched in 51 games (0 starts) in A+AA ball last season and he was 6-3 with 21 saves, a 1.33 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. He has some upside and it’s surprising that the Yankees talked the Sox into adding him into this trade which just shows how bad they wanted to rid themselves of Swisher.

27-year old switch hitting infielder Wilson Betemit was likely the key to the deal. He will compete for the starting job at 3B with Josh Fields but he could also earn a lot of time at shortstop in 2009. Betemit played in 87 games for the Yankees last season and he was 50 for 189 (.265 avg, .718 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 6 homers and 25 RBIs. He only walked 6 times for the Yanks last season while whiffing 56 times showing a utter lack of place discipline. Betemit has now played in 496 games in his major league career and he is 286 for 1,098 (.260 avg, .762 OPS) with 145 runs scored, 42 homers and 151 RBIs. 24-year old righty starting pitcher Jeff Marquez was the #7 prospect in the Yankees’ system according to Baseball America. He pitched in 19 games (18 starts) in Rookie + AA + AAA ball last season and he was 8-8 with a 4.47 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. Marquez will have a chance to compete for a job in the starting rotation in 2009 for the White Sox. 22-year old righty reliever Jhonny Nunez was the #25 rated prospect in the Nationals’ farm system heading into the 2008 season according to Baseball America. He pitched in 39 games (17 starts) in A+AA ball last season and he was 3-8 with a 4.10 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. He whiffed 124 batters in 116.1 innings last season which shows that he has good stuff.

The White Sox likely didn’t get as much from the Yanks as they gave up for Swisher last winter but they just wanted him off their team. They feel that getting rid of him was addition by subtraction.