The White Sox will likely use a few guys at DH in 2010 but the bulk of the work will likely be done by 32-year old righty swinging Andruw Jones and 34-year old lefty swinging Mark Kotsay. Jones played in 82 games for the Rangers last season and he was 60 for 281 (.214 avg, .782 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 17 homers, 43 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. If Jones could just hit his career batting average of .257 (.826 OPS) the White Sox would be happy with him. Although it would make sense to platoon these two guys Jones didn’t hit well against lefty pitchers in 2009.

Mark Kotsay will also get P.T. in the outfield and at 1B in 2010. When he is playing 1B it’s likely that Paul Konerko will get to DH. Kotsay played in 67 games for the Red Sox and White Sox last season in which he was 52 for 187 (.278 avg, .717 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 4 homers, 23 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Kotsay hit .290 with a .766 OPS against righty pitchers last season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE DH IN 2010: D+

28-year old lefty swinging Mark Teahan came over from the Royals in a trade over the winter and he will be the new starting 3B for the White Sox in 2010. Teahan played in 144 games for the Royals last season and he was 142 for 524 (.271 avg, .733 OPS) with 69 runs scored, 12 homers, 50 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Teahan has not improved much since his rookie season as he is pretty consistent as a hitter. He has averaged 68.6 runs scored, 11.8 homers, 58.6 RBIs, 8.4 stolen bases and 114.8 whiffs per season over his career. Those are very sub par numbers for a starting 3B in the majors so the White Sox better hope the light bulb finally shines over his head. Teahan made 11 errors in 107 games at 3B for the Royals last season while showing below average range.

42-year old Omar Vizquel will backup Teahan at 3B in 2010. He played in 20 error-free games at 3B for the Rangers last season while showing below average range. 27-year old righty swinging Jayson Nix can also handle playing 3B if needed. He played in 12 games there for the White Sox last season and he made 1 error while showing poor range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 3B IN 2010: C-

28-year old righty swinging Alexei Ramirez will be back at shortstop for the White Sox in 2010. He played in 148 games for the Pale Hose last season and he was 150 for 542 (.277 avg, .722 OPS) with 71 runs scored, 15 homers, 68 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. He has a huge upside and could improve on his power numbers in 2010. Ramirez made 20 errors in 148 games at SS for the White Sox in 2010 and he showed slightly below average range. I expect him to improve due to his backup (Omar Vizquel) giving him a lot of help on his defense.

42-year old righty swinging Omar Vizquel will be Ramirez’ caddy at shortstop in 2010. He played in 62 games for the Rangers last season and he was 47 for 177 (.266 avg, .661 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 1 homer, 14 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Vizquel is a pesky little hitter who does the little things that helps his team win even at his advancing age. Vizquel played in 27 games at shortstop last season for the Rangers and he didn’t make any errors while showing outstanding range.

27-year old Jayson Nix will be third in line at SS for the White Sox in 2010. He played in 15 games there for the Pale Hose last season and he made 6 errors but he showed good range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SS IN 2010: B

Frank “Big Hurt” Thomas  finally announced his official retirement a few days ago at the age of 41.  He hasn’t played since the 2008 season, when he was with the Oakland Athletics.  His last three seasons were spent with the Toronto Blue Jays and the A’s, but it was his 16 years as a member of the Chicago White Sox where he did most of his damage.  Thomas is arguably the best player in White Sox history, with the club records for Home Runs (448) and RBIs (1,465).  He is also one of the greatest and most imposing hitters of his era.  The five-time All-Star finished his career with a .301 average, 521 home runs (18th all-time), 1,704 RBIs, 1,494 runs, 2,468 hits, 295 doubles, 1667 walks, .419 OBP, .555 SLG, and a .974 OPS.  He won back-to-back MVP’s in 1993 and 1994, which put him on a very short and elite list of players to accomplish that in the American League.  That list includes Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Hal Newhouser, and Jimmie Foxx.  Thomas also won a batting title in 1997.

Thomas was injured for the majority of the 2005 White Sox World Series season and missed the entire postseason.  Despite all of that, he stated that World Series Title was the best memory of his career.  He did contribute some that year, as the team got a big power and momentum boost from Thomas in the middle of the season.  He played in just 34 games in the 2005 season, but hit 12 home runs and had 26 RBIs.  He did spend a lot of his career as a DH, but he was a very capable 1B and finished his career with a .990 fielding percentage in 706 games played at 1B. People seem to forget just how dominant he was, as some are questioning whether or not Thomas will be a first ballot Hall-of-Famer.  I don’t think there should be any doubt, as his numbers speak for themselves.  What makes Thomas’ career even more impressive is that he was seen as a clean player in an era overshadowed by steroid use.  Thomas was calling for performance enhancing drug testing long before others were, as he publicly advocated for PE drug testing as early as 1995.  He was also one of the only players to get mentioned in the famous Mitchell Report in a positive way.  Thomas did have an ugly and bitter departure from the White Sox, but those bridges have been mended.  The “Big Hurt” truly was one of the best hitters to play the game and is a White Sox legend.

The White Sox have signed 32-year old righty reliever Orber Moreno to a minor league deal. He pitched in 34 games (0 starts) in the Mexican League last season and he was 2-1 with 1 save, a 3.41 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He last pitched in the majors in 2004 with the Mets. Moreno has pitched in 47 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 3-1 with 1 save, a 4.44 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. It never hurts to give a few guys like Moreno a chance every spring.