White Sox pushing for Dunn

[The Logan]

Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the White Sox have gone hard after Nationals first baseman Adam Dunn this summer.

At the moment, however, talks have stalled. "The problem [general manager] Kenny [Williams] is finding out is that [Nationals GM Mike] Rizzo is acting like Dunn is Ryan Howard,'' Cowley's source said Monday. The 30-year-old Dunn is batting .286 with a .950 OPS and 22 home runs in 332 at-bats this year and would bring some serious pop to the middle of the White Sox's lineup. Williams is apparently willing to deal prospects Daniel Hudson and Dayan Viciedo, but not Gordon Beckham or Carlos Quentin.

 

Uhhhhhhh.... well, let's see here

 

OPS+ 2010 (so far), 2009, 2008...

 

Howard: 134, 140, 124

Dunn: 151, 144, 130

 

Also, they're both 30 years old and they're both first basemen. At least you know Dunn can play LF in a pinch (though that would be a terrible idea), but while it's been publicized that Rizzo over values his players a bit, I'm not so sure he's the one who is acting like a fool in this scenario.

 

EDIT: Howard's once excellent walk rate has all but disappeared, while Dunn's has remained in tact (and gotten a little better if anything).

 

Also, I know the WAR numbers are in favor of Howard, but doesn't WAR take UZR into account? Dunn's WAR is skewed because of his terrible LF play, while Howard has been an average 1B. Dunn's been pretty much the same at 1B this season, has he not? So.... is Rizzo wrong to suggest that Dunn is as valuable as Ryan Howard (if not more valuable)?

Edited July 20, 2010 by The Logan

[SouthSideRyan]

Dunn doesn't have the worst contract in baseball either

[mookie]

I guess Daniel Hudson would be available for Dunn. That would make their rotation interesting. If the Dunn trade happens, I could see Kenny Williams being crazy enough to acquire Oswalt, and absorbing a good chunk of the contract.

[jersey cubs fan]

Howard led his team to WS titles which is all you can ask.

[Magnetic Curses]

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

[daske17]

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

 

YES! You want this to happen. If Dunn is traded to the Sox, there's no way that he'll re-sign with them because he doesn't want to DH and most indications are that the Sox will re-sign Konerko. Thus Dunn will become a free agent and available to fill the void of DLee.

[jersey cubs fan]

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

 

YES! You want this to happen. If Dunn is traded to the Sox, there's no way that he'll re-sign with them because he doesn't want to DH and most indications are that the Sox will re-sign Konerko. Thus Dunn will become a free agent and available to fill the void of DLee.

 

Not wanting to be a DH is a noble thought for a 20-something position player looking to establish himself in the league. However, when you're in your 30's, everybody knows everything about your game and somebody is offering a contract, I think that stance can be adjusted.

[davearm2]

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

 

YES! You want this to happen. If Dunn is traded to the Sox, there's no way that he'll re-sign with them because he doesn't want to DH and most indications are that the Sox will re-sign Konerko. Thus Dunn will become a free agent and available to fill the void of DLee.

 

Not wanting to be a DH is a noble thought for a 20-something position player looking to establish himself in the league. However, when you're in your 30's, everybody knows everything about your game and somebody is offering a contract, I think that stance can be adjusted.

If Team A was offering 50% more money than Team B, on the condition that Dunn DH, then his stance probably would be adjusted.

 

But if the money is roughly equal, I can completely understand why Dunn would insist on playing the field, and it has nothing to do with establishing himself. Being a fulltime DH would be incredibly boring IMO.

[daske17]

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

 

YES! You want this to happen. If Dunn is traded to the Sox, there's no way that he'll re-sign with them because he doesn't want to DH and most indications are that the Sox will re-sign Konerko. Thus Dunn will become a free agent and available to fill the void of DLee.

 

Not wanting to be a DH is a noble thought for a 20-something position player looking to establish himself in the league. However, when you're in your 30's, everybody knows everything about your game and somebody is offering a contract, I think that stance can be adjusted.

 

He's in his age 30 season currently. Is it that much of a stretch that he believes he can want to play the field for another few years? Say a three-year deal worth about $42 million from the Cubs? That way if his skills deteriorate in the field, he'll still have time to make an adjustment to DH and prolong his career.

[jersey cubs fan]

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

 

YES! You want this to happen. If Dunn is traded to the Sox, there's no way that he'll re-sign with them because he doesn't want to DH and most indications are that the Sox will re-sign Konerko. Thus Dunn will become a free agent and available to fill the void of DLee.

 

Not wanting to be a DH is a noble thought for a 20-something position player looking to establish himself in the league. However, when you're in your 30's, everybody knows everything about your game and somebody is offering a contract, I think that stance can be adjusted.

 

He's in his age 30 season currently. Is it that much of a stretch that he believes he can want to play the field for another few years? Say a three-year deal worth about $42 million from the Cubs? That way if his skills deteriorate in the field, he'll still have time to make an adjustment to DH and prolong his career.

 

But an AL team that has the luxury of the DH can afford to risk paying him a much bigger deal, since they'd have a place to hide him down the road.

[Guest]

Being a fulltime DH would be incredibly boring IMO.

Yeah, being paid millions of dollars to be a major league player would suck rocks if you were a DH.

[daske17]

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

 

YES! You want this to happen. If Dunn is traded to the Sox, there's no way that he'll re-sign with them because he doesn't want to DH and most indications are that the Sox will re-sign Konerko. Thus Dunn will become a free agent and available to fill the void of DLee.

 

Not wanting to be a DH is a noble thought for a 20-something position player looking to establish himself in the league. However, when you're in your 30's, everybody knows everything about your game and somebody is offering a contract, I think that stance can be adjusted.

 

He's in his age 30 season currently. Is it that much of a stretch that he believes he can want to play the field for another few years? Say a three-year deal worth about $42 million from the Cubs? That way if his skills deteriorate in the field, he'll still have time to make an adjustment to DH and prolong his career.

 

But an AL team that has the luxury of the DH can afford to risk paying him a much bigger deal, since they'd have a place to hide him down the road.

 

Right, but I'm taking davearm's argument that if the money was equal (and frankly there are still too many people that don't value Dunn's offense) and his preference is to play the field, I can see him doing so.

[davearm2]

Being a fulltime DH would be incredibly boring IMO.

Yeah, being paid millions of dollars to be a major league player would suck rocks if you were a DH.

He's being paid millions of dollars in any event.

 

Being a DH would suck a lot more than not being a DH.

[rocket]

Being a fulltime DH would be incredibly boring IMO.

Yeah, being paid millions of dollars to be a major league player would suck rocks if you were a DH.

He's being paid millions of dollars in any event.

 

Being a DH would suck a lot more than not being a DH.

 

not if you suck at fielding

[treebird]

Being a fulltime DH would be incredibly boring IMO.

Yeah, being paid millions of dollars to be a major league player would suck rocks if you were a DH.

He's being paid millions of dollars in any event.

 

Being a DH would suck a lot more than not being a DH.

 

i dh'ed in high school and loved it. i just hung out in the cage the whole time, casually taking bp until some wiener junior high kid or whatever came down to tell me i was almost up to bat.

[SouthSideRyan]

Being a fulltime DH would be incredibly boring IMO.

Yeah, being paid millions of dollars to be a major league player would suck rocks if you were a DH.

He's being paid millions of dollars in any event.

 

Being a DH would suck a lot more than not being a DH.

 

i dh'ed in high school and loved it. i just hung out in the cage the whole time, casually taking bp until some wiener junior high kid or whatever came down to tell me i was almost up to bat.

 

That was just cause nobody on the team wanted to sit near you.

[cheapseats]

Being a fulltime DH would be incredibly boring IMO.

Yeah, being paid millions of dollars to be a major league player would suck rocks if you were a DH.

He's being paid millions of dollars in any event.

 

Being a DH would suck a lot more than not being a DH.

 

i dh'ed in high school and loved it. i just hung out in the cage the whole time, casually taking bp until some wiener junior high kid or whatever came down to tell me i was almost up to bat.

 

That was just cause nobody on the team wanted to sit near you.

 

cuz smelled funny and inexplicable stains

[Little Slide Rooter]

If the Nats do trade Dunn, unless blown away by an offer, they have no reason not to wait until the last minute for the best deal. The White Sox, Amgels, and Yankees are all said to have interest, and if the Rays decide to jump in the ring, who probably have more good, disposable prospects than any team in baseball, all bets are off. IM sure if the Sox offer Gordon Beckham and Daniel Hudson right now, The Nats will send Dunn right over, but if not, they'll hang on until the last minute as they should.

[shnsajax]

Being a fulltime DH would be incredibly boring IMO.

Yeah, being paid millions of dollars to be a major league player would suck rocks if you were a DH.

He's being paid millions of dollars in any event.

 

Being a DH would suck a lot more than not being a DH.

 

not if you suck at fielding

 

That was my thought.

[The Logan]

Now it seems they've moved onto Prince Fielder...

 

The White Sox are "trying to accelerate" talks with the Brewers for Prince Fielder, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Unsurprisingly, Rosenthal says the problem is that the Brewers view Daniel Hudson as only a No. 3 or 4 type. Yesterday ESPN's Buster Olney wrote that the Brewers' "clear preference will be for young power pitching." Olney tweets today that the Sox "probably can't make a deal unless they offer Gordon Beckham in the package."

 

Just yesterday, Rosenthal tweeted that the Sox were not on Fielder due to financial concerns and the difficulty matching up. The market for Fielder appears to be picking up, as evidenced by Rosenthal's tweet today that the first baseman is generating more calls than Corey Hart. MLBTR provided a full profile of the Fielder market yesterday.

[SouthSideRyan]

Hey Milwaukee give us one of the best hitters in baseball. In return, you can have your pick of the litter of the worst farm system in baseball.

[TruffleShuffle]

yeah, they thought the asking price was too high on adam dunn so they moved on to prince fielder???

[Little Slide Rooter]

Kenny Williams is a smart GM, so youd think hed understand that the Nats or Brewers have absolutely 0 need to move these guys until the deadline unless they get exactly what they want, especially The Brewers who have Fielder through 2011 and if they do decide to trade him can get just as much if they wait until the offseason or even next years deadline.

[Sammy Sofa]

yeah, they thought the asking price was too high on adam dunn so they moved on to prince fielder???

 

If they're going to trade what few valuable young players they have it might as well be for Prince instead of Dunn. They'd be getting a much better return.

[TruffleShuffle]

yeah, they thought the asking price was too high on adam dunn so they moved on to prince fielder???

 

If they're going to trade what few valuable young players they have it might as well be for Prince instead of Dunn. They'd be getting a much better return.

 

fielder is younger, better and hasn't reached UFA yet, plus he's regarded as part of the brewers' core. the asking price for him is obviously going to be higher than it is for dunn.