As we close in on the final hours of the non-waiver trading deadline the White Sox continue to chase after another power bat. The main target remains Washington Nationals first baseman Adam Dunn, though last night it would appear that a major complication to that deal arose.
When the White Sox traded for Diamondbacks starter Edwin Jackson yesterday many thought that it was so they could flip him over to the Nationals for Dunn. Last night Buster Olney tweeted that the Nationals had told teams the key to getting Dunn was getting them Jackson. The White Sox did that, then suddenly the Nationals didn’t love Jackson so much.
Keith Law tweeted that he heard the White Sox weren’t happy with the Nationals because of all of this. Perhaps the Nationals took a look at Jackson’s most recent starts and his price tag for next season and decided that they didn’t want to add him to a team that probably is a few years away from being in contention anyway.
That leaves the White Sox in a really awkward position though, because it would seem that they really didn’t want to have Edwin Jackson on their team. Still though they want Dunn, and almost every reporter says they are still chasing him, so that means they are still negotiating with a team that more or less left them sitting with a player they don’t want.
There are also a number of the other White Sox options off the table. The Brewers aren’t trading Prince Fielder anymore, though there is almost no way the White Sox could give up what it takes with Jake Peavy out for the season. The White Sox tried to trade for Lance Berkman, getting to the point of his approval, but he turned them down. Now he is headed to the Yankees to be their DH.
The other, less attractive options include Luke Scott from Baltimore who is having a fantastic season and Adam LaRoche of Arizona who historically puts up great numbers in the second half. I haven’t seen rumors on the White Sox specifically going after either, but I would guess that if the Dunn negotiations fall apart Kenny Williams would quickly turn his attention over to one of those two options.
It would appear that no matter what happens today Edwin Jackson will be on the White Sox for this season and next season. That might not have been the initial plan, but he is the type of guy that Don Cooper has had success with in the past and he has a ton of talent.