Top 10 Trades of the Kenny Williams Era, Part 2

Note: I ran Part 1 last night. This part will cover the top 5 trades Kenny Williams has made since becoming General Manager of the White Sox in the winter of 2000. Check back in the next few days when I go over his worst trades (I'm still a Sox fan, I can't be positive all the time, ya'know).

# 5 - December 20, 2005 - Acquired Javier Vazquez from the Diamondbacks for Orlando Hernandez, Luis Vizcaino, and Chris Young

Not resting on his World Title, Williams made two huge splashes in the off-season between '05 and '06. While the Thome/Rowand trade has thus far been a push (Thome was the power hitting lefty missing in the middle of the Sox's order, Rowand has continued his high play elsewhere while center field remains a hole for the White Sox), the Vazquez deal with Arizona has been very positive for the Sox, even with Javier's recent struggles.

Williams is a definite subscriber to the age-old adage of never having enough pitching and in this trade, he was able to pick up a 29-year-old horse who is on pace to top 200 IP for the 4th season in a row (3 with the White Sox). Though his recent struggles have been a concern, in his 554.1 innings in Chicago, he still has an ERA of 4.38, good and even better when you consider Williams only had to give up an aging, oft-injured starter who has barely thrown 300 innings in 3 seasons since leaving Chicago, an aging reliever who pitched well in 2006, but has steadily declined since then, and the crown jewel of the trade for the Diamondbacks - Chris Young, currently their 24-year-old starting center fielder. True, Young was heralded as a potential 30/30 man, and he came close in 2007, his true rookie season when he hit 32 home runs and stole 28 bases in 148 games for the N.L. West champs, but Young has regressed terribly this season, especially on the basepaths were he has only swiped 8 bags and is still hitting in the .234 and slugging .412 and again is on pace to finish on the N.L.'s leaderboard for strikeouts. Young is still maturing and can become a dependable player, maybe even a perpetual All-Star, but it's clear that he was not the blue-chip, sure thing that many felt he was when the Sox dealt him before the 2006 season, and when you can trade away prospects for veteran, reliable pitchers, you have to make that trade.

# 4 - December 23, 2006 - Acquired John Danks, Nick Masset, and Jacob Rasner from the Rangers for Brandon McCarthy and David Paisano

In another particularly unpopular move, Williams shipped McCarthy south to the Rangers for a trio of young pitchers. McCarthy burst on the scene in Chicago in 2005, filling in for Orlando Hernandez when El Duque broke down towards the season's end. McCarthy appeared in 12 games for the White Sox, 10 of them starts, and finished a respectable 3-2 with a 4.03 ERA. Most fans remember his start at Fenway Park on Labor Day 2005, when the youngster shut down the powerful Red Sox for 7 innings, allowing only 3 hits and striking out 7 en route to a 5-3 victory and he seemed destined for great things in the South Side pinstripes.

However when the Rangers made Danks, the 9th pick of the 2003 Draft, available, Williams pounced and dealt McCarthy for Danks to wide criticism. All John did was earn a spot on in the rotation in 2007 and pitched well for half the season before he started to wear down. This season, at only 23 years old, the lefty has been the steady rock in the White Sox rotation, who is still in the Top 10 of the American League ERA leaders despite 2 recent subpar starts.

McCarthy meanwhile, has struggled with both performance and injury since joining the Rangers. Though he's still only 25 years old, he has not yet lived to the promise he seemed poised to keep in the Summer of 2005.

# 3 - July 31, 2004 - Acquired Jose Contreras from the Yankees for Esteban Loaiza

After winning 21 games for the Sox in 2003, Esteban Loaiza earned a 2nd straight All-Star appearance in 2004 despite not having the same stuff and at the Trade Deadline, in a move overshadowed by the Cubs/Red Sox/Twins/Expos megadeal that moved 8 players, the crafty Williams sold Loaiza high and bought Contreras low. Never living to his hype when he escaped from Cuba the previous year, the Yankees grew tired of Contreras and finally dealt him for the 2-time All-Star.

The rest is history. Loaiza struggled terribly for the Yankees, winning only 1 game in 6 starts and eventually being demoted to the bullpen before bouncing around 4 more organizations in the next 4 years (including the Sox again), while Jose Contreras became one of the most important parts to the White Sox's championship puzzle. In the 2nd half of the 2005 season, Contreras went 11-2 in 15 starts with an ERA of 2.96 in 103 innings and went 3-1 during the '05 Play-off Run, starting all 3 Game 1's for the Sox.

# 2 - June 27, 2004 - Acquired Freddy Garcia and Ben Davis from the Mariners for Jeremy Reed, Miguel Olivo, and Mike Morse

In another brilliant mid-season acquisition, Williams pried Garcia from Seattle for 3 of the Sox's best prospects. While it may be hard to remember now, at the time, Freddy was arguably the most coveted pitcher in baseball. With the Mariners tanking, it was only a question of when and to whom would Garcia be traded and good money was on juggernauts such as the Yankees, Cubs, Red Sox, or Mets. For the 2nd straight year, Williams jumped on one of the game's premier pitchers and brought him to the Sox.

True, at the time, Jeremy Reed and especially Miguel Olivo were thought to be critical pieces of the White Sox future, but both have fizzled since being dealt. Reed was the M's starting center fielder in 2005, but since then has been at best a utility man and, at worst, a AAAA hitter. Reed has hit .321/.386/.476 in 495 career Minor League games and has hit .253/.313/.364 in 287 games at the Major League level. Olivo, too, has struggled since the deal. When the trade went down, Miguel was quickly becoming a fan favorite and dependable catcher with the bonus of having a nice bat. Since then, he's bounced from Seattle, to San Diego, Florida, and most recently, as the Royals' back up catcher.

Garcia, meanwhile, lived to the promise. He won 9 games in 16 starts with the White Sox in 2004 and went 14-8 with a 3.87 ERA in 2005 and won the World Series clincher by pitching 7 strong, scoreless innings, and his contributions don't stop there because...

# 1 -December 7, 2006 - Acquired Gavin Floyd and Gio Gonzalez from the Phillies for Freddy Garcia

After his disappointing 2006 season, it was pretty clear that Garcia's arm had been taxed by throwing 200+ innings in 7 of the 8 seasons between his Major League debut in 1999 and 2006. Yet somehow, Williams was able to turn Freddy into Floyd, Philadelphia's 1st round (4th overall) pick in the 2001 Draft and Gonzalez, whom the Sox had traded to Philadelphia the previous year in the Rowand/Thome deal. Though Gio would eventually be packaged fro the 3rd straight year to Oakland, Floyd has become the top-notch starter the Phillies thought they drafted. Though he struggled in 2007, Williams and the Sox coaching staff trusted Gavin enough to pretty much hand him a spot in the rotation in 2008 and he has more than earned their trust, carrying a no-hitter into the final third of a game twice already this season, and is currently 10-6 with a 3.57 ERA.

Unfortunately for Freddy, it's been almost all bad since his departure from the White Sox. He was only able to give the Phillies 11 starts and 58 innings in 2007 before breaking down from shoulder injuries. Though he has reported to be ready to help a contender as soon as this season, it's at best questionable that he could make a full recovery and be an everyday starter again. That Williams was able to get not 1, but 2 young promising starters for his 1 broken down horse, is to this point, the very best trade he has made in his tenure.

Check back either tomorrow or later in the week when I run over Williams' worst trades. As for tonight, enjoy the Sox-Twins game. Though a win would be immensely more enjoyable, after last year's debacle, just be grateful that we're only days removed from August and the Sox are still playing meaningful baseball games.