Why White Sox might want Rios

Saturday, August 8, 2009 | Feedback | Print Entry

Some team has claimed Alex Rios on waivers and will know by early Tuesday afternoon whether he will become theirs, and there is lots of evidence that the claiming team is the Chicago White Sox. But to be clear, this is informed speculation that is not yet confirmed.

The vast majority of baseball folks that I spoke with Friday believe this development is a gift from the baseball gods for the Blue Jays, who have an opportunity to get out from the last 5½ years of a contract that goes far beyond the current recessed market; Rios will be owed about $66 million for the remainder of his deal, an elite contract in 2009, and right now, he's not performing anywhere close to an elite level. If we had a SportsNation poll of baseball execs, I'd venture to say that 90 percent of them would vote that the Jays should dump Rios.

To read more about Rios and why the White Sox might be willing to take on the Blue Jays outfielder, plus other moves, deals and decisions, you must be an ESPN Insider. Insider  
 

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider
  • Buster Olney Buster Olney

    Buster Olney is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine. He began covering baseball in 1989, as the Nashville Banner's beat reporter assigned to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. Later, he covered the San Diego Padres (1993-94), the Baltimore Orioles ('95-96), the New York Mets ('97) and the Yankees ('98-2001). Olney joined ESPN The Magazine in 2003, after six years at The New York Times, and he's the author of the Times' best-seller "The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty," a book about the Paul O'Neill-Tino Martinez Yankees dynasty of 1996-01.

    He grew up in central Vermont collecting baseball cards and listening to Red Sox, Expos, Phillies and Pirates radio broadcasts, and was a rabid fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He graduated from Vanderbilt University the same year as hoops legend Will Perdue, and ranks among the all-time leading scorers in pickup basketball at Memorial Gym. He claims to have witnessed the Commodores' winning football season in 1982 (although anthropologists have not yet confirmed this).

    Olney also contributes to ESPN.com, ESPN Radio, ESPNEWS, "SportsCenter" and "Baseball Tonight."

    Follow Buster on Twitter: @Buster_ESPN

    Ask Buster a question: Buster's Mailbag

Links

Subscribe

RSS RSS Feed

Recent Updates

Archive

More