Interesting move from the White Sox here, and a good one. Chicago desperately needed another hitter with a high OBP and while Swisher's batting average will cause some headaches, he'll certainly be a position to score runs with Thome and Konerko behind him.
I like Swisher well enough. High OBP, some power, but I think he's more the 20-23 HR guy he's been in 2005 and 2007 than the 30+ HR guy from 2006.
However, we just killed our farm system. Gio Gonzalez was looking to be one year away from stepping into the rotation, possibly sooner, and seems to have a ceiling of #2 or #3 starter. And Fautino De Los Santos seems to be the best prospect the Sox have had since the early 90's, with a ceiling of #1 starter/staff ace. And beyond those guys we have absolutely no one on the farm who can step in the rotation.
To me you keep pitching. Pitching is golden. Between this and the Carlos Quentin deal, I just wonder what the plan is. If we wanted to package 4 of our top 5 or 6 prospects together we might have been in the race for Miguel Cabrera, who would be worth more than Nick Swisher and Carlos Quentin combined could ever be.
none of my posts are making sense today. hope this one breaks it
With the move from Oakland to the Cell, I think Swisher will probably get back to the 30s just because of park differences.
Swisher's contract seems to be good on overall terms, but when you see the specifics, it's NFL-tastic
(before incentives) 07:$0.7M
08:$3.5M 09:$5.3M 10:$6.75M 11:$9M
12:$10.25M club option ($1M buyout)
I can't ever recall seeing a MLB contract so backloaded! Some of it is because they signed it in during '07, but still - I think Beane may have planned to move Swisher if he didn't get really good before his contract got real rich. Deal still should be a bargain unless Swisher has injury problems.
I think Swisher has a chance to be loved by the Sox fans in the Rowand fashion, which would make it hard for people close to the team to ever see this as a bad deal.
I don't think giving up the pitching was a great idea for where the Sox are right now; it seems like trying to maximize a two year window before Konerko and Thome are toast, but I don't think there's enough else here to help given the rest of the AL Central. Picking up Swisher helps the Sox stay relevant, but I don't think it makes them better championship candidates.