Kenny Williams Makes a Controversial Trade?

It must be July. In an annual rite of spring, Kenny Williams set the White Sox message boards aflame by making a deadline deal. The facts are these: the White Sox moved soon to be free agent Edwin Jackson and the awful Mark Teahen contract (3 years, $14 million for almost no production and awful fielding) to the Blue Jays for reliever Jason Frasor and prospect Zach Stewart. The Blue Jays then moved Jackson to the Cardinals for enigmatic center fielder Colby Rasmus.

I like how the Sox came out in this deal. I assume (probably making an ass out of me) that the Sox will use the Teahen money to re-sign Mark Buehrle. I like that Jason Frasor is a solid back of the bullpen guy with a cheap option for 2012 (3.75 million). I like that Zach Stewart is a live arm and jumps into the Sox five best prospects immediately (Stewart was rated as the Jays top prospect in '09 before regressing slightly this year - though it should be noted that the Blue Jays have a White Sox bad farm system). And I like that the Sox didn't really give anything up. Jackson is walking next year and with the emergence of Phil Humber this year, the Sox had an excess starter to move.

Ultimately, how you feel about this trade depends on how you feel about Colby Rasmus. Obviously the Sox could have had Rasmus. A 24 year old center fielder who, in his second full season ('10) hit .276 with 23 home runs and had an OPS of .859. Rasmus regressed this year (.246 BA and .753 OPS) but has all the tools to be a steal for Toronto. But you can't discuss Rasmus without also discussing his baggage. Rasmus wore out his welcome with Tony LaRussa (who, to be fair, has never had much patience for young players). He employed his own hitting coach. His dad is rumored to be, essentially, a stage dad (shocking considering his son is 24 years old).

To read the White Sox message boards, the Sox missed out on the second coming of Willie Mays for the benefit of adding an ok prospect and a decent reliever. The reality is that the ceiling for Rasmus is probably Carlos Beltran, a guy that will give you above average defense and hit .270 with power and the ability to run. The floor is Corey Patterson. I think it's telling that the Cardinals gave up Rasmus for 2 months of Edwin Jackson. That is all I need to know to tell me that Rasmus (1) has never had lower value and (2) is probably closer to Corey Patterson than Beltran.

Ultimately, the deal makes the Sox better today. The deal allowed them to call up De Aza who hit a huge homer in his big league debut, a two run bomb in a 2-1 win over Detroit, makes the bullpen better this year and next, gives them additional payroll flexibility going forward, dumps the Teahen contract, potentially opens the door for Viciedo to get a call up, and adds a promising young arm to the farm system. I give Kenny Williams and this trade a hearty, Hobbserver thumbs up.