Cuban third baseman Dayan Viciedo has tentatively agreed to a deal with the Chicago White Sox that would quickly bring to an end negotations for the free agent’s services. Viciedo will fly to Chicago for a physical to complete the deal, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

At just 19 years old, Viciedo would appear to be years away from the big leagues, but the White Sox will have an open competition for third base job and pave the way for his arrival. Last season’s starter Joe Crede is a free agent unlikely to re-sign with the team, leaving just Josh Fields standing in Viciedo’s way. Read more »

“The sophomore slump”.

No one will ever actually admit to being a second-year player going through a mysterious curse that makes the best hitters and pitchers suffer tremendously following an impressive rookie year outing. Some say it’s just a lack of concentration, or raising the expectations too high for themselves, or just plain old nerves. Newsflash: Those three excuses are just better ways of saying, “I’m in the sophomore slump and I don’t think there’s any way out of it.” Read more »

Chicago White Sox General Manager Ken Williams is a thief.

Williams can also be called one of the craftiest GMs in all of baseball after getting Gavin Floyd and Gio Gonzalez for Freddy Garcia back in December 2006. The team on the other end of the deal, the Philadelphia Phillies, had no idea that Garcia was damaged goods and was throwing with significantly less velocity than usual.

The Phillies didn’t care. They were just happy to finally get their “big game” pitcher. They did not have him for very long, however, as Garcia made just 11 starts and had his season cut short in early June 2007 due to a torn labrum in his right arm.

What did Williams get out of the deal? A young prospect in Floyd who just needed a change of scenery to tap into his potential. That certainly worked, as the 25-year-old went 17-8 with a 3.84 ERA in 2008. So yes, Williams got a steal with the deal and was able to dump about $10 million in salary.

Garcia missed most of the 2008 regular season while rehabbing his surgically repaired right shoulder. He was a free agent for most of the season until the Detroit Tigers signed him to a minor league contract on August 12th. His contract was then purchased from the minors on September 17th and started three games for the Tigers. He finished with 15 innings pitched, a 1-1 record, and an ERA of 4.20.

As we find out from Jason Beck of MLB.com, Garcia will be pitching in his homeland of Venezuela over the winter. How effective Garcia is during his time home will determine how many major league GMs come calling for the two-time American League All-Star.

As far as a fantasy spin to this story, here’s the deal: Garcia didn’t make ImaginaryDiamond.com’s top 50 starting pitchers for 2009 and I don’t think he would even make my top 300 starting pitchers for ‘09. If nothing less, keep an eye on Garcia’s progress in Winter Ball and draft low, very low if you decide to draft him at all.

In 1969, history was made. The AFL won the Super Bowl for the first time, a man shocked the world by landing on the moon, and the massive Woodstock Concert played in front of a massive 500,000 person crowd. While these feats are all phenomenal in their own right, it was the hysteria in Flushing that really had onlookers turning their heads.

Since their inception in 1962, the New York Metropolitans were the proverbial doormats of Major League Baseball. Finishing in the basement virtually every season, the new ball club became “lovable losers” to fans. Read more »

October. Postseason.

Both of these words become synonymous when discussing the MLB Playoffs. Other related items include high blood pressure and the mystique of “Mr. October”, which simply can be defined as a game-changing performer during his team’s playoff run. This is true, especially when the World Series is at stake.

However, there is a bit more than meets the surface for this year’s baseball postseason. Take for instance, that on Tuesday there is still one more playoff spot to be determined. The White Sox will host the Minnesota Twins in a one-game, winner-take-all contest to determine the AL Central champion. Read more »

Smell that cooking in the distance? Yep, that’s October baseball just right around the corner. Eight teams are still mathematically eligible for the playoffs, as of the start of play on September 23, and each team still feels that it has a chance to make the postseason.

We’ve seen a lot happen this season, from the emergence of the Rays to the Mets changing managers and collapsing once again when the calendar changed to September. The Angels are kings of the AL West again, while the Cubs repeat as champions in the NL Central. Read more »

With two weeks of September in the rearview mirror, most fantasy owners have been eliminated from their leagues and/or have shifted their focus away from the diamond and onto the gridiron. 

However, being the loyal ImaginaryDiamond.com reader you are, you are probably in your league’s championship game. Don’t stop there, you have a trophy (or cash) to win!  In the most crucial point of the season, do not lose sight of what got you here. Scan the waiver wire, pay attention to injuries, adjust for bad matchups, and most importantly, make sure you update your starting lineup. Read more »

The Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox and, most importantly, Ken Griffey Jr. have agreed to a deal that will send Griffey to Chicago in exchange for reliever Nick Masset and minor league infielder Danny Richar, FOXSports.com first reported. Shortly after the two teams came to terms on the deal, Griffey, a 10-and-5 player, approved the trade.

A puzzling deal in most circles because of the Sox’s dearth of outfielders, DH types and power bats. Griffey would seem to be more likely to split time at DH with Jim Thome and in the corner outfield, but ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian reported that Griffey would return to his old stomping grounds in center field and shove Nick Swisher into a platoon role. Read more »

Chicago White Sox closer Bobby Jenks will be placed on the disabled list after all, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. Jenks has been day-to-day with a sore back since his last outing on June 29 and can be placed on the DL retroactive to that date.

With the All-Star break coming up, Jenks should not be required to miss much time, so long as he doesn’t suffer any setbacks in his recovery. In his absence, set-up man Scott Linebrink will act as the team’s closer. Linebrink has converted 1-of-2 save opportunities since Jenks has been out, and he has given up runs in each of his last three outings. Read more »

Alexei Ramirez’s progress was slow in the early part of the season, but things appear to be clicking now as he extended a four-game extra-base hit streak with a homer on Tuesday night. As manager Ozzie Guillen looks for a spark to his struggling lineup, he may also find a way to rid the team of Orlando Cabrera’s attitude or Juan Uribe’s weak stick.

Ramirez made a splash with a hot spring, but stumbled out of the gates to the tune of a .138 batting average in April. But, he has turned things around with a nine-game hot streak, over which he has hit .429 (15-for-35) with 3 doubles, 2 home runs, 7 runs and 5 RBIs. Ramirez has lifted his season average to a respectable .275, to go along with 10 extra-base hits and a .431 slugging percentage. Read more »