With Mark Teixeira removed from the trade market, the next tier of big bats becomes more interesting to the teams that lost out on the Teixeira bidding war. One of those is White Sox right fielder Jermaine Dye. With a .318 AVg and 7 HRs since the All-Star Break, teams can conclude Dye is recovered from the leg problems that plagued him for the first half of the season. As a pending free agent, he cannot command the same package that Mark Teixeira did.
The latest rumor being reported by the Boston Globe:
This is considerably less than what the Rangers received although the possibilities (always lessened by his prodigious strike outs) of Wily Mo hitting in U.S. Cellular is intriguing. Making the offer less so is the fact that Dye will likely be a Type A free agent this winter and bring the Red Sox two first round picks dependent upon how bad the club who signs Dye finishes. Teams selecting in the top 15 do not lose their actual 1st round selection.
The issue would be whether Dye will qualify as a Type A free agent. In previous seasons, it was the Top 30% of the free agents, by postion, who were Type A and carried two first-round picks compensation (the signing team's selection plus a supplemental one between the 1st and 2nd round). Now it is the top 20%. Dye will be grouped with the OF/1B/DH so he needs to be relatively good over his past two seasons to qualify. With a monster season last year, he is very likely to do so. Last season's list included JD Drew, Moises ALou, Carlos Lee, Alphonso Soriano along with Kevin millar and Frank Catalonotto.
With those two picks negating some of the gains the White Sox would receive, this trade looks to be a winner for the Red Sox. However, something ESPN's Steve Phillips said in his chat this afternoon casts some doubt on the report from Boston. Mr. Phillips said, "Kenny Williams is asking to match the value to two first-round draft picks in return for Dye....I think ultimately Dye will get traded for a blue-chip prospect and maybe a B-level prospect."
Does Pena/Delcarmen/Masterson equate to a blue chip and B-level prospect?
Update [2007-7-30 15:17:10 by Eric Hz]: The same paper now reports, "Chicago would take Wily Mo Pena but want either Manny Delcarmen or Justin Masterson. The Red Sox will not part with either for a rent-a-player like Dye, who is eligible for free agency after the season."
The Red Sox obviously believe the White Sox are stupid and do not know about draft pick compensation.