White Sox wave the white flag

With 30 games remaining and down six full games to the Division leading Detroit Tigers the Chicago White Sox apparently are waiving the white flag of surrender and traded away more parts of their team to playoff contending teams last night. By trading the players on August 31st it insures these players will be eligible for the post season roster of their new teams.

The first move was trading Designated hitter Jim Thome to the Los Angels Dodgers for infielder Justin Fuller. The White Sox also gave the Dodgers an undisclosed amount of cash to cover the more than 2.4 million dollars left on Thome’s 2009 contract. Thome was in the final year of his deal and was likely not a part of the White Sox long term plans.

In another deal the Sox sent pitcher Jose Conteras to the Colorado Rockies for pitcher Brandon Hynick and cash considerations. Like Thome, Conteras was also in the final year of his deal and was not likely a part of the Sox’s long term plans. What we are seeing here is a partial rebuild job of the White Sox by General Manager Kenny Williams.

It is a little surprising to see the Sox trade away so many pieces. After dealing for pitcher Jake Peavy, claiming right fielder Alex Rios off waivers, and purchasing Andy Cannizaro for the Cleveland Indians these men seem to be the parts of a revamped White Sox lineup.

Since they are still in shouting distance of winning their division in 2009, and will face the division leading Tigers six times down the stretch run, it seems a little odd that the Sox would make these kinds of moves now. Of course it is always better to trade away a player than have them leave as a free agent.