MILWAUKEE -- The White Sox starting rotation as you know it could be in line for a major overhaul in 2012.
That is if the Sox decide to go that route. If they do, those sharks Kenny Williams spoke about on Tuesday are ready and willing to take a large bite out of his staff.
Youd think that we had a team out there that actually got into the playoffs from the interest level that people are showing our players, particularly our pitchers, Williams said Wednesday. But you dont know what you ultimately will be able to get back until you really start drawing some lines in the sand, and theres no need for that right now.
Two of his most valuable pieces are starters John Danks and Gavin Floyd. Is it feasible that the White Sox would trade both of them?
That remains to be seen, Williams said. It depends on what you can ultimately get back if you do decide to move them. That hasnt been decided yet. Im not ruling anything out.
Meanwhile, free agent pitcher Mark Buehrle now reportedly has 13 teams interested in signing him. It sounds like it was a very busy and productive GM meetings for his agent Jeff Berry, who left Milwaukee on Wednesday morning. One team said to be in the hunt for Buehrle is the Arizona Diamondbacks, whose general manager Kevin Towers was quite coy when I asked him about his interest in Buehrle.
I dont want to really get into details, showing my hand on who we have interest in, but wed like to add another veteran starter, Towers said. Weve got a lot of depth with young pitchers, but another established starter would make our staff that much better.
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He then added with a smile, There are some pitchers in Chicago that are pretty decent.
Whoever is starting for the White Sox next season will mainly be throwing to catcher AJ Pierzynski, whos under contract for one more year at 6 million. Back-up catcher Tyler Flowers showed promise at the end of the last season, but Williams would not concede how much playing time he might receive in 2012.
I think thats a question that leads me down a road I dont want to go down right now because thats disrespectful to Robin Ventura. Robin makes the lineup out and its too early because we dont know what the club is going to look like right now.
What Williams does know is that with some different GMs in place throughout the league, theres a different feel to the meetings this year.
I will say that the tone of these meetings is more serious and people are getting to the point a little sooner than usual, so I dont know if its a byproduct of this being a different group of guys because theres a lot of new guys around, or just the seriousness of the individual situations, that they want to get some things crossed off their list.
Apparently adding starting pitching is one of them.