Sox Drawer: Matsui Rumors Heating Up

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Tuesday, December 8th6:32 p.m.

Matsui Anyone??

After a slow first day, Kenny Williams was in deep bunker mode today, holed up in his hotel room for hours, talking to teams about trades, and yes, talking to agents, specifically to the man who represents free agent outfielder Hideki Matsui.

The New York Daily News is reporting that the Sox have emerged as a 'serious contenders to sign Matsui, who hit .274 last season for the Yankees, with 28 homers and 90 RBI in 142 games.

The hold up might be the price tag. Matsui made 13 million last season. He'd have to play for much less with the White Sox. Probably in the 4-6 million range.

Asked about Matsui, Williams said, "He's a good player. But I don't know if we're there just yet."

Williams is one who will pounce when he sees an opportunity. Clearly, there has been a shift in dialogue here at the meetings, and it has changed Williams expectations. After sensing that he'd be busier after the meetings, he now sounds like something could actually happen this week (other than the 3-year deal for Mark Teahen).

Said Williams, "You always like to get better. While we're here, we might as well do something. Jerry spent a lot of money for the rooms."3:18 p.m.

Mark Teahen just spoke with the media via conference call about his new three-year deal. Said Teahen, "I'm pumped!"He sounds a little like Nick Swisher. Insert joke here ________.
But it definitely seems like he'll be around much longer than Swish.Mark had some interesting things to say about his time with the Royals. "Every year with Kansas City, I tried to convince myself that we made enough rules to be competitive. But we knew that we would have to have everything work out perfectly for us to have a chance. The nice thing with Chicago, it's the first time where I'm in a place where guys don't have to overachieve for the team to be successful. They just need to do what they are capable of doing."Kenny Williams is talking next...

2:58 p.m.

Kenny Williams is telling us that he's taking a more low-key approach to the winter meetings this year.I don't believe him.Here's what Ozzie Guillen said when I asked him to describe his general manager when it comes to the winter meetings:"He's too big for these meetings. If everybody had the guts and would be as aggressive as Kenny, these winter meetings would be more fun. He's not afraid to make any move, and not afraid to be criticized by people who think they know more about the game. I asked Kenny a couple of years ago why we don't break this thing down and start over. He said, 'No, as long as I'm GM my job is to win.'"I also asked Ozzie if he was concerned about Andruw Jones arriving in camp out of shape.
Guillen's response,"He BETTER be in shape."We'll run the interview tonight on SportsNite.Gotta listen to the Mark Teahen conference call. It's about to start. I'll be back later with more...

1:03 p.m.

The White Sox have hooked their first fish here at the Winter Meetings. Sorry, it's not Hideki Matsui.

In fact, the player is already on their roster.The Sox agreed to terms with Mark Teahen on a 3-year, 14-million deal, avoiding arbitration. Teahen will receive 3.75 million in 2010, 4.75 million in 2011 and 5.5 million in 2012. He was eligible for free agency following the 2011 season.Teahen's dog gave a hint this morning that something was brewing when he tweeted, "Happy day n the Teahen house. All of a sudden everyone's Christmas wish list got longer. Mark & all the family r thankful & excited for Chi."The deal buys out two arbitration years and one free agent season. The Sox save some money on what Teahen would have earned in arbitration.The big news in Indy today is the blockbuster 3-team trade between the Yankees, Tigers, and Diamondbacks. The Tigers trading both Curtis Granderson (to NYY) and Edwin Jackson (to AZ). The Tigers gets Max Scherzer, Austin Jackson, and Phil Coke. Ian Kennedy also goes to the Arizona. More specifics are being hammered out. Medical records need to be looked over.Interested in getting Kenny Williams reaction to what this means for the Tigers. He speaks later this afternoon.

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