The White Sox’s latest recruiting pitch to marquee free agent Torii Hunter involved the acquisition of Gold Glove shortstop Orlando Cabrera and $1.5 million from the L.A. Angels for durable starting pitcher Jon Garland.
“We’re not done yet,” Sox General Manager Ken Williams said Monday after announcing the deal. “We’re still trying to land some big fish.”
Hunter and agent Larry Reynolds were scheduled to have dinner Monday night at the home of Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks. Hunter’s off-season home in Prosper, Texas, is about 50 miles away from the Rangers’ Arlington home.
Cabrera, 33, batted .301 last season in addition to scoring a career-high 101 runs, stealing 20 bases and driving in 86 runs while providing quality defense.
Cabrera will bat second for the Sox, but he could hit in the leadoff spot against certain pitchers, Williams said. Manager Ozzie Guillen was with Cabrera in Montreal in 2001, when Guillen was a coach and Cabrera was the Expos’ shortstop.
The trade means incumbent Juan Uribe, re-signed less than two weeks ago, likely will be dealt to a team seeking a starting shortstop, perhaps Tampa Bay. That could help the Sox save an additional $4.5 million that could be applied to the signing of a high-caliber free agent such as Hunter.
“The message I’ve been giving everyone that we have targeted is we are 100 percent committed to winning a championship in 2008,” Williams said. “Yes, I always have my eyes set on the future, but I will tell you this: Last year didn’t sit well with any of us. … I’ll be damned if we go through that again.”
Garland, 28, slumped to 10-13 in 2007 after winning 18 games in 2005 and ’06. He has pitched 208 innings or more in four consecutive years and has made at least 32 starts in each of the last six seasons.
“It’s a great opportunity to be able to come home, show the West Coast what my capabilities are, and I’d love to bring a championship back here,” Garland told reporters.
Williams scoffed at the suggestion he could be “stuck” with a rotation that includes John Danks and Gavin Floyd as the fourth and fifth starters, with youngsters Lance Broadway, Gio Gonzalez and Jack Egbert (who will be added to the 40-man roster Tuesday) also contending.
Danny Richar is the leading contender at second base, but the Sox could upgrade as they did at shortstop with Cabrera.
Williams acknowledged having difficulty strengthening the bullpen, and published reports indicate that Kansas City is the leading contender to land Japanese reliever Yasuhiko Yabuta.
