The White Sox completed two trades yesterday, using the acquisitions from their first trade to fuel the second. First Chicago dealt RHP Antonio Osuna and RHP Delvis Lantigua to the Yankees for RHP Orlando Hernandez and cash considerations believed to be in the amount of $2M. Then the White Sox forwarded Hernandez and a reported $2M in cash with RHP Rocky Biddle and OF-L Jeff Liefer to the Expos in exchange for RHP Bartolo Colon and SS-R Jorge Nunez.

New York created a situation this off-season where they had an extreme overabundance of veteran major league starting pitchers. Considering their respective ages and contract statuses, dealing Hernandez this winter appeared to make the most sense. While the Yankees themselves were rumored to have interest in Colon earlier this off-season, acquiring him at this point would not have been overly beneficial to the club nor would it have helped unclog the starting logjam. As for the cash, they probably would have had to pay Hernandez in excess of $2M more than Osuna and Lantigua will make.

Osuna has mild control problems but is in general a dominant reliever that better fits the current needs of the team than Hernandez did. The 29-year-old will also be a free agent after the season, freeing the Yankees to make changes next year.

Lantigua is far from a top pitching prospect, but he has some upside and the Yankees farm system could use an infusion of talent. LA signed him as a nondrafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 1998 and he spent a year in a half on their Dominican Summer League team before he was released and signed with the White Sox's DSL club. Following a year in rookie ball, Lantigua split 2001 between the A+ Carolina League and Birmingham in the AA Southern League. The 22-year-old returned to Birmingham in 2002 and compiled a 66:35 K:BB with 67 H and 6 HR allowed in 85.1 IP for a 3.48 ERA over 16 games, including 15 starts. However, at AAA Charlotte he only managed a 41:29 K:BB with 46 H and 10 HR allowed in 52.1 IP for a 5.85 ERA over 15 appearances, including only 8 starts. He definitely needs more time to adjust to AAA and he may only develop into a decent reliever. However, he's still fairly young and isn't without promise.

The Yankees gain the added side benefit of knowing that by trading Hernandez to Chicago they assist the White rather than Red Sox in obtaining Colon. Now I think Boston still has a good chance at acquiring Javier Vazquez, and I never believed Colon was vital to their push to win the division, however I'm sure New York is pleased that they may have foiled their division rival.

Looking at what Montreal acquired, I believe Expo GM Omar Minaya made a mistake if he ever passed on a deal including Nick Johnson, Juan Rivera, and Orlando Hernandez during the Winter Meetings. In the current market, waiting appears not to have created bidding wars but to rather has allowed interested parties to stand back and approach with cooler heads. Nevertheless, I don't think he made a bad trade considering everyone knew that he had to move players.

Hernandez's skills were at a career best last season. The 33-year-old remains fairly healthy and while he won't match the production Colon provided last season, he will provide them with a more than adequate anchor for the rotation if Vazquez is also dealt. As he ages and the Expos have some pitchers emerging from the minors, he will also be a prime candidate to move to a dominant role in their pen.

Chicago drafted Biddle out of Long Beach State University with the 51st pick of the first round of the 1997 draft. His development was sidetracked in 1999 by Tommy John surgery, but after missing the season he appeared fully recovered at AA the next year. Overexcited, Chicago made the poor choice of jumping him to the majors and leaving him there with his first AAA time coming at the start of this past season. As a result, the 26-year-old has struggled with his control and homer rate even while relieving in the majority of his innings. I think he could still develop into a decent long reliever or even a setup man, but at the moment he's not a very good pitcher, though he will be useful to the Expos as someone who can make a spot start if needed.

Two years before drafting Biddle, the White Sox drafted Liefer out of Long Beach State University with the 25th overall pick of the first round of the draft. He's always shown considerable power potential, but his plate discipline has always been lacking with only occasional indications that he knows how to take a walk. I think he has a good chance of starting at first base for them. However, they could also bring in a first baseman and let Liefer start in left with Brad Wilkerson covering center while Endy Chavez is relegated to the reserve role to which he's more suited. The 28-year-old Liefer was quite unhappy with his limited playing time for the White Sox and will likely strive to show that he deserves his new responsibilities.

In exchange for the above-discussed players, Chicago has acquired an ace to slot above their current number one. Colon's strikeout rate took a huge dive last year, but his control simultaneously improved, allowing him to have an excellent season, which would have earned him Cy Young consideration had it been compiled entirely in one league. I'm quite concerned that the severe dip in his strikeout rate may be indicative of an undisclosed injury, which could begin to affect the remainder of his skills. Reportedly, he's also gained a lot of weight this off-season and poor conditioning frequently leads to arm problems. However due to the players the White Sox traded to acquire him, they're really only out money if he's unable to pitch. None of the guys they gave up were exceptional or overly important in their division race. Consequently, Chicago will have no worse a season for acquiring him and if he pitches as well as he can, they have an excellent chance of taking home the division title.

They've already signed Armando Rios to a $450,000 one-year deal, replacing Liefer on the roster, and they plan to sign Tom Gordon to replace Osuna as soon as he passes a physical next week. Rios is three years older than Liefer, but otherwise they are very similar players with almost identical upside for the 2003 season. Gordon rebounded surprisingly strongly from his injury last season and should provide the team with a better reliever than Osuna and a more capable closer should Billy Koch fall victim to overuse. If that signing somehow falls through, they appear more than willing to pursue one of the other many capable right-handed relievers on the free agent market.

Additionally, in Nunez the White Sox picked up another speedy middle infield prospect. Nunez, who the Expos acquired in the trade in which they sent Guillermo Mota to LA, still needs more time at AAA to work on his plate discipline, but he's a nice commodity to have in the farm system.

White Sox GM Kenny Williams has far from redeemed his reign, but he definitely had a good day.