The White Sox signed OF-R Aaron Rowand to a two-year, $5.25M contract last week. He will receive a salary of $2M in 2005 and $3.25M in 2006. Rowand also holds a $3.25M player option for 2007. If Rowand chooses to decline his option, Chicago must decide whether or not to exercise their $5M team option. Rowand put together a successful season in 2004, but I worry about his ability to repeat that performance, as his production rests upon shaky plate discipline. The 27-year-old's power growth appears more secure than his +.300 batting average, since he's continually lowered his G-F over the course of his major league career and should be in his physical prime, however a return to his groundball ways could quickly erase that progress. Fortunately for the White Sox, this contract holds Rowand's salary fairly low through his arbitration years. Consequently, Chicago will not lose much if he flounders, and he will be a bargain if he maintains his recent production levels.

In early January, the White Sox received OF-L Travis Hinton from the Brewers to complete the Carlos Lee trade. Milwaukee drafted Hinton out of community college with a 13th round pick in 2001. He spent the remainder of that season with their Rookie-level Pioneer league team. After playing for A Beloit in the Midwest League in both 2002 and 2003, Hinton advanced in 2004 to A+ High Desert in the California League, where he hit .302 with a .362 OBP and a .507 SLG on 162 H, 36 2B, 4 3B, and 22 HR with a 48:99 BB:K and 3/4 SB% in 536 AB. While he was playing in a hitters' park as well as a hitters' league, the 24-year-old appears to possess modest power and his plate discipline has displayed promise. Chicago should not expect a similar performance from him at AA this year, but he could develop into a solid reserve in a few seasons.