ESPN's Buster Olney has spoken to several MLB sources who believe but will not confirm that the White Sox are most likely the team who put a waiver claim on Blue Jays right fielder Alex Rios. Rios has six years remaining on a seven-year deal, worth $69.35 million.
"That's an incredible opportunity for the Blue Jays to get out from underneath that contract," said one team official.
The 28-year old is batting .261with 12 homers and 58 RBIs. These numbers certainly don't justify the huge deal he got and the Blue Jays might be just as happy to let him walk and/or make a deal for him. Olney cites several reasons in his article why the Sox, if it is indeed them making the claim for Rios, would see him as a valued addition.
1.He would be a defensive upgrade over Scott Posednik and be able to fill that position for years to come.
2.It would enable them to buy out Jermaine Dye's 2010 option and free up that money to pay for Rios.
3. The White Sox ownership have shown they are willing to take risks if a deal has a chance of significantly upgrading the team, i.e. Jake Peavy.
It will not be known until Tuesday who Rios' claimant is.
These August deals are often about teams dumping payroll and these situations can work for both teams. Look for more of these in the days ahead.