Matt Thornton News

First, MLB Trade Rumors Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times said the White Sox were closing in on a deal with free agent reliever J.J. Putz , perhaps encouraging Putz's friend Matt Thornton to leverage their bromance as a recruiting tool.

The 38-year-old catcher said on Friday that he wants to be an everyday player. Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo, however, wants Rodriguez to split time with Jesus Flores, who is recovering from shoulder surgery and is supposed to be ready for spring training.

J.J. Putz. As Jewish as Kevin Mench Finally cleared of a nagging bone spur in his throwing elbow, 2007 MVP/AS closer RHP J.J. Putz has accepted a 1-year $3 million deal to come to the South Side.

The White Sox signed relief pitcher J.J. Putz to a one-year, $3 million contract on Friday.

It doesn't take long for the flip to happen. The smile is gone and the usually articulate replies are reduced to one-word grunts.

White Sox general manager Ken Williams said Friday that he is not shopping Bobby Jenks and too much has been made of a perceived rift between the team and its closer.

Leadoff man: Scott Podsednik, who arguably became as valuable of an offensive presence as anyone on the team in 2009, continues to look for a multi-year deal, but the White Sox are not biting.

Bobby Jenks already has aired his offseason disappointment toward his current employer through the media, starting with his comments concerning unfair personal criticism from the White Sox, originally made in early October.

The Chicago White Sox signed veteran utilityman Mark Kotsay to a one-year, $1.5 million contract on Thursday.

While his K/9 increased back to 8.27, his BAA and WHIP increased and Matt Thornton proved to be a suitable replacement for Jenks if he were traded If Jenks is traded before you draft next year, you can completely ignore this.

When talking about the best trades of the Kenny Williams era, the 2006 Joe Borchard-for-Matt Thornton trade has to be near the top of the list.

Major League Baseball owners Tuesday unanimously approved the sale of the Chicago Cubs from the bankrupt Tribune Co.

The White Sox have a recent history of bringing in castoffs of the Kansas City Royals bullpen, and most of them fail with the Sox .

As the longtime joke among the evening employees in the MDH newsroom would say, both Chicago baseball teams got first-round byes in the MLB postseason.

Joe Girardi is making a gutsy call behind the plate. Preparing for his first playoff series as a manager, Girardi confirmed Tuesday that light-hitting Yankees backup Jose Molina will catch A.J. Burnett during the postseason.

As they played out the string over the final month of the season, the bounce toward 2010 was already in full swing.

In a move that virtually sets the 2010 rotation, the White Sox picked up the $1 million option on Freddy Garcia 's contract.

There already more answers than there will be questions, but the few questions facing the White Sox this offseason are doozies.

The midseason acquisitions of pitcher Jake Peavy and center fielder Alex Rios addressed issues well in advance of the 2010 season.

Freddy Garcia held Detroit to a run and six hits in seven innings Saturday in the 5-1 Chicago White Sox victory.