Former Red Sox shortstop Orlando Cabrera has found a new home with the Chicago White Sox.
Cabrera, who helped lead the Red Sox to the 2004 World Series title after taking over for Nomar Garciaparra, was just traded by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to the Chicago White Sox for starting pitcher Jon Garland.
My take: This is a great move for both sides, but Chicago now finds itself in a tough position whereas I think the Angels are sitting pretty.
The Angels get someone who will probably post a sub-4.00 ERA now that he’s out of U.S. Cellular Field and will do so as their No. 4 starter, giving the Angels quite a vaunted rotation and an innings eater, having thrown over 200 innings four straight years.
This flexibility with the additional pitching they can now trade means they can easily find a replacement for Orlando Cabrera — and I think their replacement will be Miguel Tejada of the Baltimore Orioles. I can’t see them settling with in-house option Erick Aybar.
On the White Sox’s part, it’s a great upgrade to their offense, defense and clubhouse chemistry. It will either push Juan Uribe to second base (of which they have no viable players outside of likely career backup Danny Richar) or to a utility role. The one thing this does, however, is make the Sox instant contenders for pitching, whether via the trade market or free agent (Carlos Silva?) market.
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