Gordon Beckham

I am a devoted Chicago Cubs' fan. I follow the team obsessively from Opening Day to the last pitch of the season. I am also an avid fantasy baseball enthusiast so I pay close attention to individual players and stats. This season I happen to have a couple of White Sox players on my fantasy team and so have watched many Sox games. It does my Cubbie heart good to see their Chicago baseball counterpart struggle. This is of course tempered by the fact my beloved Cubs did not even bother to wait until June before starting their traditional swoon. However, I believe I have a possible cure to what ails both teams.



The Cubs have a number of issues in need of addressing before they will once again be relevant in the National League Central Division, most notably a surplus of overpriced and underachieving veterans. The White Sox on the other hand, are a good team at least on paper. They have clearly disappointed this season getting off to a slow start yet again amidst high expectations, but have shown signs of life recently. As of the writing of this article the White Sox are only 8 games behind a Cleveland Indians team who are starting to come back to reality after a surprisingly hot start.



The White Sox made few off season moves, most notably free agent slugger, Adam Dunn, in an effort to bolster their offense yet the team continues to struggle mightily to score runs. This is mainly due to players not living up to expectations and performing way below career averages. One of the more disappointing players is Sox 2B, Gordon Beckham. Once the crown jewel of the White Sox farm system, Beckham is once again underwhelming South Side fans and continues to be a disappointment after being a finalist for Rookie of the Year in 2009.



I have always liked Beckham's game. He is an above average fielder at a number of positions and has shown flashes of his potential as a hitter. I do not think the White Sox have done him any favors by moving him around the infield at SS, 2B, and 3B as well as shifting him up and down the batting lineup. Beckham's play has been inconsistent at best and for whatever reason he always seems to be on manager, Ozzie Guillen's bad side. I think a change of scenery could spark Gordon Beckham and re-ignite his career.



The White Sox went into this season with lofty goals including a long playoff run come October. They would have their fanbase believe they are "All In" according to their promotional tagline. If the Sox want their fans to buy into the team willing to do whatever it takes to win and also keep showing up at the ball park a change is in order. I believe I have the solution which could be mutually beneficial to both Chicago teams.



I think the simple answer staring both teams in the face is for the White Sox to trade Gordon Beckham to the Cubs for Aramis Ramirez. I am sure fans of both teams are seeing this and think I am crazy. My questionable sanity aside, give the idea a few minutes to sink in and the method of my madness will become apparent. This is a move both teams need.



The White Sox need a run producer. Ramirez has been that and more for the Cubs averaging 27 HR's and 90 RBI's a season since joining the Northsiders via a trade with Pittsburgh in 2003. His power numbers are down this year having hit only two roundtrippers as of this article. A move to homer friendly Cellular Field along with hitting in a lineup featuring Paul Konerko, Carlos Quentin, and Adam Dunn offering plenty of protection should help remedy Aramis' power outage. Even with the low home run total, he is still hitting around .290 this season on a bad Cubs team.



Gordon Beckham on the other hand could easily step in and become the Cubs everyday 3B. Darwin Barney has a strangle hold on the Cubs' 2B job at the moment so Beckham would have to move back to 3B. This should not effect Beckham too much as he has played 102 games at 3B in the Majors and this is also the position he was playing when he enjoyed his greatest success. Along with Starlin Castor and the aforementioned Darwin Barney, the addition of Beckham would give the Cubs a young core of infielders to build around for the foreseeable future.



The Cubs also have hitting guru, Rudy Jaramillo as their batting coach. He is known for helping players figure out their swing ala Marlon Byrd. Jaramillo could be the right guy to get Beckham back on track. Beckham would also not be expected to be a team savior. This should alleviate some of the pressure he was under with the White Sox thus letting him relax and be able to focus on just playing baseball.



There is of course the issue of salary. Ramirez is set to make $14,600,000 this season so the Cubs would have to eat a chunk of this to make the deal more plausible. Let's face it though, Ramirez is gone after this year regardless if he is traded or not so the Cubs need to get some value before he leaves town via free agency at the end of the season. Beckham is slated to make $485,000 this season which definitely fits the Cubs' budget. He is not arbitration eligible until 2013. This makes him an even more attractive option for a team with financial concerns like the Cubs.



With the recent emergence of Brent Lillibridge, Beckham could be expendable. Sending him to the Cubs would open up a position for Lillibridge fulltime at 2B. Ramirez could then step in and take the everyday 3B job from a struggling and disappointing Brent Morel, and possibly lead the charge for the White Sox to get back into the Playoff picture. The Sox could use Ramirez as a rent-a-player for the remainder of the season with the Cubs flipping a majority of his bill or should they choose to sign Ramirez to a short term deal he could keep the hot corner warm until Morel is ready to take over.



Third base has been a problem position for the Cubs in the past. By all accounts Ramirez will not be back next season reopening a hole at the hot corner. The Cubs have a few prospects including Josh Vitters Ryan Flaherty, and Marquez Smith playing third in the minors. However none project out as everyday 3B in the Major Leagues. Beckham could be a nice cost effective bridge at 3B until a more suitable option becomes available. Who knows though, Beckham could come into his own on the Northside and blossom into a perennial All Star at 3B. Either way it is just a smart move for the Cubs to make.





Jim Hendry has not proven himself to be a creative General Manager in his tenure with the Cubs, however White Sox GM, Kenny Williams is. The onus is going to fall on Williams to get this deal done. It makes sense for both teams and has the potential to be a win-win situation which is a rarity in baseball.





All baseball stats inthis article were retrieved from www.baseball-reference.com/