FanHouse LanceBroadway

The Mets rewarded the rookie after all. New York dealt catcher Ramon Castro and cash to the White Sox in exchange for pitcher Lance Broadway, opting instead to keep surprising 28-year-old Omir Santos in the bigs.

Santos wasted no time Friday night assuring the Mets they made the right choice, hitting a game-winning RBI single in the 11th inning to give New York a 2-1 win over the Marlins.

While his recovery from a ruptured achilles tendon last August has been miraculous, Jose Contreras's performance on the pitching mound this season has been disastrous. Contreras wasn't expected to be back until the middle of the season, if at all, but somehow he worked his way into the White Sox starting rotation out of the spring.

Since then he's done nothing but work his way out of it, going 0-4 and posting an 8.31 ERA in five starts. Contreras had a very strong outing against the Blue Jays last week which provided a glimmer of hope that maybe he was getting his control back, but a shellacking in Dallas on Saturday put any of that optimism to rest. Now the Sox are saying they're concerned about Contreras, but they're not going to take him out of the rotation just yet.

Anytime a player the caliber of Miguel Cabrera is put on the trading block, there are going to be multiple teams interested in his services. After all, there aren't many 24 year olds out there with 138 home runs and 523 RBI under their belts. Let alone with a lifetime .313 batting average.

So while the Yankees are already talking to the Marlins about a possible deal, they aren't the only team interested in making a deal for Cabrera. Kenny Williams and the White Sox are planning on throwing their hat in the ring as well.

''We will not act spontaneously because we have all sat around and discussed our targets for months and months. In some cases, some guys have been on our target lists for years. So if the right proposal comes our way, yeah, we're ready for it. But we're not going to act without rhyme or reason.''

One of those guys the Sox have long kept their eye on is Cabrera. He's been a favorite of Ozzie Guillen ever since Guillen was the third base coach on the Marlins World Series champion team of 2003. Both are native Venezuelans, and have a close relationship.

The Sox also do have plenty of young pitching prospects, which the Marlins consider a start to any negotiations. Be it Gio Gonzalez, or Lance Broadway, Kenny Williams has never been afraid to deal prospects.

Still, I'd say the Yankees have the edge on Chicago because they do have Joba Chamberlain, Philip Hughes, and Ian Kennedy. If the Yankees hold firm on not dealing either of the three, then the White Sox chances to get Cabrera will improve dramatically.

The Sox could then help the Yankees out with their hole at third base by sending Joe Crede to the Bronx in a deal for Johnny Damon. A move that's been talked about the last few days in Orlando.