FanHouse Jeff Marquez

FanHouse breaks down the who's who and the what's what of the baseball world each week with our MLB Power Rankings.

Spring Training is always a time of year when false hopes or false assumptions are built based on performance. It might Jeff Francoeur lacing the ball, for instance. Or Yovani Gallardo stinking the joint up. But it is also a time of year when season-altering injuries are revealed. For instance, Alex Rodriguez will miss the first 10 weeks of the season because of surgery. Chipper Jones is dealing with an oblique injury. Oh, and this Manny Ramirez guy signed with the Dodgers. So even though it might seem premature to react in a knee-jerk fashion, it's not.

Hence, we have our second installment of preseason MLB Power Rankings, just to keep your jones going for America's pastime.

Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through every major player on each team. Fantasy FanHouse is here to help with a quick once-over.

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Team who loves to mash the ball. The 2008 White Sox led Major League Baseball in home runs with 235. Even though the team lost Nick Swisher, there are still six hitters in this lineup with 25-plus home run potential; three that could easily amass 30-plus. The infield is all shook up headed into the new season. Only Paul Konerko is back in his position from 2008 at first base. Josh Fields will be given the reigns at third base to see if he can finally live up to his potential. Alexei Ramirez will be shifting from second base to shortstop to fill the spot vacated by Orlando Cabrera. The pitching staff lost Javier Vazquez to Atlanta but still has three credible front-line starters. Gavin Floyd and John Danks exploded onto the scene in '08 and Mark Buehrle is as consistent as they come. The White Sox won their division in 2008 and still have the talent to compete again in 2009.

FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Chicago White Sox.

The expectations for the Chicago White Sox weren't very high in 2008. The team was coming off of a dismal 72-90 performance in 2007, following up two consecutive 90-win seasons and they'd lost perhaps their most consistent starter in Jon Garland in a trade for Orlando Cabrera. They also acquired Nick Swisher from the Oakland Athletics, hoping he would be the glue that held the team together.

After trading Javier Vazquez, the White Sox were left with a hole in their starting rotation. Wednesday evening, they added someone who may be able to fill it. Bartolo Colon -- who played for the White Sox back in 2003 -- was signed to a one-year contract with the South Siders.

A rotation spot isn't likely be handed to Colon. Mark Buehrle, John Danks, Gavin Floyd, and Jose Contreras have nailed down the top four spots. Considering Colon hasn't thrown more than 100 innings since his Cy Young campaign in 2005, he'll have to prove himself in Spring Training.

It's been rumored for a while, but today the Yankees acquired Nick Swisher from the White Sox, along with minor league pitcher Kanekoa Texeira in exchange, reportedly, for righty Jeff Marquez and some others who have not yet been named yet.

Jon Heyman reported on his regular radio spot on WFAN that the Yankees acquired Swisher mainly to play first base. This would mean that signing free agent Mark Teixeira would be pretty much out the window. But the Yankees do have options, as they could put Swisher in the position he played last season mostly, center field, in place of the Brett Gardner/Melky Cabrera tandem if the Yanks decided they had some money left for Teixeira after their pursuit of CC Sabathia. Swisher could also play right field if Bobby Abreu leaves via free agency.

Whichever hole Swisher fills in the field, the Yanks most likely acquired him to be the solid on-base guy he was in Oakland in 2006 and 2007. He had a horrid season getting on base with Chicago last season, but it was more his actual hitting than his batting eye that suffered, as he still waked 82 times last season. Swisher should see more pitches to hit batting behind Alex Rodriguez, so this is a very good get for the Yankees.

For the White Sox, this seems to be the beginning of a very interesting off-season for the A.L. Central champs, as now Swisher's gone, and the rumors continue to swirl around guys like Javier Vazquez, Jermaine Dye, and Bobby Jenks. There could be more turnover than you could ever imagine for a division champion.

Now that baseball is back from its holiday break, the Hot Stove is back in business which means that it's time to check in on the Johan Santana discussions. There was a report over the weekend that Hank Steinbrenner, he of the deadline on a trade, said he's leaning toward pulling the trigger and that he, not Brian Cashman, has final say on such matters.

In and of itself, that's not earth-shattering news. But taken with his earlier comments when the new Boss appeared fine with a hefty contract extension and LaVelle E. Neal's article from this weekend's Minneapolis Star-Tribune, it does seem like Santana could be pinstripe-bound. The Twins have reportedly relinquished their demand that the Bombers include Ian Kennedy in their package and expressed a willingness to accept other players along with Phil Hughes and Melky Cabrera. One would likely be minor-league hurler Jeff Marquez and, according to Neal, the other could be Kei Igawa.

On the surface, that seems outlandish. Igawa was terrible in New York this season and won't ever be more than a back of the rotation starter. He has four years at $4 million per left on his deal which you'd think would make the Twins leery of him but may actually help foster a deal. The Yankees have expressed a desire to slice some payroll if they add Santana's salary and moving Igawa would be a way to make that happen.

It's been a while since we heard anything Johan Santana related, hasn't it? It's been what, a whole week? In Santana-time, that's a lifetime. There's been so many Johan updates this off-season that I imagine that a lot of baseball fans just want to be woken up when he's traded or he signs an extension. Well not so fast. Because the horse race is ever changing in the Santana landscape, and today emerges a clear leader for his services: The New York Yankees.

They can pay the most money, and can offer the best prospects. While the first part of that is probably indisputable, that last part is a matter of opinion. And the opinion that puts the Yankees in the lead doesn't exactly come from a neutral party.

After what he described as a "slow holiday season" for baseball business, Hank Steinbrenner is returning to his office Thursday to begin working on "a final decision" regarding a trade for Johan Santana. And he believes the Yankees have made the top offer for the Minnesota ace.

"I think the Twins realize our offer is the best one," Steinbrenner said Wednesday in a telephone interview. "I feel confident they're not going to trade him before checking with us one last time and I think they think we've already made the best offer." (...)

Steinbrenner would not divulge the Yanks' offer, but multiple reports have pegged it as (Phil) Hughes, outfielder Melky Cabrera, pitching prospect Jeff Marquez and another prospect. Santana, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, probably would require a huge extension with his potential new team to waive his no-trade clause. Some reports have said it could be as much as six years for $120 million.

Is that enough prospects to get him? Is six years enough to get him to sign on the dotted line? Is Hank Steinbrenner just being Hank Steinbrenner? Don't worry, we'll wake you when something happens.