New 3rd base options

All it took was one injury to Andy LaRoche, and the good old trade rumor mill has been given new life.

Now take a deep breath for this one... Guess who's being talked about as a potential trade option for 3rd base? But you'll never guess...

Why it's Brandon Inge, of course!

This on again, off again trade talk has seen the switch flipped back on, all because LaRoche is out for 2 months. How serious is it? Well, mlbtraderumors.com doesn't exactly make a specific link for it, but they seem to more in the speculation stage. For the last time, the guy had 1 good year and that's it. Let it go!

Another name being tossed around is one that has also popped up in the past, Joe Crede. I will admit that this one has me intrigued just a teeny, tiny bit. It was just 2 years ago that he hit .283 with 30 HR and 94 RBI. He also had +20 HR seasons the previous 3 years (ok, he had 19 in 2003, but close enough!), so he has shown pretty decent pop. But, last year was a disaster as a bad back held him to 47 games and 4 HR.

A couple of different sources to check out concerning Crede. The first is from South Side Sox where they accurately point out that not only does Crede bring more power than Inge, but he's also in the last year of his salary, as opposed to 3 years and $19.1 million for Inge. Perhaps he can be plugged in with Nomar Garciaparra for the time being, then be reevaluated when LaRoche is healthy. It could work.

The second is from ESPN's Buster Olney, who points out that scouts claim Nomar's unusual throwing style from 3rd could mean he's not being counted on there for the long haul. Interesting point, though I tend to think that is just scout-talk and wouldn't read too much into that.

Man, Nomar has got to be feeling like crap right now. There was a time when he was one of the top players in the game, now people talk as if he's completely washed up. He's practically handed the 3rd base job, yet the Dodgers might not want him to play that much. Oh ya, he also was hurt the other day when he was hit on the right wrist by a pitch.

IMHO (cool Internet slang), I would take a serious look at bringing in Crede. BUT, the price has to be reasonable. What would the White Sox want? If it's an arm out of the bullpen, I'd consider that. If it's a young stud, then forget it. For a reasonable price, this deal may very well happen.