Joe Crede Still Likes Chicago - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

While most of the talk surrounding Joe Crede, his back, and his impending free agency that dominated White Sox spring training seems to have died down a bit, it hasn't changed the fact that the White Sox still aren't sure what they'd like to do with their third baseman. Crede got off to a real hot start in April, and is hitting .270/.345/.500 to be one of the only consistently productive hitters in the Sox lineup (though all seven of his homers and 22 of his 25 RBI came in April).

HIs back has also stood up to the beating that comes with playing third base on a daily basis, so overall, it looks like the old Joe Crede is back. So what are the White Sox going to do? They still have Josh Fields down in the minors waiting to take over the third base spot.

For Crede's part, he'd like to stay in Chicago, and is open to negotiating a new deal during the season. It's just the White Sox will have to be the ones who initiate it.

"We aren't the ones with the money, so I don't feel we need to make the offer," Crede said. "It's a situation were if they want to pay us, they will make the offer. We aren't going to go out and ask for money. That's not how I want to approach it."

"I don't approach teams about player contracts," added Boras, speaking from his suite at Angel Stadium a few hours before Tuesday's first pitch. "They are the employers. I let them know that Joe is happy with Chicago."

The problem there is that the White Sox and Kenny Williams generally don't like to negotiate with free agents during the season, and they really don't like to do it when that player is represented by Scott Boras. Still, it didn't stop them from signing both Mark Buehrle and Jermaine Dye during the season last year.

I think the scenario that would make the most sense for the White Sox would be to keep Crede and Josh Fields around. Instead of choosing between them, the team would be better off trading Paul Konerko, and moving either Fields or Crede to first, with Fields being the preferred option.

Of course, at the same time, if I'm Joe Crede, I'd be exploring the free agent market this season. Crede will be the best player available at third base, and there will be quite a few teams in the market for one this offseason.