2007 Off-season
The 2006–2007 offseason stirred up controversy among Sox fans. First, on November 16, lefty reliever Neal Cotts was sent to the Chicago Cubs for reliever David Aardsma and prospect Carlos Vásquez. This was the first deal between the crosstown rivals since the Cubs traded pitcher Jon Garland for White Sox reliever Matt Karchner in the middle of the 1998 season.
A deal that involved trading Garland to the Houston Astros for outfielder Willy Taveras and pitchers Taylor Buchholz and Jason Hirsh was reported to have been agreed upon, but general manager Ken Williams backed out of the trade at the last minute, due to health concerns for Buchholz.
Williams traded first baseman Ross Gload to the Kansas City Royals for reliever Andrew Sisco.
On December 6, starting pitcher Freddy García was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitching prospects Gavin Floyd and Gio Gonzalez, who was initially traded to the Phillies by the White Sox in the Jim Thome deal a year prior.
Even more controversial was the December 23 deal that sent highly-touted starter Brandon McCarthy, along with outfield prospect David Paisano, to the Texas Rangers for pitching prospects John Danks, Nick Masset, and Jacob Rasner. To some, it seemed as if Williams was sacrificing the present for the future in these deals.
The Sox also signed free agent catcher Toby Hall, signed free agent outfielder/first baseman Darin Erstad, and signed (currently ) #2 starter Javier Vázquez to a 3 year, $33 million contract extension.
Read more about this topic: 2007 Chicago White Sox Season