Flurry Of White Sox Moves 'A Little Far-Fetched' In Hahn's Eyes
(CBS) Reflecting back on his organization's recent flurry of offseason activity, general manager Rick Hahn says, "It's a fun time to be a White Sox fan."
Not that he even saw all this -- the acquisitions of right-hander Jeff Samardzija, closer David Robertson, outfielder Melky Cabrera, first baseman/designated hitter Adam LaRoche and lefty reliever Zach Duke -- coming.
"Frankly, if we'd gone back six or seven weeks and sat down and said, 'OK, a month-and-a-half from now, we're going to be able to have accomplished these five or six things, we would've been thrilled and probably thought that it was a little far-fetched," Hahn said in an interview with the Mully and Hanley Show on Wednesday morning. "We've been on a real nice roll. The guys have worked extremely hard. Kenny (Williams) has kept the focus on aiming high, and Jerry (Reinsdorf) personally been the one to make sure we've maintained that aggressiveness.
"Jerry was the one … who in the suite in San Diego was encouraging us and pushing us to stretch and close the Robertson deal."
Hahn added the White Sox still have a few minor moves to make, including figuring out what to do with outfielder Dayan Viciedo, who hit .231 with 21 homers and 58 RBIs in 145 games last season. Viciedo has unfulfilled potential, but there doesn't appear to be much opportunity in Chicago with Cabrera, Adam Eaton and Avisail Garcia set as regulars in the outfield.
Viciedo has been as the center of swirling trade rumors, with Seattle known to be interested.
"There's certainly a role for him on this club," Hahn said of Viciedo. "Everything we've said about him over the last few months and years in terms of his youth and special power is still true today -- even after the acquisition of Melky. The fact is the amount of ABs on this club have probably been cut into for Viciedo. And as a result, we have an obligation to listen to clubs that may see a larger role for him on their club, which may ultimately lead to a match. But we're not locked into moving him. We're not locked into keeping him. It's really just a process right now of hearing out the options."
Listen to Hahn's full interview here. He also talks about where the second base situation sits for the White Sox right now, plus more.