The Royals have reportedly traded Mark Teahen to the Chicago White Sox for third baseman Josh Fields and second baseman Chris Getz.
This makes no sense for Chicago, as best as I can tell. Teahen is supposedly going to replace Jermaine Dye as their right fielder. Teahen is average to a little below average defensively in right field. Since his breakout 2006 season, he has posted EQAs of .259, .240, and .248, which is not good for a COF. Fangraphs has Teahen has having a .1 WAR in 2009 and a .3 WAR in 2008.
Oh, and Teahen made $3,575,000 in 2009, and is probably looking at $4.5-5 million in arbitration for 2010.
So, yeah, I don't know what is going on here. Getz and Fields aren't anything great, but they are pre-arbitration, and Fields is an interesting reclamation project, a well-regarded prospect who has floundered in the majors. Teahen is a big bag of nothing, and I'd have thunk he'd be a non-tender this offseason.
Baffling.