NewsWhite Sox meet with Podsednik's agent
Free agent center fielder had strong season in 2009
By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com
10/11/09 1:04 PM ET
While DeWayne Wise walked out the door last week, the White Sox were talking about keeping another outfielder in-house. Ryan Gleichowski, the agent for would-be free agent speedster Scott Podsednik, told the Chicago Tribune on Friday that he had a preliminary discussion with Sox assistant general manager Rick Hahn. The sides agreed to speak again later this month. "It's in the early stages," Gleichowski told the newspaper. The agent's comments in the Tribune followed a story on MLB.com last week in which Podsednik expressed interest in returning to Chicago's South Side, but indicated he would not simply jump at Chicago's first offer. "No, we are going to wait it out and see what happens," Podsednik said. "If they want to try to bring me back, then we will entertain that idea and go from there. But this is all kind of a new process to me. I'm going to seek counsel from my representation and do what we feel is best. "I really don't know what to expect and what kind of market there's going to be for me, but I'm going into it open-minded. I'm going to learn as much about the process as I possibly can." Podsednik, who will turn 34 before the 2010 season opener, is coming off one of his best seasons. He batted .304 with a .353 on-base percentage, his best marks since 2003, when Podsednik hit .314 with a .379 on-base percentage for the Brewers and finished second in National League Rookie of the Year balloting. He was 30-for-43 in stolen base chances in 2009. Podsednik is one of five White Sox potential free agents, if one were to include Wise, who declined an outright assignment to Triple-A on Friday. The others are reliever Octavio Dotel, utility man Mark Kotsay and catcher Ramon Castro. The White Sox already have two outfield spots spoken for. Alex Rios will likely be the Opening Day center fielder, and Carlos Quentin will flank him in one of the corners, leaving one spot unclaimed.Adam McCalvy is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
