Trading Cabrera still leaves the Angels with four internal options at shortstop in Maicer Izturis, Erick Aybar, Chone Figgins and Brandon Wood. Figgins hasn’t played more than 13 games there in any of his five seasons as a major leaguer, so he’s probably out. I’ve always thought Wood, who was moved to third base last spring, could handle shortstop in the majors. However, it doesn’t look like he’s ready offensively. That leaves Izturis and Aybar. Iztruris is easily the better player now, and I don’t think the Angels would be afraid to go forward with him. However, another trade is a possibility. For one, Miguel Tejada is still out there.

Those who own Howie Kendrick in keeper leagues should be happiest about the trade. He’ll likely replace Cabrera in the second spot in the order, giving his value a significant boost. As things stand now, the Angels’ lineup should look like this:

3B Chone Figgins
2B Howie Kendrick
RF Vladimir Guerrero
LF/DH Garret Anderson
CF Gary Matthews Jr.
1B Casey Kotchman
DH/LF Juan Rivera
C Mike Napoli
SS Maicer Iztruris

Garland’s addition gives the team a rotation of:

John Lackey
Kelvim Escobar
Jon Garland
Jered Weaver
Joe Saunders/Ervin Santana

The deal frees up Santana to be used in a Tejada trade. Another possibility is that Weaver goes as part of a deal for Miguel Cabrera. Garland is no better than the Angels’ fourth-best starter, but he is durable and he should post better ERA out of U.S. Cellular Field. I had him projected at $6 in AL-only leagues last season and probably would have put him there again in 2008. Going to a better team in a better ballpark could bump that to $9 or so.

I think the White Sox received the more valuable player in the deal, and the contracts are nearly meaningless, since both Garland and Cabrera are free agents after next year. Still, they should have gone in a different direction and brought in a top prospect or two. GM Ken Williams also obviously didn’t see this opportunity on the horizon when he gave Juan Uribe a one-year, $4.5 million contract a couple of weeks ago. The White Sox could be looking at a lineup of:

SS Orlando Cabrera
LF Josh Fields
DH Jim Thome
1B Paul Konerko
RF Jermaine Dye
C A.J. Pierzynski
CF
3B Juan Uribe
2B Danny Richar

Fields may yet end up at third base, which would leave Uribe and Richar battling for time at second. The White Sox could try to tempt the Rays or Cardinals with Uribe’s contract. I’m not including Joe Crede in the team’s plans, as it seems that Williams wants him gone. Center field is likely to go to a free agent, though since the White Sox didn’t free up as much money as expected with the Garland deal, fitting Torii Hunter or Aaron Rowand into the budget might be more difficult.

The rotation is obviously weakened:

Mark Buehrle
Javier Vazquez
Jose Contreras
John Danks
Gavin Floyd/Larry Broadway/Heath Phillips

The White Sox will probably bring in a veteran to battle for the fifth spot. It might be a rehabbing pitcher like Kris Benson. They’ll need to save money to use on the offense. Hunter in the middle of the order would be ideal, and if they think Fields would be adequate at third, they could go ahead a leadoff-hitting left fielder, possibly Shannon Stewart.