The White Sox have signed 29-year old righty swinging 1B/OF Conor Jackson to a minor league deal. Jackson played in 114 games for the A’s & Red Sox last year and he was 86 of 352 (.244 avg, .651 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 5 homers, 43 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He has now played in 658 games in his first 7 years in the majors and he is 591 of 2,184 (.271 avg, .757 OPS) with 291 runs scored, 52 homers, 295 RBIs and 27 stolen bases. Jackson could help the Pale Hose off the bench in 2012 as he can handle playing 1B or a corner outfield position defensively.

The over/under for Pale Hose wins in 2012 is 75.5. The White Sox were 79-83 last year. The White Sox did nothing over the winter to improve the roster. They decimated the bullpen in trades, which is going to hurt them badly….mark my words. The Pale Hose are also going to be depending on Alex Rios, Adam Dunn and Gordon Beckham to all bounce back in 2012 with the bats. I just don’t see the White Sox being near as good as they were last year, so I would bet the under.

Gone is Ozzie Guillen, as he was dealt to the Marlins for three prospects. Enter, 44-year old Robin Ventura. Ventura has never managed at any level, so he is going to be breaking his cherry in the majors. This is not going to be an easy job for Ventura as he has three key players (Adam Dunn, Gordon Beckham and Alex Rios) who are coming off awful seasons. The White Sox also decimated their bullpen over the winter in trades. I think 2012 is going to be a brutal baptism for Ventura as he is going to be outmanned quite a bit talent wise on a lot of nights.

The White Sox have dealt 25-year old lefty swinging 1B/OF Christian Marrero to the Braves for cash considerations. Marrero played in 115 games in AA-ball last year for the Pale Hose and he was 123 of 420 (.293 avg, .861 OPS) with 70 runs scored, 12 homers, 59 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Marrero played in 644 games in his six years in the minors with the White Sox and he was 657 of 2,310 (.284 avg, .813 OPS) with 318 runs scored, 62 homers, 348 RBIs and 40 stolen bases. Marrero is not considered a top notch prospect by any means, so the White Sox should be o.k. without him.

The White Sox have released 25-year old righty starting pitcher Dexter Carter. Carter pitched in 14 games (12 starts) in A-ball for the White Sox last year and he was 3-5 with a 6.65 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP. He has now pitched in 83 games (67 starts) in his first four years in the minors and he is 18-18 with a 4.75 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. Carter regressed last year in the minors, so the White Sox aren’t going to miss him at all in 2012.

The White Sox have acquired 26-year old righty swinging outfielder Greg Golson from the Royals for cash considerations. Golson played in 9 games for the Yankees last year and he was 2 for 11 (.182 avg, .432 OPS) with 1 run scored and 1 stolen base. He also played in 105 games in AAA-ball last year for the Yankees in which he was 101 of 384 (.263 avg, .716 OPS) with 55 runs scored, 8 homers, 33 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. Golson has now played in 40 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 8 of 41 (.195 avg, .458 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 0 homers, 2 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The White Sox are looking for backup help in the outfield, so Golson is going to get his chance to win the job the rest of this spring training.

The White Sox have dealt 27-year old righty swinging infielder Greg Paiml to the Atlanta Braves for cash considerations. Paiml played in 108 games in AA-ball last year and he was 78 of 360 (.217 avg, .572 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 2 homers, 32 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. He played in 535 games in his first six years in the minors (all with the Pale Hose) and he is 464 of 1,870 (.248 avg, .644 OPS) with 220 runs scored, 14 homers, 176 RBIs and 54 stolen bases. The White Sox won’t miss Paiml at all as he is no longer considered a prospect by them.

26-year old righty starting pitcher Terry Doyle has been returned to the White Sox from the Twins. The Twins had picked Doyle in the Rule 5 Draft last winter. Doyle pitched in 26 games (all starts) in A+AA-ball for the White Sox last year and he was 8-10 with a 3.07 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He has now pitched in 75 games (63 starts) in his first 4 years in the minors and he is 26-23 with a 2.94 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Doyle has only walked 97 guys in his first 422 2/3 innings in the minors, so he pounds the strike zone. The White Sox were likely more than happy to get Doyle back as he could help them at some point in 2012.

31-year old righty swinging Alex Rios will shift from CF to RF in 2012. Rios played in 145 games for the White Sox last year and he was 122 of 537 (.227 avg, .613 OPS) with 64 runs scored, 13 homers, 44 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Rios has now played in 333 games in his first three years with the Pale Hose and he is 312 of 1,250 (.250 avg, .685 OPS) with 164 runs scored, 37 homers, 141 RBIs and 50 stolen bases. Rios has now played in 1,142 games in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 1,187 of 4,321 (.275 avg, .757 OPS) with 615 runs scored, 118 homers, 536 RBIs and 162 stolen bases. Rios should be an outstanding defensive RF for the White Sox in 2012. The White Sox are really hoping that Rios rebounds with the bat in 2012.

34-year old lefty swinging Kosuke Fukudome played in 146 games for the Indians & Cubs last year and he was 139 of 530 (.262 avg, .712 OPS) with 59 runs scored, 8 homers, 35 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He has now played in 572 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 491 of 1,888 (.260 avg, .760 OPS) with 262 runs scored, 42 homers, 191 RBIs and 29 stolen bases. Fukudome played in 131 games in RF last year and he had 3 errors and 6 assists while showing off excellent range.

28-year old righty swinging Brent Lillibridge played in 97 games for the White Sox last year and he is 48 of 186 (.258 avg, .845 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 13 homers, 29 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. He has now played in 207 games in his first three years with the White Sox and he is 85 of 379 (.224 avg, .691 OPS) with 66 runs scored, 15 homers, 48 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. Lillibridge has now played in 236 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 101 of 459 (.220 avg, .671 OPS) with 75 runs scored, 16 homers, 56 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. Lillibridge didn’t have any errors or assists in 43 games in RF last year for the White Sox but he showed below average range.

Adam Dunn and Alejandro De Aza could also get some P.T. in RF in 2012. Dunn played in 2 error-free games in RF for the White Sox last year. De Aza played in 31 error-free games in RF last year for the White Sox and he had 2 assists while showing good range there. De Aza will likely be starting in CF for the Pale Hose in 2012, so I don’t think he’ll be seeing much P.T. in RF this year.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RF IN 2012: C+

27-year old lefty swinging Alejandro De Aza will likely take over as the starting CF for the White Sox in 2012. De Aza played in 54 games for the White Sox last year and he was 50 for 152 (.329 avg, .920 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 4 homers, 23 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. He has now played in 73 games in his first two years with the White Sox and he is 59 of 182 (.324 avg, .888 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 4 homers, 25 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. De Aza has now played in 140 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 97 of 346 (.280 avg, .747 OPS) with 56 runs scored, 4 homers, 36 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. De Aza played in 19 games in CF last year and he had 1 error while showing off excellent range.

Alex Rios will be taking over as the starting RF for the White Sox in 2012. He played in 143 games in CF last year and he made 3 errors and had 5 assists in 143 games there while showing off good range. Kosuke Fukudome played in 13 games in CF last year and he had 1 assist and 1 error while showing good range there. He will likely be the White Sox’ #4 outfielder, so look for Fukudome to get in on the action in CF for the Pale Hose in 2012. Brent Lillibridge played in 11 error-free games for the White Sox in CF last year while showing out of this world range there.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CF IN 2012: B-