There's no doubt that Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Josh Byrnes
already had White Sox general manager Kenny Williams on speed dial, but this
time the two young GMs finalized a trade face-to-face during baseball's annual
winter meetings.
The Diamondbacks had already harvested two of the White Sox' best position
player prospects in the past couple of years in Chris Young and Aaron Cunningham. Now they get power-hitting first baseman Chris Carter, a
massive 6'4" 220+ lb behemoth that will turn 21 later this month.
William Christopher Carter
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If a big, powerful first baseman named Chris Carter rings a bell, it's
because the Arizona Diamondbacks had a Chris Carter fitting that description in
their system for the past four seasons before he was traded for pitcher Emiliano Fruto in August. William Christopher Carter bats left-handed, and stands
four inches shorter than this younger Carter, Vernon Christopher Carter.
The new Carter, originally a 15th round selection in the 2005 draft by
Chicago, played in 126 games last season for the Kannapolis Intimidators (A),
batting .291 with 27 doubles, 3 triples, 25 home runs and 93 RBI.
Carter finished third in the South Atlantic League in home runs and tied for
third in RBI, both establishing Kannapolis records, as he was named to the SAL
mid- and postseason All-Star teams.
Vernon Christopher Carter
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Carter was set to rank as the third best White Sox prospect in the upcoming
2008 Scout.com Baseball Prospects
Guide before the trade. FutureBacks premium members can find out where
he ranks among Diamondbacks prospects when our Top 50 debuts next week.
The departure of Quentin, a major disappointment last season due in part to
nagging shoulder and hamstring injuries, opens the door for top prospect Carlos Gonzalez to make an impact on the 2008 team. Other advanced outfield
prospects such as Cunningham, Alex Romero, and Chris Rahl also have brighter
2008 outlooks with Quentin out of the picture.
To summarize, William Christopher Carter is out, and the younger, even bigger
Vernon Christopher Carter is in. Carlos Quentin is out, and Carlos
Gonzalez moves up a peg.
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