ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Royce Clayton knew his days with the Texas Rangers were over as soon as the team signed Alex Rodriguez and hoped for a trade to a winning team.
Living up to their promise of treating him kindly, the Rangers sent Clayton to the Chicago White Sox on Thursday for right-handed pitchers Aaron Myette and Brian Schmack.
“Once I found out I was traded to the White Sox, I was basically overwhelmed,” Clayton said. “I was very positive about going to a place where I could win. That was my first and foremost concern.”
Texas general manager Doug Melvin called Clayton before he began negotiating with Rodriguez. Clayton said that if a deal was struck, he’d rather be traded than change positions.
The Rangers agreed Monday to give Rodriguez a record $252 million, 10-year contract. It took Melvin three more days to take care of the displaced Clayton.
“I know I have a lot of good years left at shortstop,” Clayton said. “I know I can help. Doug extended me the courtesy of trading me to the White Sox to secure their infield and do just that.”
Chicago won the AL Central and had the league’s best record last season. Although the White Sox led the AL in double plays, Jose Valentin committed more errors than any shortstop in the majors.
Valentin recently was re-signed to a $15.5 million, three-year contract knowing he might be changing positions. He’ll become either an outfielder or a “super utility” player who plays almost every day but not always at the same spot.
“Royce is a proven veteran shortstop and Jose Valentin is versatile enough to play several positions,” Chicago general manager Ken Williams said. “I called Jose before we made this move and he was all in favor of anything that improved our club.”
Having Valentin’s blessing means a lot to Clayton, who had the unenviable task of replacing Ozzie Smith in St. Louis.
“This is definitely a different situation,” Clayton said.
Clayton was heralded as the best shortstop in Texas history when he was acquired from St. Louis at the trading deadline in 1998. The Rangers won the AL West that season and in the winter Clayton signed a $22 million, four-year contract.
“I thought we had a chance to win the World Series,” said Clayton, who is owed $4 million in each of the next two years. “It didn’t work out.”
Texas won the division again in 1999, but lost to the Yankees in the first round of the playoffs, as they’d done in ’98.
Clayton closed ’99 on a tear at the plate, earning him the chance to hit leadoff in 2000. The experiment flopped. He was dropped toward the bottom of the lineup after six weeks and wound up hitting .242, fourth-lowest among AL qualifiers. He tied his career-high with 14 homers, but had none in his last 68 games.
Clayton also feuded with teammate Chad Curtis, who objected to music containing profanities that was played in the clubhhouse, and the Rangers finished last in the West.
Through it all, Clayton remained solid in the field, leading AL shortstops in putouts while committing 16 errors — 20 fewer than Valentin.
Valentin’s value to the White Sox was on offense as he hit a career-best .273 with 25 home runs, 92 RBIs, 107 runs and 19 stolen bases. He hit for the cycle in April and a month later missed it by a single.
“The addition of Royce gives Jerry Manuel a great deal of flexibility both offensively and defensively,” Williams said. “We can be a better defensive club with more range on the left side of the infield, or we can choose to go with a more offensive-oriented lineup in certain instances.”
While Clayton has known White Sox slugger Frank Thomas since high school, he’s especially excited working for Manuel.
“To me, Jerry Manuel is one of the best managers in baseball,” Clayton said. “If you don’t want to run through a wall for him, something is wrong.”
The Rangers knew they wouldn’t get full value for Clayton. This deal gave them a legitimate prospect, though not Chicago’s top young arm, in Myette and a fringe player in Schmack.
The 23-year-old Myette pitched 2 2-3 hitless innings in two days with the White Sox last season. A sandwich pick between the first and second rounds of the 1997 amateur draft, he went 5-5 with a 4.35 ERA in 19 games, all but one as a starter, for Triple-A Charlotte.
The 27-year-old Schmack has spent six years in the minors. He was 11-7 with a 2.78 ERA and one save in 51 relief appearances last season at Charlotte. He’ll be assigned to Texas’ Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma.