Big White Sox-Astros deal now appears unlikely

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Chicago White Sox, fresh from sending starting pitcher Freddy Garcia to Philadelphia, seriously discussed dealing away a second rotation stalwart within the past 24 hours, but a widely rumored deal involving the Houston Astros appears more dead than alive, sources close to the talks told CBS SportsLine.com.

The White Sox and Astros were discussing a deal trade that sources say would have sent Chicago starter Jon Garland to Houston for starters Taylor Buchholz and Jason Hirsch and center fielder Willy Taveras.

But while the talks were serious enough that at least one media outlet reported it as done, White Sox general manager Kenny Williams says it never got that far along. And sources close to the talks now say it is a long shot that a deal with Houston will happen, period.

"There was no deal," Williams said as baseball's winter meetings wrapped up for the week. "There isn't a deal until there's a deal. I came here without (much) interest in moving two of our starters. I had more interest in trading one, and I accomplished that.

"If there is another deal, it has to be something in our minds where we're presented with something where we have no choice but to accept it.

"Have we been presented with interesting proposals? Yes. Has anything become close? I'll admit to that, too."

But the Astros deal, at least as it was configured with these particular names, was not enough to entice Williams to sign off on a trade. And he was angry Thursday afternoon at reports that it was finished.

"How many talks have there been this week where something was almost there, but it wasn't? For this particular thing to get out in the fashion it did is disturbing."

And he was confident that there was no misunderstanding, where perhaps the Astros thought the two sides had agreed to a deal.

"You cannot have a deal until all parties have signed off on it," Williams said. "The medicals have to be signed off on, you have to cross the t's and dot the i's ... until that part is all done, whatever conversations you're having are just pending."