Freddy Garcia to the Phillies.

The White Sox rode their stud ponies to the WS in 05.  Whether Garcia still has the goods, I dunno.  But starting pitching is important.

True. But PHI would be a National League team, eh?

A healthy Sheffield will do for Detroit what a healthy Thomas will do for the Jays. A lot!

this is what happens when one doesn't read the question carefully.  Maybe the White Sox will be better without Freddy.

I figured Sheff would win this going away, and he is -- and I am also not surprised that Son Of Jesse is doing so well. But McCarthy second (or third, depending on the latest count)? Really? I know he's good, but is he that good??

"I figured Sheff would win this going away, and he is -- and I am also not surprised that Son Of Jesse is doing so well. But McCarthy second (or third, depending on the latest count)? Really? I know he's good, but is he that good??"

MCarthy is very valuable but mostly because he can give you decent numbers at a low salary level. He certainly is not likely to have the potential impact of Sheffield who is the only difference-maker on this list. I like Barfield and he could be a good player for a long time, I just don't see him being among the Indians' top-5 most important players in any scenario. Sheffield could easily be Detroit's MVP. 

Along the same lines as what Glevin's saying, I see "best" acquisition and I take salary and players traded away into account. Couple that with injury / age decline risk and Sheffield is a bad choice by my interpretation.