Catcher A.J. Pierzynski came into Sunday night a member of the White Sox and unless something unforeseen takes place in the next few hours, enters Monday morning the same way - albeit with a lot more say in his immediate future.
Pierzynski's 10-and-5 rights kicked in, meaning the veteran has earned complete no-trade say on any deal the Sox want to make with the free agent-to-be.
"I don't think too much is being made of it because I have the right that if I don't want to go, I don't have to go,'' Pierzynski insisted. "I can't just be shipped without me having a say in the matter. I don't think it's overrated at all. I think it's one of the great rights you have as a player. Not a lot of guys get to that point and have this opportunity, so it's not overrated at all. It's something to be proud of, something to be excited about at the same time.''
According to Ozzie Guillen, Pierzynski was recently told by the manager that he wasn't going anywhere right now. Pierzynski's response?
"I have no idea,'' he said. "You have to talk to Ozzie about that.''
The question remains, however, will there be an attempt to move Pierzynski by the July 31 trade deadline and if so, would he resist?
"As far as the whole trade thing, it's out of my control,'' Pierzynski said. "Like I said, I'll just be glad when that day is here so I can stop talking about it every day.''