Darin Erstad Can't See The Future

Now that this nightmare of a season is less than a week away from ending for the White Sox, most of the questions surrounding the team revolve around who's going to be back next season. One of the many players on the White Sox roster who aren't sure where they'll be next season is Darin Erstad.

Erstad signed a one-year deal with the Sox before this season, and it includes an option on 2008. If the Sox choose to pick up the option, Erstad will make $3.5 million next season. If not, they can buy him out for $225,000.

So what are the White Sox going to do? Darin Erstad doesn't know, and he doesn't really care either.

''I have no comment on next year,'' Erstad insisted over the weekend. ''I don't have a comment on that stuff. Year-to-year is so separate. I just am a firm believer in when it's over it's over, good or bad, you move on to the next year.''

So will the Sox pick up his option for next season? I don't know. Erstad spent a lot of time on the disabled list this season with ankle injuries, something that's plagued him the last few seasons. So the odds are the team isn't going to want to spend $3.5 million on a guy they aren't sure will be on the field.

On the other side of the coin though, Erstad could be a valuable player to have. Nobody knows who's going to be in the outfield next season aside from Jermaine Dye in right field. Jerry Owens has probably played well enough to keep his job in center field, but there are all those rumors the Sox will go after Torii Hunter.

Josh Fields has spent a lot of time in left field lately, and will likely spend a lot more time there this winter learning the position in anticipation of Joe Crede's return at third base next season.

So I think that Erstad's future with the White Sox is directly related to Torii Hunter. If the Sox sign Hunter, they'll probably let Erstad go and use Jerry Owens as a fourth outfielder. If they don't sign Hunter, maybe that fourth outfielder spot goes to Erstad, who can also spell Paul Konerko at first base from time to time.