For me it comes down to 2 things. It is not a question whether Alex will land on the DL. Rather, it is when and for how long. Obviously one can quickly counter that with Buster could go down at any time too, but Alex has a proven track record of injury. Secondly, Catcher is not a prime contributing fantasy position. If you have a top guy like Buster, thats a mini victory for you. 3B however is the deepest position on the infield, and more than likely you can get good value from some of the lower ranking 3B. Like a Chase Headley for example.

If it's a keeper league you gotta take Posey, even if he has started off slow

Yeah I would go with Posey even in a non-keeper league, but to have a young promising catcher like him in a keeper league is awesome and definitely worth giving up an over-the-hill ARod.

I guess I'm the loan Lawrie advocate so far here.  I definitely like both players, but I'd take Lawrie straight up because he's shown consistency at the plate (at least a hit in 10 of his last 11), he's got better hitters surrounding him, and a solid 3B is more valuable than a solid 1B.

interesting proposal giving that Youk and Hosmer are both struggling right now. Youk (obviously) has a better track record, he can figure it out. Can Hosmer avoid the spohomore slump? Pitchers have figured out how to pitch him. Hard inside soft outside. Can he tone down his agressive nature? This trade may depend on who you pick up. Frank Francisco is available still in a lot of leagues. As in Broxton. Depending on the closer you pick (if you do indded go that route) may sway this trade one way or another

Yeah, interesting time to make this trade, because there are so many questions about Youk and Hosmer, but I like what I've seen from Santiago so far and the White Sox may be the second best team in the central, which could mean for a lot of save opportunities and why I think the other guy is getting the more favorable deal.  But if you have a solid free agent replacement in mind and believe in Hosmer, go for it.