CHICAGO -- Mike MacDougal was scheduled to arrive at U.S. Cellular Field somewhere around the seventh inning of the White Sox series opener with the Twins on Monday night, a seemingly fitting time when factoring in the team's planned usage for the hard-throwing right-hander.

MacDougal, 29, was acquired from Kansas City on Monday in exchange for top pitching prospect Tyler Lumsden and fellow Minor League hurler Daniel Cortes. He immediately upgrades the White Sox bullpen and adds to the team's fiery performers at the back end of a particular game.

But fans on the South Side of Chicago have no need to start buying up Alfonso Soriano White Sox jerseys quite yet.

If the deal is contingent on Brandon McCarthy moving from Chicago to Washington, then Soriano never will be making the trip into instant American League playoff contention with Ozzie Guillen's crew. White Sox general manager Ken Williams made that point abundantly clear during a 20-minute pregame conversation with the media Monday.

"Brandon McCarthy needs to focus on his job at hand," said Williams, when asked about the national rumor from earlier in the day that a deal was imminent, sending McCarthy to the Nationals as part of a package for Soriano.

"I have no intention whatsoever of trading [McCarthy] in any sort of deal," Williams added forcefully. "He's very much a part of our future. To answer your question, Brandon is not going anywhere."

Williams admitted that many inquiries have come to him asking for McCarthy, the 25-year-old right-handed reliever who probably will be part of the White Sox starting rotation in 2007. Williams understands the interest in such a gifted player, but McCarthy is staying put.

A similar statement concerning Minor League phenoms Josh Fields and Ryan Sweeney was made by Williams. Fields, the All-Star third baseman who currently leads the International League with 63 runs scored and ranks fifth with his .322 average, and the talented left-handed hitting outfielder, both figure prominently into Williams' three-year plan for the organization. In fact, Williams added that he's not interested in trading anyone off his active Major League roster to fill another void.

Of course, that declaration doesn't preclude him from putting together an attractive package of Minor Leaguers to acquire Soriano.

"All I can tell you is that we have a farm system developing a number of players. Some will ultimately be seen in Chicago and some will be used to satisfy our needs in an effort to make us a championship club at the moment," Williams sad. "While I am concerned about my three-year board and 2009, you can only win the 2006 championship this year. We have to make ourselves the best we can this year."

One school of thought is that Williams simply is pushing for Soriano in an attempt to up the ante for the Tigers, who were one of the four finalists for the multi-faceted outfielder's services, according to weekend comments from a source close to the Nationals. Another guess was that Williams would trade Soriano to another team, after acquiring him from Washington, to further strengthen his team in other areas.

Williams would not address the specific Tigers topic or assess his team's level of interest in Soriano.

"Those are pretty serious allegations," said Williams with a wry smile, when asked about his craftiness in regard to Soriano and the Tigers. "I don't want to talk about it. Next question.

"We are exploring any and every way to improve the club. That's part of the drill. We are involved in a lot of rumors out there because we like to have conversations. We ask about impact players. Our name gets lumped in a lot of things."

The White Sox were not originally lumped into the MacDougal sweepstakes, with Williams wanting to give Minor Leaguer Sean Tracey a chance to prove himself in the same manner Bobby Jenks did last season. But when MacDougal quickly became available, Williams couldn't pass on adding another impact arm to his bullpen.

MacDougal, Jenks and Matt Thornton give the White Sox three relievers who feature their fastball near 100 mph working the final three innings in a game. MacDougal also possesses a two-seam fastball at 96 mph and a hard-breaking curve.

Add that group to Neal Cotts and David Riske, and the White Sox have shortened the game sufficiently to help a struggling starting rotation.

"We have a number of guys in the bullpen, similar to last year, but with more stuff coming at you," Williams said. "It's going to be a task for the opposition once the sixth inning starts. All I know is that the first thing Paul Konerko said to me was, 'Thank you very much,' because I saved him a few points on his batting average."

"He throws very hard, and he has a very good arm," added White Sox designated hitter Jim Thome of MacDougal. "He was a guy that definitely could come in and strike you out."

"I'm hearing great reports on his health, how he's throwing the ball, and his strikes," added White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper.

In four 2006 relief appearances, MacDougal, 29, has not allowed a run in four innings and has one save. He returned to the Royals on July 13 after being sidelined for most of the season with a strained right teres muscle in his shoulder. Williams does not seem worried by MacDougal's recent trip to the disabled list.

The 2003 All-Star has 50 saves and 162 strikeouts in 174 career innings during his six seasons in Kansas City.

There's a strong chance Williams and his staff are not quite through in terms of upgrading his team's talent, possibly looking to strengthen the bullpen even further. These moves are 99 percent certain not to involve McCarthy, who seemed unmoved by the talk of his new pitching address Monday.

"I joke about it with the other guys, but I really don't pay much attention to it," McCarthy said. "I didn't know about this latest one until I came here today.

"Like four or five family and friends texted me at the same time saying, 'Hey, I heard you just got traded.' I really don't pay attention. It doesn't change anything for me, day to day."