The recent news that Rangers shortstop Michael Young demanded a trade — Nolan Ryan apparently wanted him to play third base and pitch 240 innings this year — should come as relatively bad news for White Sox fans.

See, Kenny Williams has said that he has no interest in Young, but suddenly, with his trade value on a total freefall (that’s what happens when you refuse to play for your current team) that notion might change pretty quickly.

The White Sox like Young, but general manager Ken Williams strongly indicated last week that he was not pursuing a trade with the Rangers, telling the Chicago Tribune in an e-mail that he “would not waste time” discussing the possibility.

If the White Sox acquired Young, they likely would play him at second and follow through with their plan to move Alexei Ramirez to short. Young would fill the White Sox’s need for a leadoff hitter, but Williams repeatedly has stated his desire to go with younger, more affordable players in ‘09.

Young would be an absolutely ideal defender at second base for the ChiSox, but the problem is that he’s blatantly on the decline in terms of offense; his slugging percentage flirted with that dreaded “3″ number last year and, in even worse news, his OBP dipped to .339 — the same number he hit before he broke out in his 27- and 28-year-old seasons.

But the reality is that for Williams, Young might end up coming at too good a price to ignore; a potential sticking point, of course, could be that he won’t play second base. But if he’s willing to stay up the middle, there’s a pretty strong possibility you’ll see renewed interest from the Chicago side. And Texas? Well, they’re kind of stuck.