Rumors

[trot4mvp]

I think we did alright without Nomar in the lineup for the better part of the first half, and I honestly don't think this team would be worse off without him.

 

Texas will not win the AL West this season...their lack of pitching depth is alarming. Soriano is arbitration-eligible next season and I see absolutely no reason why they wouldn't resign him.

 

Who else is available? Orlando Cabrera, Edgar Renteria....my mind is drawing a blank...anyone else care to add to this brief list?

[elsrbueno]

Originally posted by NomarMannyOrtizzle@Jul 14 2004, 09:39 AM

I would love the SOx trading Nomar for RJ, as we will have perhaps the best 1-2-3 in the game, but we will be losing offense if we trade Nomar. Is there anyway we could then acquire a second baseman or shortstop to replace Nomar's bat. If we were talking about this in the offseason, I would Alfonso Soriano, but i think Texas will win the West, so they wouldn't part with Soriano. Is there anyone you guys could think of?

NMO,

I have to agree with you that Texas probably won't trade Soriano, but disagree that they'll win the west. Just don't think they have the talent to keep up with Anaheim AND Oakland in that division.

 

That being said....onto the topic of second baseman/shortstops.

 

NOTE: THIS IS JUST A BRAINSTORM. I am also going to say before I go into this, that I would be OK with Pokey playing SS and Bellhorn starting everyday at second, although I realize not all folks are. Here are the options that may present themselves.

 

Jose Vidro: Off the market. The Expos locked him up for a few years, and need some quality players for when this team moves next year.

 

Orlando Cabrera: On the market: Is a very solid player, although he's been playing poorly this season. Up for free agency after this season, probably no chance he'll re-sign with the Expos.

 

Robby Alomar: Very much ON the market, but is he valuable? Has a bit of an atitude, and his performance has dropped severely. The perks: He might be able to come over in the same trade (currently plays in Arizona) and has a pretty cheap contract.

 

Jeff Kent: This idea's been thrown around a little. Kent is in his final year of a contract, and is a solid bat. He has a no-trade clause though, which throws a monkey-wrench into things. If Houston falls out of the race, they MAY shop him.

 

Jerry Hairston Jr/Brian Roberts: One of them's gotta be the starter in Baltimore, and one would think there's no room for the second. They've both been rumored to be going to the Yankees...Baltimore may move one, but since they're both pretty cheap, there's no motivation to do so before the deadline.

 

Bret Boone: Expensive and underperforming in Seattle. He'd probably be easy to get, and may benefit from a change of scenery.

 

Rich Aurilia: See Boone.

 

That's all I can think of right now. What do you guys think?

[trot4mvp]

The only person I'd be remotely interested in would be Cabrera because he's slightly younger than the rest of the guys on the list besides Hairston/Roberts.

 

I couldn't see Baltimore trading competent major leaguers within their division, be it the yanks or the sox. As for the rest of the guys on the list, I don't want their aging bodies and heavy contracts....talk about slim pickings for middle infielders! I'm much more satisfied with Bellhorn and Reese.

[elsrbueno]

Trot,

I agree with you 100%.

 

I like the depth right now of having a very good infielder on the bench (be it Youk, Reese, Bellhorn) on the bench, but I think all are capable of playing every day (as they've proven). I think the Sox would have a significantly weaker bench if a trade like this went down, which would be a problem....

 

If I were Theo, I'd make this trade, but probably seek a solid bench infielder in another trade.... Or make a move for Cabrera (who's better than he looks this year)

[trot4mvp]

Absolutely...trading Nomar would inevitably force us to bring up someone like Crespo (it makes me sick just to type his name) as a backup unless we were able to swing someone else in on a deal. The middle infielder market is looking awfully thin right now!

 

Wouldn't it be great to add Alfonso Soriano to this team? Despite the fact that he is a former Yankee, this guy is down right nasty ... I remember there being a rumor on this board a few weeks ago that the Sox were considering making a move for him ... I'd take Soriano over ARod any day.

[ACL BoSox]

*cough* Jack Wilson *cough*

[trot4mvp]

Won't happen this summer, mark my words.

[elsrbueno]

I REALLY like Soriano. His plate discipline needs work, but he is SOOO talented. He would be awesome in Boston.

[trot4mvp]

Here it is folks...this one seems a bit more credible than rumors of the past. I picked this one up off of SoSH, which found it off the Royal Rooters site...

 

The first shoe has dropped. Mendoza has been taken off the DL and is in Anaheim. Kevin Youklis has been sent back to Pawtucket.

 

People in the Pawsox camp told me tonight that

 

Mendoza is NOT healthy and they expect all hell to break loose on Thursday. What I was told is Nomar going to Chicago, but we don't know what side yet.

 

The DBacks will decide.....it appears that RJ is indeed coming here according to the PawSox people I was with after the game.

 

Stay tuned.

 

Also, there are rumblings that Todd Helton may come to Boston...no concrete rumors yet, but Helton did mention on ESPN Radio that he'd accept a trade to Boston or Atlanta...if this rumor gains any steam, we should be hearing more details in the next couple days. Personally, I don't think it's happening. I see the Rockies moving Preston Wilson and Larry Walker before Helton, but that's just me.

[elsrbueno]

Trot,

I guess I don't understand why this rumor becomes MORE credible than any others.

 

Youk goes down, Mendoza comes up....

 

Please explain.

 

The Todd Helton thing is VERY interesting.

[NomarMannyOrtizzle]

No Todd Helton. No, no, no, no, no. His contract runs through 2011 at 16.6 million per season. Do you really want the SOx to pay that and Manny's 20 million, among others?

[trot4mvp]

Again, the Helton rumor is so weak right now that it is almost not worth mentioning. Many will agree that the Sox will not take him on without Colorado taking on $20-$40M of his contract.

 

The only reason I could think for it being important is that they are possibly trying to showcase Mendoza as part of the RJ trade...? SoSH posters indicated that he is a source close to PawSox mgmt, who may be involved if the Sox are considering trading players out of Pawtucket...?

 

Lastly, I forget where I read it, but Randy Johnson's agent was in Pawtucket last night and was on the phone with Theo...

[stocker323]

If there was a trade I would think that the PawSox management would be one of the last to know so I really don't think there is any credibility to the rumor.

[elsrbueno]

Originally posted by trot4mvp@Jul 15 2004, 09:56 AM

Again, the Helton rumor is so weak right now that it is almost not worth mentioning. Many will agree that the Sox will not take him on without Colorado taking on $20-$40M of his contract.

 

The only reason I could think for it being important is that they are possibly trying to showcase Mendoza as part of the RJ trade...? SoSH posters indicated that he is a source close to PawSox mgmt, who may be involved if the Sox are considering trading players out of Pawtucket...?

 

Lastly, I forget where I read it, but Randy Johnson's agent was in Pawtucket last night and was on the phone with Theo...

This portion of the report was what I found MOST interesting of all.

 

Now before we get too excited about Theo talking to Nero (Johnson's agent) is there a way to find out his list of clients? Perhaps a Red Sox player also has Nero as an agent and this is a non-issue.

 

RE: Helton: I think a move for Delgado is more desirable at this point....Because of the financial implications (Delgado is a FA after this year).

[trot4mvp]

Last updated: 7/15

 

This could take a while ...

 

BUZZ FACTOR -- High: Sources indicated to several newspapers that the D-Backs have had conversations with five teams regarding Johnson: the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, White Sox and Angels. The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo ran into Johnson's agent, Alan Nero, at the Triple-A All-Star Game on Wednesday night, and his report in Thursday's Globe is very revealing. Among the key tidbits:

Red Sox GM Theo Epstein called Nero at the game.

 

According to Nero, here's how the sweepstakes will play out: the D-Backs must agree to any deal first, then will go to Johnson with the trade, and he'll have the final say over whether he'll be dealt. Nero wouldn't say where Boston ranks on RJ's wish list, but Cafardo wrote "reading the tea leaves, it appears the Red Sox would be a hard sell." The East Valley (Arizona) Tribune seemed to back up that interpretation, reporting that a person who speaks often with Johnson said that Johnson's public comments this week about a possible trade should be interpreted to mean the Yankees are the only team he is interested in joining. Other sources indicated to Cafardo that Johnson would prefer to go to the Yankees, followed by the Angels. Because of the complexity of the situation, Nero anticipates that if Johnson does get traded, it will be close to the July 31 deadline. Nero also believes there is a strong possibility Johnson will remain with the Diamondbacks. One source told the New York Post that nothing was imminent with Johnson: "It's all very preliminary," the source said. "They haven't gotten into this-guy-for-that-guy yet. It's very early." ... It appears the Dodgers are out of the race, according to the LA Times. ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reported early this week that an official of one club who talked to the D-Backs said they would have to be blown away by an offer, that it would have to be "a steal of a deal" to make it worth their while.

 

Here is most of what I've been posting in a nutshell.

 

I'd say the Sox would be interested in Delgado, as well, IF they were looking for a short term solution. However, perhaps the Sox are interested in a long term solution? In that case, Helton fits the mold perfectly with his awesome bat and great defense. Suppose NMO's figure is correct for Helton: $16.6M/year until 2011. Essentially, Sox would owe him somewhere around $116M over the next 7 seasons. If the Rockies kicked in, say, $40M in any deal, it'd knock the overall price down to ~$76.4M. Spread that over 7 years and we'd have Todd Helton at ~$11M/year, much less than Manny, Petey, Schill, etc. Again, this is all speculation, as there aren't even any concrete rumors yet. From Colorado's standpoint, I don't see why they'd be interested in making a deal, much less fielding a team in the Mile High City. And if you've actually read this far...I'll stop rambling now.

[elsrbueno]

I think the Rockies' desire to deal Helton would be solely based on the financial impact on their team. They've made some pretty crappy decisions, keep in mind they are still paying Mike Hampton (I don't know how much) to play in Atlanta, Denny Neagle ($9mil) who isn't even playing right now, Charles Johnson who's a shell of the player he used to be ($9mil).

 

Preston Wilson ($9) and Larry Walker ($11 mil) are also expensive players.

 

they have a $70 million payroll this year (according to ESPN) and are playing very poorly.

 

Can't hurt to shed some contracts...but they'll be stuck with Johnson and Neagle probably until their contracts expire...So guys like Walker, Wilson, and Helton top the rumor list.

[trot4mvp]

Remember my posting about Mendoza/Youk and RJ/Boston? Everyone was questioning the source, but Boston Dirt Dogs is now reporting that Mendoza has taken Youk's spot on the roster in Anaheim...the source is 1/2 right so far....

 

http://www.bostondirtdogs.com

[NomarMannyOrtizzle]

what did ur post say about mendoza and youk, i missed it

[NomarMannyOrtizzle]

never mind, on the page before my bad

[elsrbueno]

Trot, I'm waiting for SOMEone from the Red Sox to make a comment on this move.....because it's a fairly major move I think.

 

I'll listen to the "Front Office Report" on WEEI tonight (Theo always talks for about 2 minutes) and hopefully he'll comment. (That wont be till late tonight though)

 

If he does, and it's important, I'll post it here.

[trot4mvp]

Sounds good, as I think this is an interesting development. We'll know if he's on the team if he's in uniform tonight.

 

I like Youkilis down in Pawtucket at least for a little while, and I'd also like to see Mendoza shipped elsewhere, though I'm sure we'd have to eat a bit of his contract.

[elsrbueno]

I just realized the game tonight starts @ 10...so pre-game starts at 9:30.

 

I'll post if I hear anything.