elsrbueno

eh. This deal just doesn't interest me all that much. Gathright seems like a poor man's Juan Pierre, and Lugo isn't really all that much better than just throwing Graffanino out there at short. Don't get me wrong, the speed infusion that would result by adding Gathright and Lugo would be welcome, but Gathright isn't a leadoff hitter (at least not yet) and Lugo had almost as many errors as Renteria last year. There are a handfull of players in Tampa I'd love to get my hands on (Kazmir, Huff, Baldelli, Crawford), and Lugo and Gathright are nice-- but aren't anywhere near worth what they'd no doubt cost dealing with the Devil Rays. If the Sox could get Gathright cheaply and send him to Pawtucket that'd be one thing.... but I'd stay away from Lugo if it were my decision....

I doubt it. Hudson's a gold glove caliber fielder and Aaron Hill will be a converted shortstop. The more I think about this the more I think Toronto got a raw deal and the less it bothers me. The Blue Jays traded from the two things that I value the highest: Pitching and defense and got an offensive force in Glaus but will be weaker up the middle as a result.

Or why the Sox would ask for LaRoche (ANOTHER third baseman) in trade is beyond me. David Wells is a big game pitcher and despite being 42 IMO has some value. I doubt the Sox would get a top prospect for Wells. What might make sense from LA is a package of Brazoban and Choi for Wells. Choi is still young (26), has potential, and is a lefty who can platoon with Youk at first. Brazoban deepens the bullpen that is (IMO) still suspect.

And Rafael Palmiero is a model of honesty and integrity. You're a Yankee fan so I can't take on faith that you're smart enough to understand sarcasm.... that was it. (just kidding. For the most part 26 to 6, you're one of the best Yankee fans to post on this board. Of course that isn't saying much). Personally I'd believe Miguel Tejada over Palmiero ANY DAY.

This is obviously just one source, but in it Sergio Santos is being compared to Gary Sheffield (and not in the bad attitude kind of way) http://diamondbacks.scout.com/2/333772.html He was very mediocre at AAA last season though. Baseball America stats below, I'll highlight some important ones: AVG: .239, OBP: .288, SLG: .367. He also K'd 108 times and only walked 34 times. Granted, he's just 21 years old so he has some time to grow, but he looked like he was overmatched last year in AAA. http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/Stats/showp.php?id=435045 This deal makes a lot of sense for the Diamondbacks. They had a glut of corner infielders and wanted to move Chad Tracy back to third, and in the process rid themselves of Glaus' big contract, and they traded a shortstop prospect who's obviously blocked by Stephen Drew (rated their #1 by Baseball America), and in the process picked up a gold glove caliber second baseman who's only 27 and an average reliever/starter in Miguel Batista. This deal makes (IMO) absolutely no sense to the Blue Jays. Granted, now they can play both Russ Adams and Aaron Hill, both shortstops by trade, but if I were them I would have added pitching rather than subtracted it. Batista would have served them well as a setup man or back of the rotation starter. To their credit, Glaus is a better offensive player than any of their current third baseman (Hillenbrand, Koskie, Hinske), but with a full outfield, and Lyle Overbay most likely their full time first baseman, TWO of these guys who consider themselves everyday players are now out of a job. (assuming one of them or Glaus become DH) Toronto has got to turn around and make meaningful deals for 2 of the abovementioned 3 third baseman for this deal to make sense. Meanwhile, I am dissapointed that the Sox didn't pick up a bat like Glaus, but it's probably for the best considering it cost the Blue Jays 2 very good players AND Arizona didn't have to eat any of the contract.

I don't think the Sox need Milwood. Yes, he'd be nice to have because pitching depth is always nice to have. However, for the price of Kevin Milwood you could get a couple riskier pitchers for much much less. For example, Wade Miller could be brought back and he's got (IMO) more potential than Milwood but has health questions. Jeff Weaver is out there 2 years younger than Milwood, sure to command less despite also having Scott Boras as an agent, and despite one disastrous season in New York would be a pretty decent #5. Another guy who's still out there is Roger Clemens, a guy I'd much rather see the Sox put money into than a Millwood. Like I've said Millwood's decent, but saying we NEED Millwood is, IMO, overstating it.

The Red Sox disfunctional ownership group screws up again. You'd think the Sox would have offered more than a defensive specialist second baseman and a mediocre relief pitcher for the services of a serious power hitter. Plus, Toronto's getting a prospect in the deal. I bet Boston asked for cash back to cover Glaus' contract and blew the deal. Toronto's letting the dismantling of the Red Sox vault them into second place in the AL East.

Me too Ksushi, me too. I don't like the idea of Julio Lugo at all. The problem with Kevin Millwood is two-fold: 1. he seems to always follow up a good season with a bad one. After each of his excellent seasons in Atlanta he followed them with significant drop offs in production. He's inconsistent enough that it has me concerned about a guaranteed 4 year contract worth that much money. 2. He's represented by Scott Boras. In a market where AJ Burnett, a sub-.500 pitcher gets a 5 year, $55 million deal Kevin Milwood has got to be saying "Sure, I'm older, but I've done a hell of a lot more than this kid has in his career." That is, I am sure, why Scott Boras suggested the bidding START at 5/$55. Kevin Milwood is a decent pitcher. You always have to be skeptical IMO about pitchers that John Shurholtz and the Atlanta Braves give up on, and since leaving the Braves Milwood's had 2 mediocre seasons and one enigmatic season last year. How can you lead the league and have a sub .500 record on a playoff contender? Bad luck I suppose. In today's market, considering Carl Pavano got $10 million, and Matt Clement got $8, it's a very reasonable assumption to say a guy like Kevin is probably worth at least Pavano money, so $11 seams reasonable upon further thought. The 5 year thing worries me, but I'd extend an offer to Kevin for 4 years, $44 million. If he signs, you'd imagine Clement is a goner. I expect however that one of the teams desperate for pitching like Texas or Baltimore will go crazy and give Millwood a 5 year deal-- in which case Boston will no doubt be looking for other options.

The cubs are waiting for a response by the O's. I think any deal with prior will just include the orioles. The three team deal with manny is way to complicated Plus I doubt the new guys have the balls to deal Manny Ramirez. Personally, I'd be on the phone with the Cubs as we speak capitalizing on the fact that they look like they're giving up on Prior. If I could get a package including Patterson, Prior, and a prospect like Cedeno for Manny I'd jump all over it. If I were the Orioles I'd insist on getting a Ronny Cedeno in the deal because who's going to play shortstop if Tejada's gone? Ben and Jed need to make something happen.

I don't know the feasibility of this, but Gordon Edes on NESN mentioned the Sox could trade Wells to the Padres for Dave Roberts and Adrian Gonzalez... and since the Padres picked up Termel Sledge it makes Dave more expendable. I this offer is on the table, the Red Sox should accept it before the Padres change their minds. Roberts is at least a great 4th outfielder, and could fill in in center field if the Sox don't acquire someone more suitable. Adrian Gonzalez can platoon with Youkilis at first in a right/lefty situation. That deal serves the Red Sox MUCH better than Wells for Lugo IMO.

ab-so-freaking-lutely. I'm also going against the majority and saying Manny for Patterson, Prior, and Cedeno is a good deal. Ronny Cedeno is a 22 year old shortstop who slugged over .500 in AAA last year and had an on base percentage over .400. At the same age as the prized Hanley Ramirez, he's much much more advanced. Corey Patterson is a talented centerfielder who hasn't reached his potential just yet. He's only 26 years old, so he's got plenty of time to reach that potential if given a chance. Yes, his 2005 season was awful, but this guy was a potential 30-30 as recently as 2004. His defense looks slightly worse than Johnny Damon's (lower range factor but higher zone rating), and at a fraction of the price. Mark Prior is 25 years old, and despite an injury history ALWAYS pitches well when healthy. If the Sox can keep him on the field he would be amazing in Boston IMO. Plus, with Schilling and Beckett in the fold, he wouldn't have the emotional pressure of being an ace here. He'd have the likes of Schilling and Wakefield and Timlin (veterans) and Jason Varitek calling his pitches. Personally, I'm drooling at the idea of a rotation where MARK PRIOR is the #3 starter. How many times do you hear the phrase: "Pitching and defense wins championships?" A rotation of Schilling, Beckett, Prior, Wakefield, Clement is IMO a championship caliber rotation. Plus you get a replacement centerfielder, a very good young shortstop (who I've already said is more advanced than Hanley Ramirez at the same age) to boot? Then you have Arroyo and Wells as traid bait to help fill first base and left field (Gordon Edes was saying Wells to San Diego for Adrian Gonzalez and Dave Roberts), and you could still trade Arroyo to Seattle for Jeremy Reed which gives you another guy to platoon with Patterson/Roberts/Nixon. The best part here is that you still have Papelbon in the fold, so he could start the season in the bullpen making the pitching staff that much stronger. I love the idea.

Exactly. Johnny Damon himself had a phantom 6 year offer but accepted a 4 year deal from the Yankees......

No surefire rumors on what the Red Sox are offering. According to that article I linked originally Toronto's prepared to offer Orlando Hudson and possibly Miguel Batista. I would work (like Riverside said) possibly trading Wells to Arizona for Glaus or trading Wells to SD in a 3-way for Troy. If that doesn't work, a Matt Clement for Troy Glaus type deal would seem to make sense. He's definately an improvement over Kevin Youkilis at first. Whatever the Red Sox do they should hold onto Marte. Stay with the young core group and have Marte on the team working with Lowell (a gold glove third baseman) on breaking into the bigs. I doubt the Red Sox will dip deeply into the farm for Troy. Having already dealt Sanchez, Delgado, and Ramirez they can hardly afford to give up more of these guys.

Not a bad start, like I've always said, Manny cannot be replaced by one player. That having been said, I've also said superstars don't win championships, TEAMS do. If we can strengthen our other glaring holes by trading Manny Ramirez, by all means do it. A trade with Seattle should certainly include Jeremy Reed. He's the kind of player the Sox need (athletic, young, good defensively). I would be willing to talk to Seattle about a package that looks like the following: Seattle gets: Manny Ramirez Matt Clement Cash Boston Gets: Richie Sexson Jeremy Reed Raul Ibanez Jose Lopez I still think trading Manny Ramirez has got to make strides towards making this team both younger, cheaper, and more athletic. The Richie Sexson's and Raul Ibanez' of the world help recreate Manny's run production, but what Jeremy Reed and Jose Lopez do is help rebuild the young core of this team. This is a lot to give up for Seattle, but they're getting a decent starting pitcher, the best right handed hitter in the game, and some help financially for the burden of those guys. 2006 Red Sox lineup after that trade: 2B Mark Loretta CF Jeremy Reed 1B Richie Sexson DH David Ortiz 3B Mike Lowell RF Trot Nixon C Jason Varitek LF Raul Ibanez SS Lopez/Graffanino/Cora Again, it doesn't have the 1-2 punch of Manny-Ortiz, but you're then looking at a DEEPER lineup (with 20 HR guys 5-8) which IMO is much more powerful. This lineup above IMO is better than what it is right now: 2B Mark Loretta SS Tony Graffanino/Alex Cora DH David Ortiz LF Manny Ramirez RF Trot Nixon 3B Mike Lowell C Jason Varitek 1B Kevin Youkilis CF Adam Stern?? David Murphy??

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5190880 Sox rumored to be one of the teams in on him. Personally, with Manny pissed off and Damon gone, I think acquiring Troy Glaus has got to be on the top of the priority list. No matter who the centerfielder is next season, it won't match Johnny's production, so we need to improve first base. Frankly, Troy Glaus is a tremendous option there. YES, he strikes out a lot. YES, he's got a .258 career average, but this guy is a power hitter in the true sense of the word, and his .363 OBP is certainly not horrible. The Red Sox need to look into this possibility, and if the Diamondbacks are seriously interested in unloading that contract and his potent bat, I'd be thrilled to see Terry penciling him into the lineup at first base on a daily basis.

Do we look like the Yankees to you? I have an outside hope that Roger will come to Boston but I seriously doubt that the Red Sox will go to 4 years, $40 million on Kevin Milwood.

If you could get Milwood for a reasonable price I'd say do it. Unfortunately he's got Scott Boras for an agent and we all know what that means. He wants at least 4 years, is very inconsistant from year to year, and IMO would be WAY WAY to expensive at this point.

The thing that amazes me the most is that people are SURPRISED by this. Johnny Damon hired SCOTT BORAS as his agent. Scott Boras' clients almost always go where the money stack is biggest. Johnny's been saying he was pissed at the Red Sox and willing to talk to the Yankees for months. You knew the Red Sox would set a hard limit on their spending for Damon, and you knew the Yankees set no such limits. If the Yankees want someone who's primary concern is money, they get him. Plain and simple. It sucks to lose the best leadoff hitter in the game, and it is a double hit that he's going to the Yankees, but the Red Sox organization since the new ownership took over has had 2 famous policies: 1) They don't talk about extensions until contracts expire, and 2) They don't overspend on players for the sake of overspending and they DON'T make reactionary signings. There have been 2 exceptions: Matt Clement seems to have been reactionary after the Sox lost out on Pavano, and they overspent on Edgar Renteria. Damon to the Yankees sucks, but it's not the end of the world by any means. The Red Sox now have $10 million freed up to try to fill some other holes (including centerfield)

The Rangers totally got ripped off in this deal. Chris Young had his league and park going against him and still put up better numbers than Eaton. Combined with the fact that he's cheaper and younger. Otsuka is decent, but Gonzalez is a potential star. Sledge has been traded for the second time in the past week and a half, and he's probably just a throw in. Let's hope David Wells is going to San Diego now for some package including Young or Gonzalez or both.

personally, I'm thrilled to have Graffanino back in Boston. This is a guy who can play any position on the diamond except pitcher and catcher, and he's got a decent bat and a great attitude. He shined here in Boston. He could serve as a utility player as a worst case senario, backing up Youk at first, Loretta at second, Cora (who is our starting shortstop right now), and Lowell at third. Also, he could play right field against lefties if we don't acquire a more suitable player for that role, and spell Manny (who needs days off during the most important games of the year keep in mind) in left and be a veteran mentor to guys like Pedroia or any other Youngster who comes up through the ranks. The Boston media seems panicked that Graffanino accepted arbritration. I think it's great for the team.

Hee Seop probably won't have a choice. They're not paying Nomar $6 million to platoon with Hee Seop... I imagine they'll decide not to offer him a contract and he'll become a free agent, or they'll retain him and try to send him elsewhere.

Tejada would be really hard, especially considering the O's apparently wanted Ramirez, a veteran starter, and a prospect for him. I would imagine their demands will have to come down a ton if they're seriously considering trading Tejada. My guess is that he stays in Baltimore. Anaheim may be willing to trade OC in the right package. He struggled with the bat last year and is pretty expensive overall. ($8 mil/year I think) Rumor had it the Red Sox asked for Cabrera as a part of a potential deal for Ramirez, but of course those rumors have pretty much died completely. Personally, I'd love to see Cabrera back in Boston, and I'd certainly sent Anaheim Abe Alvarez and another B prospect for him.

I really like the idea of bringing Tony Graffanino back, and if he accepts arbritration, it seems to me the Sox will go into spring training with Cora, Loretta, and Graffanino as the 3 guys fighting for 2 spots, with the loser becoming a utility man. The advantage is that all 3 of these guys have played a bunch of roles in their careers. The disadvantage is that none of these guys are superstars offensively (albeit all of them are very solid with the glove) and handing the starters' job to 2 out of that trio really puts an emphasis (IMO) on keeping Manny Ramirez and resigning Johnny Damon. Although, Graffanino offensively is better than Alex Gonzalez offensively and probably on par with Rich Aurilia. Plus, we know what Graffanino is capable of in Boston (he handled playing here very very well).

I honestly believe that the Red Sox see Pedroia as a second baseman in the Majors. Loretta with one year left on his contract seems like the perfect stopgap for Dustin who probably isn't ready now but could be ready in a year. It seems much more likely for the team to sign someone like Aurilia or Gonzalez than to hand the shortstop job to Pedroia. Of course, the team without Edgar or Hanley has no real future shortstop even close to the bigs, so I wouldn't rule out a deal bringing a guy like Miguel Tejada or Orlando Cabrera to Boston.

Wow, the LA Dodgers now have 5 infielders: Rafael Furcal, Jeff Kent, Nomar Garciaparra, Cesar Izturis, and Bill Mueller who would theoretically 3 positions. To start the season it should be a non-issue, because Izturis is hurt and either Kent or Garciaparra will play first (I'd prefer Kent playing first). When Izturis comes back, there might be an issue with playing time. This probably means Hee Seop Choi will not be tendered a contract and could be a free agent soon. Could the Red Sox sign him as a lefty to platoon with Youkilis? Just a thought.