Rays Scouting Sox; Huff, Baez Boston-Bound?
Jerry Beach - Scout.com
July 28, 2005 at 5:27am ET
NEW BRITAIN, CT-Torrential rains Wednesday night forced the postponement of the Eastern League game between Portland and New Britain and delayed Anibal Sanchez' audition for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.Sanchez, a hard-throwing right-hander whose stock has risen dramatically this season, is one of at least three Portland players being tracked this week by a Devil Rays scout. Sanchez was scheduled to start Wednesday; instead, he will start today's game against New Britain at 11:30 a.m.
Left-handed pitcher Jon Lester and infielder Kenny Perez are also being scouted by the Rays, who are on their way to another last-place finish in the AL East. But that ineptitude could pay dividends before Sunday's trading deadline: The Rays are one of the few "sellers" in a jumbled trade market and several of their players are drawing interest throughout baseball, most notably closer Danys Baez and outfielder/first baseman Aubrey Huff.The Sox have obvious needs for another late-inning arm and, with Trot Nixon on the disabled list and Kevin Millar failing to produce at first base, another bat in the lineup. And the perpetually rebuilding and cost-cutting Rays could use youngsters such as Sanchez, Lester and Perez.
Baez, 27, has 19 saves for a team that's won only 36 games, and he's often used for more than three outs by Lou Piniella. When Keith Foulke was healthy and effective last season, Terry Francona often relied on him to get more than three outs. Baez' contract runs through this season, but there's a team option for $4.million for 2006.Huff is recovering from a slow first half (.256 with eight homers and 45 RBI) with a vengeance: He's hit two grand slams in the last six days and four homers overall since the All-Star Break, including a solo shot into the right field seats at Fenway July 20. David Wells , the pitcher that served up the homer, was so impressed by it he doffed his cap in the direction of right field.
Like Millar, Huff is a jack-of-all-trades in the field who is probably better suited to DH duties. But Huff, 28, is five years younger than Millar and signed through next season at $6.75 million, and his acquisition by the Sox would solidify a position with no clear heir apparent to Millar, who is a free agent after this season.However, as much as the Sox could use Baez and/or Huff, there's no guarantee they'll pay the price necessary to end up with either player. No general manager in the game is harder to trade with than the Rays' Chuck LaMar, who regularly makes outrageous, one-sided offers. But he's emboldened after fleecing the Mets for Scott Kazmir in exchange for Victor Zambrano last July 30.
In addition, Theo Epstein is determined to build from within, and no pitching prospect in the organization has a higher ceiling than Sanchez, who is 7-2 with a 2.21 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 92 2/3 innings for Wilmington and Portland this season. Some believe Sanchez is one of three near-untouchables in the chain along with Portland infielder Hanley Ramirez and Pawtucket right-hander Jon Papelbon.In addition to Sanchez, the Rays scout is also eyeing Lester and Perez. Lester, a 21-year-old the Sox drafted in the first round of the 2002 draft, has lasted just 4 2/3 innings in each of his last two starts, but he's been outstanding the rest of the time for the Sea Dogs (7-4 with a 2.51 ERA and 125 strikeouts in 107 2/3 innings). Perez (.289 with four homers, 28 RBI and seven stolen bases in 65 games for the Sea Dogs) delivered the game-winning hit in the Eastern League All-Star Game July 13, but the 23-year-old's path to Boston is blocked by the likes of Ramirez and Dustin Pedroia .