Gammons On Ackley, Red Sox, Relievers

Yes, the Yankees are in need of bullpen arms. Valverde would be a very nice addition to that pen, but as the setup man. What kind of package could the Yankees send to Houston for him?

I'm pretty sure it was the Cubs who drafted him, Umair.

He went to Chicago in the Nomar trade.

Although I like Delcarmen and he is becoming what everyone hoped, I wouldn't mind seeing him in the NL. I would enjoy seeing him be successful as a closer.

If Red Sox want a good hitter, why not look in house? I'm not sure so someone will have to fact check this one but whats up with Lars Anderson? maybe Chris Carter? Whats goin on with those guys?

I think the Red Sox would be foolish to trade away Delcarmen unless they thought he was on the verge of breaking down. With his being a life-long Red Sox fan and Boston native living the dream, he's a candidate to potentially take less to remain in a Red Sox uniform. As long as he's effective, there is no reason to give up the chance to have a reliable bullpen arm around long-term.

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To those talking about trading away Brad Penny, I don't believe he is eligible to be traded without his written consent until after June 15th.

"Here's an idea, what about trading a guy like Penny for a cheap bat?"

I'm all for getting something for Penny. He could really help some team as a #4 or 5 pitcher. But the Sox have plenty of cheap bats. Carter, Bailey, and van Every each hit 25 HRs in AAA last year and won't whine about sitting on the Sox bench like anyone decent who is already in the bigs.

So the question is, what should the Sox be looking for? Penny alone would not bring a catcher of the future. He would have to be packaged with Kottaras and someone else. Then there's the question of whether the new catcher will be able to catch Wakefield.

At shortstop, they *may* have finally figured out and fixed Lugo's hitting problem. If so, his value could greatly increase (from zero) by not replacing him. And Lowrie will be back in a few weeks, which leaves Green as excess.

And DH is a huge dilema. If they can fix Papi's swing, he *might* go back to being 2007 Papi. If not, he could be replaced by Baldelli or Carter. They're unlikely to get a better hitter than those guys for Penny.

Given all the uncertainty, I'd probably just go for a solid prospect for Penny. Both Buchholz and Bowden look ready.

MLB seems to be getting good at catching steroid users. I wouldn't hold my breath for a Big Papi rebirth.

"I'm all for getting something for Penny. He could really help some team as a #4 or 5 pitcher."

"Given all the uncertainty, I'd probably just go for a solid prospect for Penny."

This is a typical delusional Red Sox fan. He is getting 5 million this year and pitched 94 innings last year to the tune of a 6.27 ERA in the NL. He is now pitching to a 6.69 ERA after coming back from surgery.

He has little to no value. Plenty of teams can use a #4 pitcher? Package Penny with another prospect to get a catcher of the future? Get a solid prospect in a trade for Penny?

What are you smoking?

I could see the Sox looking at Willingham or Johnson from the Nationals as power bats, but not as long term fixtures by any means that they are looking for. They have had interest in Willingham in the past and neither of them are worth any kind of top prospects, like a reach pitcher, such as Kris Johnson or Dustin Richardson plus one of the McBeth/Cabrera/Cherry veteran reliever retread types that Boston has stashed away at AAA and all are doing exceptionally well and the Nats desperately need for their beleaguered bullpen.

I would still prefer for them to try and hang on for another 4 of weeks for Kotsay to return, or rotate Bailey and Carter from AAA, depending on who is hitting or not until Kotsay is able to get over the injuries that keep cropping up during his rehab.

The prize pitching prospects (Bucholz,Bowden,Bard,Hagadone) all need to be either saved for the rotation, releif, or for trade chips for the young slugger this team dearly needs and NOT for some old, overwight and overpaid salary dump by another team.

"What about Grady Sizemore for Jacoby Ellsbury, Ramon Ramirez and Michael Bowden?"

Hey and then you can trade Brad Penny, Javier Lopez, and Rocco Baldelli for Albert Pujols!

I mean they'll totally do it, I mean who wouldn't want to trade with the almighty Red Sox?

Like it was said. Typical Red Sox fan delusion.

What the hell does Chris Carter have to do to get a shot? I know he can not field 1B competently, but replacing Ortiz doesn't exactly require much skill with the glove to begin with (Ortiz only plays 1B when playing in NL ballparks).

Lars Anderson is not an option right now since he is struggling in the minors and I saw recently he has a minor back injury as well.

Sox shouldn't part with Buchholz/Bowden/Hagadone unless they are getting a young power bat in return. It doesn't need to be the next Pujols or Cabrera, but the player returned should be young and talented.

I'm OK with moving Delcarmen for a bat. He's good, but I he seems to choke under pressure.

I would consider moving Bard if the right deal came a long, but I get the feeling he has the inside track to being Papelbon's replacement in a few seasons. This is due to Paps likely large money demands, and high injury risk (shoulder).

I'm not worried about this team yet. I think David Ortiz is toast, but Youkilis and Bay seem capable of holding things together in the middle of the lineup.

Ellsbury is better than Votto and Arroyo's contract and fact he would be ,at best, Bostons fifth starter make him undesirable. Throw in Volquez or Cueto and maybe the conversation can begin.

"He is now pitching to a 6.69 ERA after coming back from surgery. He has little to no value. Plenty of teams can use a #4 pitcher? Package Penny with another prospect to get a catcher of the future? Get a solid prospect in a trade for Penny? What are you smoking?"

Typical Sox-hater response. Cherry-pick one stat and call the guy utterly worthless.

Penny had two craptacular starts early in the year that ballooned his ERA. Since then he has five quality starts. How many does your last starter have? Unless his name is Pettitte, probably not as many.

If a team is going to compete and go deep into the playoffs, they need a guy as good as Penny at the back end of the rotation. Hell, a lot of teams don't have a #3 with 5 QS. Those games count just as much as the ones pitched by your ace. That's why he has value.

I'd rather hold on to Delcarmen and trade Papelbon. Some desperate team trying to make the playoffs will overpay for him.
I agree though that Penny + good bullpen arm could get the Rangers' attention. It probably still wouldn't land you Salty. Maybe Teagarden, he seems have lost the starting job for now.

"Ellsbury is better than Votto"

Apples and oranges. Theyre 2 completely different players, its impossible to compare them. CF vs. 1B and power vs. speed. Both players have immense potential and value. However with your history around here I wouldnt be surprised if you said something like "Ellsbury makes Beltran look bad" etc.

Also, I dont see a Votto trade even being a 1% viable discussion though for these reasons.

1. The Reds are playing well right now, why would they trade one of their star players away simply because they have a guy coming up the ranks in the minors? Trading Votto right now would get Jocketty fired.

2. The Red Sox have Lars Anderson coming up the ranks and improving more every day.

3. There's a guy named Kevin Youkilis thats not doing too bad at 1B right now. Im aware that Youkilis could easily be moved to 3B or even LF but right now, no chance.

"Penny and Delcarmen for Salty makes a lot of sense for both teams if Texas stays in the race!"

Stoner talk.

Texas has no use for an overpaid, washed up, steroid victim like Penny. To get Salty, Boston is going to have to give up one of the young guys - either Buchholtz, Bard, or Bowden. Bowden and Delcarmen for Salty might get it done. JD is holding out for Buchholtz, though.

Which brings up a good question - what the hell is Boston doing with Buchholtz, anyway? Are they just going to let him get a full 10 year career in AAA? I really don't get the Penny signing. Buchholtz should be pitching in the majors right now. He showed his readiness in spring training and in his work this season in AAA. Bring him up!

Little Bear--what? Quality starts? Talk about cherry picking.

Brad Penny's got a tRA over 6 (and if you don't know what that is, go to statcorner.com.) He's got a 5.39 FIP.

He's striking out 5 per 9 and walking 4. His HR/9 is 1.24. His LOB is pretty low, but that's the only thing that should improve, and it won't help much. He has zero trade value.

Also, Lester's going to be fine. He's been extremely unlucky: .389 BABIP, HR/FB of 18.5% (career 9.3%). He's striking out 10.34 and walking only 3 per 9. As for the other guys...yeah, not looking good.

A lot of people talk about Sizemore and Adrian Gonzalez in trade talks because their teams are in need of a rebuild. However what they dont realize is that both guys are still very young and fit in with the rebuilding plans nicely. The only difference is, the Padres have 2 outstanding 1B prospects behind Gonzalez which makes him a trade candidate. But Sizemore is going nowhere."

Sizemore is going no where, but the difference with Gonzalez is hes a FA after 2011 and no one knows if the Pads will give him 15-20M, that he could get on the market.

'What about Grady Sizemore for Jacoby Ellsbury, Ramon Ramirez and Michael Bowden?'

no, never.

''Penny and Delcarmen for Salty makes a lot of sense for both teams if Texas stays in the race!"

This i wannna respond to. By your knowledge, a setup man and an old fat guy who has a 6 ERA with the Dodgers last yr in the NL West, for a young catcher with tons of talent, what the Sox need, mind you, and power and is learning how to call a game? ARE YOU CRAZY? wait, dont respond, we know the answer based on past 'thoughts'.

''Ellsbury is better than Votto and Arroyo's contract and fact he would be ,at best, Bostons fifth starter make him undesirable. Throw in Volquez or Cueto and maybe the conversation can begin.''

So, based on this, you think that Arroyo, at LEAST a #2 in the NL, would be worse than Penny, Smoltz, or Buchholz in the 5 hole? And then you think that Ellsbury, whom the Sox had been thinking about trading this offseason and has an OPS+ of 80?!?! His OPS is 710. Votto has an OPS 1.059 and an OPS+ of 168. I dont think that will work.

Ackley is a great hitter. I've watched him through college and see signs of Longoria and LaPorta in him, as I watched them through college as well. Ackley should become one of the better hitters in the MLB as his time rolls around.

@baseball52
Ackley is a potentially great hitter but will never have near the power of LaPorta or Longoria.

Having him at 2B is intriguing as hell. That would allow the Mariners to slide Lopez over to 3B where he is better suited.

I'm excited to see the Mariners on track to getting this guy.

@RED SOX DYNASTY!

You're an embarassment to Red Sox fans. Please shut the hell up.

Cry me a river Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum!

xethicx, sorry can't compete with the fantasy baseball trades you constantly post on here. You really need to put your skirt back on and go back in the kitchen where your true talents can flourish!

Xethicx and Charged are inbred brothers which explains the lack of intelligence and understanding they show in their posts but I'm sure they treat momma real well back on the farm!