Red Sox Have Interest In Rolen

Rolen is so much better than Atkins that it's almost not funny.

People seem to forget that there was a time when Rolen was one of the very best players in the game, and he's still a very good defensive third baseman.

He's been a line drive machine this year (26.5% LD), and while his walk rate is down, he's also striking out at a lower rate than at any other point in his career.

He appears to have changed his approach at the plate to try to make more square contact rather than trying to muscle up on the ball, considering that his flyball rate is down and his line drive rate is way up, as well as his walk and K rates.

Rolen is still a very good third baseman and a massive improvement from Garrett Atkins.

i'm a jays fan, and like most of us, was not too pleased with the glaus for rolen deal. let's just put it this way, jays fans now have a tongue-in-cheek nickname for rolen - GBOAT, or "greatest blue jay of all time." rolen has adapted his offensive game to his shoulder issues and now hits for a high average, he plays spectacular 3rd base, and just plays hard, all around. always heads-up on the basepath, does not make stupid mistakes, all-around pro. atkins maybe younger and cheaper, but he also sucks. bear that in mind.

and why is halladay tagged for this article? doesnt he have enough talk about him, we have to dedicate more to him when hes not even being discussed?

I too would rather the Sox go for a heavy hitting first baseman, as 04Forever suggests.... but name one that is available. As for Rolen vs. Atkins, Rolen would probably come cheaper, in terms of what the Sox would have to give up.

but could we get scott rolen for just michael bowden if the jays would accept that id do it

"Red Sox have "some interest" in Scott Rolen"

I'm sorry, did someone forget to wake me? Is it still 1998???

No chance in hell this is legit. So the Sox turn down Nick Johnson and his 5 mil for Manny Delcarmen but will trade a top pitching prospect like Bowden for Rolen and his 22 mil prorated over 2 years? The Sox don't operate like this unless the player is a stud or has potential, not old,overpaid and injury prone. The only way this happens is to drive down the price for Halladay by taking on one of their bloated contracts. Say Bowden, Lars, Lowrie, and Reddick for Doc and either Rios or Rolen, definitely not Wells or the price drops even more!

zeppelin:

So you would like to trade the Red Sox #4 prospect, our #2 starting pitching prospect in Bowden for a 34 year old, injury prone 3B who is on the hook for another $11M next season? Are you serious? That would be the worst deal on Theo's record by a wide margin. If the Sox trade for Rolen, it will be for a middle of the road prospect and salary relief.

As for why the Sox would consider Rolen, well they may be concerned that Lowell can play effectively the rest of the year (and possibly into next). They pick up a guy who can play very good defense and is solid with the bat (essentially another Mike Lowell) that would allow the team to rotate time off for Youk and Lowell. If Lowell turns out to be in worse condition than they originally thought, they have a veteran replacement ready. Once Lowrie comes back, the team can get rid of Lugo and have Lowrie/Green for the middle IF and Youk/Lowell/Rolen for the corners. The team would still need to make another roster move, but that could come with another trade or injury.

Then the team can worry about the Lowell/Rolen issue in the offseason and trade one for a middle of the road prospect.

But in no world does Scott Rolen bring back Michael Bowden.

sidebar ... I am still not convinced Bowden is going to be anything more than a 3/4 arm ... if that's the difference between a World Series or not... I take the World Series ... no brainer.
Sox have their rotation locked down for the next 3-6 years anyways...
now if we could only get Dice K off the books.... hummm

Not happening unless it's a bigger deal that includes Halladay. And since a deal for Halladay isn't happening, well there we go.

Besides, even if Lowell is injured badly, I don't see the Sox making a major move, though my wildest dreams still hope for an Adrian Gonzalez trade. Once Lowrie is off the DL he and Youk can rotate at 3rd, Green stays at short, and well it'd be interesting to see more of what Bates can do. Besides, I'm betting Lowell isn't that injured, all of this is just questions for "just in case."

Agreed, Daniel Bard is not a "dime a dozen" reliever. He's been sick this year. I have high hopes for a Bard/Papelbon 8/9th inning for the next few years.

I'd be hesitant to even give up Doubront for Rolen, but that is more likely than giving up Bowden and I'd be fine with it. Even if Bowden is a #3/4 type pitcher, that has a ton of value. The Sox control him for 6 years once he hits the bigs and there is a ton of value in a cost-controlled 3/4 pitcher. Guys like Jon Garland ($7M), Ryan Dempster ($8M and climbing) and Jamie Moyer ($6.5M) all signed deals this offseason for more than it will cost the Sox to keep Bowden around and I wouldn't consider anyone of them above a #3 starter at best.

And after this season, the Sox do have some question marks in the rotation. Beckett, Lester, Dice-K are pretty good locks for next year. Wakefield if he decides he wants to keep pitching. There could be potentially 2 openings in the rotation next season, and then the season after that they have to deal with an extension for Beckett.

2010 rotation:
Beckett
Lester
Matsuzaka
Wakefield (?)
Buchholz/Bowden

It's extremely valuable to have guys like Buchholz and Bowden waiting for a turn in AAA and depth at the SP spot is very, very valuable.

And after this season, the Sox do have some question marks in the rotation. Beckett, Lester, Dice-K are pretty good locks for next year. Wakefield if he decides he wants to keep pitching. There could be potentially 2 openings in the rotation next season, and then the season after that they have to deal with an extension for Beckett.

i might consider keeping penny he's done his job well and he and beckett are very close then again so were manny and papi but anyways my number 1 concern after singing bay is signing josh beckett to maybe a 4 or 5 year deal similar to lester's

This i sneither any sort of done deal or red herring. This is due diligence, pure and simple. As the Sox stand now, they are trying to win the AL East with an infield that starts both Nick Green and Mark Kotsay. While both (especially Green) have played well, it isn't likely. Ideally, they hope Lowrie and Lowell can step in when they get back. But JUST IN CASE, they are clearly exploring 3b, 1b and SS options, and have made this page numerous times in rumors for those positions, figuring they can re-arrange the players they have to make an infield (such as either Youkilis or Lowrie moving to 3b, depending id they get a 1b or a SS).

The Red Sox won't do anything until they have had a chance to see Lowell and Lowrie both play. The Sox most likely want to see how healthy they are and make an educated guess bout whether or not either or both can last the rest of the season...

I see no need in Scott Rolen or a Garrett Atkins. Unless the asking price is very limited. Lowell is coming back feeling good and Jed Lowrie will be back soon too. No need. No room.