It was on this day in 1997 that Roger Clemens struck out 16 Red Sox batters to lead the Blue Jays to a 3-1 win at Fenway Park. It was Clemens' first appearance in Boston since he signed a free agent contract with Toronto the previous winter, and there were some definite hard feelings — Clemens punctuated several of his strikeouts with glances up towards the Fenway luxury boxes and then-Sox GM Dan Duquette.
Here's the latest from around the AL East…
- Speaking of Duquette, the current Orioles executive VP tells Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun that he is looking for a hitter with on-base skills to bat first or second in the Orioles' lineup. Connolly speculates that Shane Victorino could fit that bill though the O's would have to outbid several other teams if the Phillies made Victorino available.
- Duquette didn't completely rule out dealing a major prospect like Manny Machado or Dylan Bundy, but such a deal is very unlikely. "They can be really good major leaguers for a really long time,” Duquette said. “That’s the way I look at it. I don’t know that we want to send them to another ballclub for two months or 10 starts of a pitcher. I don’t think that’s the kind of trade we’d want to make. But we want to advance our team in the pennant race.” (Quotes courtesy of Connolly's Twitter feed).
- Evan Longoria's recovery timeline will "influence" what the Rays will do at the trade deadline, Andrew Friedman told reporters, including Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune (Twitter link). Longoria is expected back in August though the third baseman has already experienced one setback during his recovery from a torn hamstring.
- Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told reporters (including Sportsnet's Shi Davidi) that with Edwin Encarnacion's extension settled, the team can now focus on acquiring pitching. Anthopoulos also said he "didn't have any intention of trading" Encarnacion, though ESPN's Jayson Stark reported earlier today that the Jays were checking on trade interest in Encarnacion just last week.
- The Yankees have wrapped up negotiations with first-round draft pick Ty Hensley and are waiting to hear if the right-hander will accept their offer before tomorrow's draft signing deadline, reports Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger.
- The Red Sox are almost obligated to be active at the trade deadline, says ESPN's Tim Kurkjian during a radio appearance on WEEI's Dennis & Callahan show. (WEEI.com's Morley Quatroche has a partial transcript.) “I think they’re going to have to be buyers because they’re the Red Sox,” Kurkjian said. “And they can’t give up on a season….The Red Sox have to go out and get somebody. They have to go out and get another starting pitcher, whether it’s Ryan Dempster or Zack Greinke. It’s going to take an enormous amount to do it.” Kurkjian also discusses such topics as Carl Crawford's injury, Bobby Valentine's managerial style and the mood in the Sox clubhouse.
- For most Boston-related material, here's a collection of Red Sox notes from earlier today, plus news about trade interest in the team's backup outfielders.
o’s would not be smart to make a big splash, keep letting the talent develop.
Victorino would cost much…a bullpen arm or so.
I’m pretty sure Victorino would cost more than a reliever…
They will take what they can get for next year for him. I’d be happy with two BP guys for Victorino cuz they aren’t gonna resign him.
I’d rather have 1 or 2 draft picks.
it would definitely be a mistake to trade Bundy or Machado. Both are extremely talented and have very high ceilings. to sacrifice them for a possibility to play in the postseason would not be a good move. i personally think the O’s won’t make the playoffs
What if the Cubs sent Soriano and Garza all paid up to the end of their respective contracts for Bundy and Machado.
i hope that was sarcastic
They
may be ranked prospects but they are only A ball prospects that haven’t
proven anything at even AA much less than the major leagues. It is a
risk to take on highly hyped prospects as most of those untouchable guys
in every organization do not develop to match the hype. It is a huge
risk on the Cubs part to take them on after paying around 60 mil for the
balance of the contracts of garza AND soriano. Why do fans of teams
extremely over value their PROSPECTS.
Edit Reply
did Nelson get a new username?
So you are telling me you would trade your top two prospects (both arguably in the top 5 in baseball), for an over the hill defensive liability in the outfield and a #2 or #3 starter? Soriano is not an upgrade over what the O’s already have in the outfield and although Garza would be good for them, he doesn’t put them over the top, especially at the expense of losing their future.
Wow 1st off I don’t know who nelson is, 2nd neither are in the top 10 much less top 5 arguably or not. Garza would put you in a much better position to win now and is reasonable for at least 1.5 yrs. Soriano is a DH with spot fill ins at LF and in a pinch 2nd base, but mainly a masher off of your bench who would be better if 6 out of 7 days he was DHing he would rake for you and would be paid for for 3+ yrs. That sin’t that bad of a offer. But whatever.
Um… Bundy was just ranked #1 on Baseball America’s mid-season list.
Machado was ranked #9. And he’s just starting to heat up in AA.
Get lost, guy. Or at least stop talking about prospects. You have no idea what you’re talking about.
Dylan Bundy is DEFINITELY top-3, and anyone who disputes that right now is plain wrong. I’d be ecstatic if the Cubs got Bundy ALONE for Garza and Soriano.
calling Soriano a masher is laughable, and then adding that he could play 2nd gave me a good chuckle as well. Not sure what lists you are reading, but Bundy is for sure a top 5 prospect in almost every publication, and Machado is top 10 in most from what i have seen. I’m not sure i would trade these two guys for anyone in baseball right now
bundy and machado + 1 more closer major league prospect for king felix and vargas?
Depending on how long they are under team control (felix and vargas) that isn’t that bad of a opening offer. IMHO
Vargas is under team control through 2013 and Felix’s contract ends at the end of 2014
It would take a Harper or Trout to move Bundy in my opinion.
Replace vargas (who sucks btw) with Smoak and add Hultzen and fine.
Wow, some offers are just out to lunch on here today…
I was being sarcastic.
Dempster to the Bosox with a paid in full contract and a Darwin Barney type player for Lavernway how far off is that offer?
I would hate that as a Sox fan. Why do we need a Barney type player, we have a bunch already. Dempster has been pitching over his head with a super low BABIP and hr/fb rate. He is decent but it is not worth giving up a great hitting prospect for a couple months of play.
I think Baltimore is caught between a rock and hard place. Do they trade their top 2 prospects who almost definitely going to make a major impact or focus on the future next year without trading them. How confident is Baltimore that even next year, they’ll be competing at such a high level. Everyone wrote them off at the beginning of the year but half way through and still in a decent wild card spot. Can anyone tell me what kind of depth they have in that farm system aside from those two?
If they sign Gausman(?) then I can see them being more willing to deal Bundy. IMO I would only trade Bundy for a King Felix, Kershaw type pitcher though. A Gausman, Bundy 1-2 punch in a few years will be filthy.
I think the Orioles should stand pat this year.
I would consider a trade involving Machado if it meant someone like JUpton coming back. But Bundy- he goes nowhere.
Tim, stop showing your East Coast Bias. The Red Sox can sell if they want to.
I cant wait top see what the cubs get for their farm in the next 2 weeks.
The issue with the Red Sox right now is not that they’re missing a piece. The issues are injuries and regular stars just aren’t stepping up. I say roll the dice with what they have, sell a couple of outfielders to see if they can get anything of value, and go from there.
If they miss the playoffs then figure out what the real issue is. If it’s leadership, then think about saying goodbye to Valentine, find a better pitching coach, etc. Honestly I think Cherington can’t sacrifice the farm to get a rental pitcher for a team that right now would lucky to survive the first round of the playoffs.
The FO cares more about that ridiculous sellout streak than anything else.
This isn’t the Sox of the early 60’s that only drew 10k fans when they were awful. This team will still draw 30k fans in full rebuild mode and that is 5k (at least) more than 25 other franchises can say.
That “ridiculous” sellout streak helps pay for all those expensive players on the Sox roster. So I wouldn’t be so quick to belittle the FO for paying attention to it.
That is the most rational comment from a redsox fan that I have read in a long time sir that is the best plan for them in my opinion also. They have talent and I had more respect for francona than Valentine I’m not a Bobby V fan but this year is not his fault.
Before everyone continues to throw out Bundy and Machado for [insert players here] offers, is there even a precedent for the #1 overall prospect being dealt along with another Top 10 overall prospect?
Anyone?
Edit: I went back to 1990 and couldn’t find a single #1 overall who was traded within two years of being ranked #1 overall. And Delmon Young is the only one who was traded that soon after his ranking.
NB, I don’t think precedent is important here. Just because it hasn’t been done before doesn’t mean it can’t be done now. This is the here and now and things are different then they used to be.
I’ve said this before, I posted this on Roch’s blog, I do not believe in untouchables. If someone offers the moon and the stars for those two, you have to consider trading them. But it would take the moon and the stars. And a planet or two. I’m not even sure I trade them for Felix and Vargas. But I could see the Orioles letting go of a Matusz or an Arrieta. It all depends on what they get back.
I didn’t mean to say that it can’t or shouldn’t be done.
I meant to imply that the return for two such prospects should be off the charts. Just like you said.
orioles fans…. how would you feel about a trade for Victorino involving Parker Bridwell and another lower level prospect?
jake arrieta, chris tillman, nolan reimold? he’s injured i know, can they still make that trade?
for
ryan dempster, matt garza, alfonso soriano. i remember cubs trying to package them earlier. arrieta and tillman are both young pitchers that are pretty much major-league ready and might flourish on a team where they dont have to be the “ace”. maybe throw in mark reynolds. or take out reynolds and reimold and maybe jonathon schoop if you want actual prospects. just speculation don’t bite my head off…
We shall see sir we shall see soon.
Agreed. Would you like Reed Johnson’s .385 BABIP or perhaps Soriano whose only value is defense. If you want pitching you can have Dempster’s .241 BABIP or have Garza’s career 4.02 FIP?
I guess that you cant remember what position he played when he came up. I didnt say that he would be a good defender just in a pinch 2nd base fill in. Read the comment and let it soak in before you comment guy.