David Ortiz Rumors

Odds And Ends: Indians, Ryan, Red Sox

More links for the afternoon... The Indians drafted two players named Kyle Smith, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Mark Shapiro still says he's hoping for a resurgence from the Indians, according to Jorge L. Ortiz of USA Today. Dean Jones Jr. of the Baltimore Sun reports that the Orioles selected Mike Flacco, the brother of Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe. The family connections don't stop there. As Chad Finn of the Boston Globe reports, the Red Sox chose Michael Yastrzemski, Carl's grandson. Charlie Nobles of MLB.com writes that Brendan Ryan is playing well, maybe well enough to become the Cardinals'...   Continue Reading

---

Odds And Ends: Padres, Fukumori, Ortiz

Some links for Tuesday morning... Today's chat will be at 2pm CST. Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times reports that the Padres know they have to win if they want to stop management from trading players away. Adrian Gonzalez says it's too early to tell how long he'll remain a Padre. Patrick Newman at NPB Tracker passes on a report saying Kazuo Fukumori will be released by the Rangers. He made four appearances for them last year, but hasn't pitched in the majors this season. It's not his eyes, after all. David Ortiz can see just fine according to John...   Continue Reading

---

Ortiz Taking Sox Out Of Hitter Sweepstakes?

Don't look now, but reports of David Ortiz's demise may be exaggerated. As Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal reports, Ortiz is hitting .280 over his six-game hitting streak, including a home run, two doubles, and four RBI. Remember that when it comes to Ortiz, the Red Sox, due to the enormous contract Ortiz carries, will likely be like Lloyd Christmas in Dumb and Dumber. If the numbers point to a one in a million chance of an Ortiz recovery, GM Theo Epstein may take a look at the $12.5MM owed to Ortiz in 2009, the $12.5MM in 2010, and...   Continue Reading

---

Odds And Ends: Atkins, Ortiz, Bedard

Some links for your Friday morning... Garrett Atkins hit a pair of homers yesterday, emerging from an extended slump and taking the first step towards restoring his trade value. Could Big Papi's struggles be related to a vision problem? Ron Borges of the Boston Herald reports that David Ortiz will get his eyes tested. On the Newberg Report Jamey Newberg sees Elvis Andrus as the leader of great Rangers teams to come. Newberg passes along a comment from Baseball America's Jim Callis: Andrus would be "in the mix" for the second overall pick in this year's draft if he were...   Continue Reading

---

Red Sox To Talk Trades, Might Deal

As Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reports, Theo Epstein says he'll be involved in trade talks. However, there's no guarantee that he'll make a deal. Epstein predicts that the Red Sox will be "active on trade talks as far as discussions go," but cautions that he "would never want to predict" a trade. As Epstein acknowledges, the Red Sox have areas for improvement. David Ortiz still hasn't heated up and the Red Sox aren't getting much production at shortstop as they await Jed Lowrie's return from injury. Ultimately, Epstein says the Red Sox are in a "good position" because...   Continue Reading

---

Discussion: The Red Sox And David Ortiz

David Ortiz has presented the Red Sox with a dilemma. Without him the Red Sox probably wouldn't have won two World Series titles this decade, but this year he's hitting just .211/.318/.324. He hit his first homer of the year this week, after Terry Francona benched him for a few days, but he hasn't found the form that saw him post an OPS over 1.000 and average over 40 homers a year from 2003-07. ESPN.com's Peter Gammons says the Red Sox are willing to wait on Big Papi. A few days ago ESPN.com's Buster Olney suggested the Red Sox would...   Continue Reading

---

Gammons On Peavy, Greene, Holliday

More rumors from ESPN.com's Peter Gammons in his latest column: Gammons says it made sense for Kenny Williams to try to deal for Jake Peavy because the AL Central is winnable and Gordon Beckham wasn't part of the deal. Gammons expects teams to be wary of no-trade clauses after seeing Peavy thwart the Padres' plans to deal him. Nats GM Mike Rizzo wants to deal now, while more teams are in the pennant race and remain possible buyers. Rizzo would like to improve his bullpen, which has an ERA nearing 7.00. The Red Sox want to wait on David Ortiz...   Continue Reading

---

Odds and Ends: Big Papi, Ray, Murphy

The night in baseball so far... David Ortiz finally homered after 149 regular-season at-bats without a home run dating back to September 22, 2008. Home runs tend to come in bunches, so if Ortiz quickly follows with a few more, consider the Red Sox less interested in hitters like Aubrey Huff or Nick Johnson. Chris Ray is throwing with desired velocity, but still doesn't have his location, according to Spencer Fordin or MLB.com. Watch Ray's walk rate. He's walked nine in 12 2/3 innings. But with 15 strikeouts in that time, he's a bit of control away from helping the...   Continue Reading

---

Olney On Trade Scenarios

ESPN's Buster Olney talks about future trade possibilities in his blog today. Olney's Brewers source says the team is not looking outside for Rickie Weeks' replacement at this point. Manager Ken Macha doesn't view Craig Counsell as a regular, but he can platoon with Casey McGehee. And Alcides Escobar will start to work at second base in Triple A. The Red Sox might have to do something to replace David Ortiz at DH if he doesn't show signs of life soon. Olney speculates on the idea of Boston trading starting pitching "for some talented young hitter - like Matt LaPorta...   Continue Reading

---

Rosenthal On Ortiz, Braves, White Sox

The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports... Rosenthal notes how easy it would be for the Red Sox to find a left-handed hitter to top David Ortiz's 2009 production - many such bats are impending free agents and could be available in July. A shortstop and young catcher also remain on Boston's wish list. Unfortunately, with no-trade protection and about $22.5MM remaining on his contract, Ortiz is pretty much immovable. Former D'Backs pitching coach Bryan Price resigned in part due to reservations about working for new manager A.J. Hinch. Rosenthal notes the Braves' surplus of quality minor league arms,...   Continue Reading

---

Top Stories

Search MLBTR

Lijit Search

MLBTR Mailing List

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

MLBTR Features

Recent Posts

Rumors By Team

Monthly Archives

Live Chats

Tuesdays at 2 p.m. CST