Josh Beckett Rumors

Molony's Latest: Red Sox, Kelly Johnson

Here's a look at the latest blog post from MLB.com's Jim Molony. Molony agrees with previous reports - the Red Sox are eyeing outfield help. An inquiry on Darin Erstad fizzled, while Mark Kotsay remains on the radar. Drew might be headed to the DL. The Red Sox might also be eyeing another starter, given Josh Beckett's injury. Molony speculates that Kevin Millwood or Vicente Padilla could make sense (both have cleared waivers). Molony expects Braves second baseman Kelly Johnson to be traded this winter. Johnson, 26, slipped to .264/.333/.405 in 482 plate appearances this year. He'll be arbitration-eligible for...   Continue Reading

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Red Sox Designate Snyder for Assignment

Relief pitcher Kyle Snyder was designated for assignment by the Red Sox this afternoon to make room on the roster for Josh Beckett, who is set to come off the DL and start for Boston tomorrow. Snyder is out of options and hence cannot be sent down to Pawtucket. Snyder has not impressed in 2008. Today versus Toronto, he pitched a third of an inning, gave up two runs, and walked two. March 25 against Oakland, he gave up two runs on two hits, including a solo home run. He wasn't terrible in 2007, posting a career-best 3.81 ERA, but...   Continue Reading

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Mailbag: Roberts, Teixeira, Johan, Nathan, And More

Time for this week's mailbag. You can hit it up at mlbtrmailbag@gmail.com to get in your question for next week. Do you see the Twins signing a big name middle of the order bopper or trading for one before the opening of the new stadium in 2010? - Jordan Funny you ask this. I recently asked LEN3 whether the Twins would have a $100MM payroll for the 2010 season, and he said, "I don't see it." So I'll go with his wisdom and say business as usual for the Twins despite the stadium. Why are the White Sox not aggressively..   Continue Reading

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What Might've Been: Beckett And Lowell For Blalock And Danks

At the suggestion of several readers, I'm starting up a new feature here at MLBTR called What Might've Been. Basically we'll look back at rumors and near-deals that did not end up happening, and consider how things would be if they had occurred. Today's near-rumor is from November 19th, 2005. That day, the Marlins nearly traded Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell to the Rangers for Hank Blalock and John Danks. Let's start with the Fish. They would never have received Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez, and others from Boston. Instead they would've gotten Blalock in '06 and Blalock plus Danks in..   Continue Reading

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Latest Johan Santana Rumors

The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo has the latest on the lingering Johan Santana saga. The Red Sox are standing pat with their offer of Coco Crisp, Jon Lester, Justin Masterson, and Jed Lowrie. I've said it before - I consider this an excellent offer, though I might try to find a permutation that involves Jacoby Ellsbury and another player rather than Crisp/Lester. The Twins seem to like this offer too; they just want to see if the Yankees crack and offer up Ian Kennedy, Melky Cabrera, and Phil Hughes. The Theo Epstein regime typically hasn't been jazzed about contracts exceeding..   Continue Reading

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Beckett Won't Ask For Restructured Deal

Remember when Josh Beckett signed his three-year, $30MM extension on July 16th of 2006? At the time of the signing, Beckett's Boston career consisted of 114 innings of a 5.12 ERA. Many considered the extension questionable. A year and a half later, Beckett's extension is a huge bargain. He could easily get the same amount over two seasons. There had been some concern that the Red Sox might trade for Johan Santana and pay him upward of $20MM per year, perturbing Beckett. Rob Bradford was able to contact the gruff Beckett last night, and his salary doesn't seem to be..   Continue Reading

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Johan Santana Rumors

UPDATE, 12-1-07 at 10:30pm: Yanks and Twins are haggling over the third guy - Twins want Horne or Austin Jackson per Jon Heyman. The Yanks are apparently holding out on that front, trying to retain some dignity. Peter Abraham says the Yanks will also slap a deadline on their offer and then turn their attention to Dan Haren. Concurrently, the Red Sox will only give up Ellsbury if they get more than Santana back. How about making this thing a real blockbuster, getting Joe Nathan involved? Imagine a 7-8-9 combo of Gagne-Nathan-Papelbon (if Gagne were to accept arb). Peter Abraham..   Continue Reading

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Odds and Ends: Abreu, Beckett, Helton, Schilling

Friday afternoon rumor tidbits... The Indians will probably let Kenny Lofton leave while exercising Joe Borowski's $4MM option. No big surprise there. Nor is it a surprise that the Yankees are heavily leaning towards exercising Bobby Abreu's $16MM option. From the what might've been department: Red Sox owner John Henry was in favor of signing A.J. Burnett instead of trading for Josh Beckett. One could make a solid argument that the Red Sox would be better off if Henry had gotten his wish. Beckett and Julio Lugo combined for 8.6 wins at $14MM this year while Burnett and Hanley Ramirez..   Continue Reading

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Trade Candidates Part 2

Last time we looked at players in their contract year and trade possibilities. Today we'll open the field and see who else could be available. Dealing Shea Hillenbrand or Eric Hinske would probably make sense for the Blue Jays. It looks like the two will enter 2006 splitting DH duty for the Jays, and Hillenbrand may have twice as much value with the bat as Hinske. The problem is figuring out which team actually has a need for a middling 1B/3B/DH type. The Red Sox have six starters (seven if you think Papelbon is rotation-ready), but they shouldn't be so..   Continue Reading

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Josh Beckett Boston Projection

Personally, I think the Josh Beckett trade is decent for the Red Sox. Beckett will probably never be a workhorse, but maybe a change of scenery will help. He should bring the team a couple of extra wins over David Wells in 2006. Anibal Sanchez will be very good in a few years, but Hanley Ramirez didn't exactly master Double A in 2005. I'm skeptical that he'll even become an average shortstop in the Majors. Anyway, I've done some extensive projections over at RotoAuthority for Josh Beckett's 2006 season as a member of the Red Sox. The main purpose is..   Continue Reading

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Beckett Trade Nearly Done

It's being reported in the Dallas Morning News that John Danks will be the prospect sent over by Texas and the deal is near completion. While lefthanded, Danks doesn't have the same upside as his Double A Frisco teammate Thomas Diamond. Both starters struggled in 2005. Danks gave up a ton of hits, while Diamond had major control problems. John Danks Career Statistics Click here to see our 2006 projections for Josh Beckett as a Texas Ranger   Continue Reading

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Beckett and Lowell for Blalock

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the huge blockbuster that might go down today. Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post told us late last night: "In what could be the first step of a major housecleaning in Florida, the Marlins and Rangers are close to completing a trade that would send Beckett and Lowell to Texas for third baseman Hank Blalock and a top pitching prospect, two baseball sources said Friday night. The Marlins are asking for either left-hander John Danks, Texas' first-round pick in 2003, or right-hander Thomas Diamond, the team's first-round pick in 2004." The article..   Continue Reading

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