Roy Halladay hopes and expects to pitch in the postseason with the Philadelphia Phillies, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Cafardo also notes that the Red Sox made a fair trade proposal for the ex-Jay, but that Toronto needed to be blown away to deal their ace within the division. Here are some of Cafardo's other hot stove notes:
- One National League scout had this to say about the possibility of the Rangers trading Josh Hamilton: "Everybody in Texas denies it, and I don’t know what to base it on, but there’s a feeling the Rangers may do something, and teams want to be ready." A handful of scouts are keeping an eye on the slugger, just in case.
- The Red Sox' extension talks with Josh Beckett have at least been "amicable, if not productive." Like they did with the J.D. Drew and John Lackey contracts, the Sox could attempt to include medical language in their offer to Beckett.
- After being traded out of New York this winter, Austin Jackson feels more comfortable with Detroit, no longer weighed down by comparisons to legendary Yankee outfielders of the past.
- The Red Sox offered Nick Green a minor league contract before he signed with the Dodgers, and now he represents the type of player they need: a backup shortstop. The team is hoping that Bill Hall proves capable of handling the role so that Jed Lowrie can play every day in Triple-A.
I kinda wonder what was the Sox real final offer for Halladay. The Jays are calling it a fair offer, I wonder if it was better or worse than what they ended up with.
Kelly, Ellsbury, Bard, Bucholz?
Toronto would have jumped all over that if that was what Boston offered.
It has to be something “better” than Drabek/Wallace/D’Arnaud. Maybe Bucholz, Bard, Ellsbury, and Kalish?
i DOUBT they want ellsbury. he is gonna get 6MIL+ in arb next year and after 2-3 more years, he is gonna walk in free agency.
basically ellsbury will be leaving the same time the blue jays are ready to compete..it wouldn’t make much sense on the jay’s part.
That Austin Jackson kid sure reminds me of a young Al Kaline.
Sorry, couldn’t resist.
Remembre Al Kaline’s fierce rival Nick L. Cadmium?
didn’t ty cobb play the outfield?
sorry austin your out of luck.
Austin Jackson also reminds me of
Curtis Granderson
Chet Lemon
Bobby Higginson
Sorry Austin!
I could see the Giants taking a gamble on Josh Hamilton. Throw in one or two really good prospects i.e. Thomas Neal and Dan Runzler. That being said, Rangers are contenders this year though. Love to see the Rangers take those prospects and package ’em with like Smoak, Ramirez and maybe another 1-2 prospects and grab Adrian Gonzalez.
CF Borbon
RF Nelson Cruz
2b Ian Kinsler
1b Adrian Gonzalez
3b Michael Young
DH Vlad Guerrero/Davis
SS Elvis Andrus
LF Jermaine Dye cheap? (the one defensive liability, but Hamilton was going to be one as well)
C Teagarden/Saltalamachia
The farm system is the best in the bigs and can afford the loss. By the time Adrian’s contract runs out, 2011, Rangers should have money to spend (new ownership). There would be no reason they couldn’t extend him. At Arlington and with that protection in that lineup, I could see 50 bombs for Adrian Gonzo.
Injuries really hurt Lowrie. From the future SS of the Red Sox to a back up IF.
trading hamilton would be completely out of nowhere. the rangers are contenders and they wouldn’t get mlb players in return for the injury risk. that said their season may hinge on hamilton, his talent is off the charts when he has his head and body together. they have a good mix of veterans and top rookies, along with still the best farm of kids yet to break in. trading for another couple kids makes the roster look more like the marlins a year or two after winning a WS. i don’t know….just no.
as an A’s fan I wouldn’t like it but AGonzo would be a great fit for Rangers. maybe some-kind of 3-way where Hamilton goes somewhere else and the Padres get whatever prospects/young guns
then, at the end of it all, Adrian can sign one of those one-day contracts with the Marlins so he can retire having gone full circle!
I forgot about him being drafted by the Marlins. He’s been involved in two really bad trades.
The Rangers already messed this up when they traded Adrian Gonzalez and Chris Young to the Padres for a few no lifes named Adam Eaton and Akirnori Otsuka, what a great deal we made their. The Rangers could already have Gonazlez in their line-up and still have the great farm system they have today, what a wasteful trade. Yeah and the Marlins traded him to the Rangers for a guy who is in jail right now (Ugueth Urbina). I feel sorry for the guy he’s a great talent.
I agree. I could see a few more teams interested as well though. I personally think they’ll keep him though. At least for this season he’ll be on Texas.
What do the Yankees have that Texas would be interested in taking? Not much. That’s what.
I envision that Josh Hamilton has about three years left in baseball before his body breaks down or he falls off the wagon…too many years of drug abuse and too much temptation playing in NY for the Yankees to be interested, He is not worth the risk. That said, I saw this guy play and all I can say is what a waste of talent.
It makes little sense for the Yankees to add a risky player like Hamilton. That would be an incredibly inefficient allocation of resources.
Teams take risks because they can’t afford not to and still win. They take them because there isn’t a better way to win. The Yankees are, right now, somewhere between a 95 and a 105 win team. They’re extraordinarily likely to make the post season for the next few years simply by keeping the roster intact. Even if they weren’t and they were in a position to add some talent, it makes more sense for them to acquire talent on the FA market, paying market rate for a similar but less risky player. They don’t have to take a risk on a guy like Hamilton, they’re going to the playoffs anyway, so why would they?
Teams like the Giants (mentioned by FutureGM) and White Sox, teams at a more meaningful position on the win curve and with fewer financial resources, stand to gain a lot more by adding Josh Hamilton to their roster than do the Yankees.