Links for Saturday….
- The Red Sox initially bought the rights to Daniel Nava for what Randolph and Mortimer Duke would refer to as the "usual amount", writes Alex Speier of WEEI. Earlier at Fenway, Nava hit a grand slam on his very first major league pitch.
- Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star provides us with a breakdown of the Royals' performance thus far under Ned Yost.
- Bryan Smith of Fangraphs examined the top hurlers in the 2011 MLB Draft.
- Look for the Yankees to have smooth negotiations with first round pick Cito Culver, tweets Jack Curry of the YES Network. The Yanks can't officially sign the 32nd overall selection until he graduates on June 20th.
- The Astros signed three more draft picks today, per a team release. They've now signed 19 of their selections, including 11 of the 22 players they drafted in the first 20 rounds.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider-only link) says there's "no bubbling, hot market right now for Mike Lowell." The teams who are interested in Lowell are hoping the Red Sox will give him away and eat his salary.
- Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe argues that Lowell still has value. Raul Ibanez, a friend of Lowell's, agrees that the 36-year-old's bat has some pop left, writes Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald.
- Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle thinks the Giants are just one slugger away from World Series contention.
- Addressing his team's bullpen struggles, Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said he hoped the organization's current players could turn things around, but didn't rule out a trade. Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald has the details.
- Fanhouse's John Hickey says that Mike Hargrove would be interested in managing the Orioles, though it's not known if that interest is mutual.
- The Dodgers signed four of their draft picks, including fifth-rounder Jacob Lemmerman, according to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick and Evan Drellich.
- In a video for FOX Sports, Jim Bowden gives his opinion on the winners and losers of the draft. He names the Nationals, Red Sox, Rays, and Blue Jays as clubs that made out well.
- Jeff Zimmerman at Beyond the Box Score takes a look at which teams are paying the most money to players no longer on their rosters.
Cafarto arguing Lowell still has value? Yeah no one saw Peter Gammons Jr writing that. And the only thing the scouts saw last night was Lowell hitting a HR off of Jamie Moyer, if anyone was impressed by that then they’re an idiot.
C’mon man, it’s a big deal to hit an 85 mph fastball with no movement whatsoever!
You mean 81 mph
http://www.fangraphs.com/pitchfx.aspx?playerid=1091&position=P
You mean 81 mph
http://www.fangraphs.com/pitchfx.aspx?playerid=1091&position=P
Why would teams expect the Sox to eat his salary AND give him away? He’s a perfectly good insurance option at the corner spots or DH; last time i checked that worth something. Where’s the incentive to hand him over for nothing of substance in return? I just don’t see it.
My guess is that some team will get jumpy and offer *something* of value in return for a virtually free Mike Lowell rental.
Simple….everyone knows the Red Sox need (ie read want) the spot on the roster. If any team trades for Lowell it will before a low level prospect and the Red Sox paying a large chunk (if not all) of the salary. Its not what the Red Sox want in this situation its what other teams will give.
Not necessarily. With teams like Minnesota getting dismal performance from 3B and Kendry Morales out for the season, it appears that two teams could be decent suitors for Lowell (on top of Texas, whose interest is a little less obvious). We’re approaching the mid point of the season and the Red Sox still have Lowell. If that isn’t an indication that they’re at least somewhat willing to cope with a so called 24 man roster, I don’t know what else is. As races get heated up and the trade deadline approaches, his value will most certainly rise. I by no means am under the impression that Lowell will ever net a big name prospect, but asserting that the Red Sox will pay up to 8 million dollars to give Lowell away is simply preposterous.
You have seen Lowell’s numbers right?
The guy is 36. Sports an OPS below 700 and really shouldn’t be in the field. Injuries to his back and thumb mean that he is nothing more than a warm body at 3rd base. He has a grand total of 3 starts over his career at 1st base.
The Angels – have played Napoli at 1st base since Kendry went down. Mathis is coming back and it makes sense that the team will stick with Mathis/Wilson at C and let Napoli gets reps at 1st base. Napoli is a far superior offensive player to Lowell. The Angels also have Matsui who might be able to play 1st base and Juan Rivera who has played 1st base. Now, if Lowell is free I can see the team taking a look at him but at any cost – they will pass.
The premise with Minnesota is the need at 3rd base and that Lowell can fill that need. The reality is that Lowell simply can’t field the position any longer. It was clear to the Red Sox (hence the Beltre signing) and clear to everyone else who saw Lowell last year (-14.4 UZR/150). If Lowell was posting an OPS in the 850-900 range then maybe a team is willing to live with that defense. But right now he doesn’t appear to be a clear upgrade over what the Twins are throwing out there right now.
You have seen Lowell’s numbers right?
The guy is 36. Sports an OPS below 700 and really shouldn’t be in the field. Injuries to his back and thumb mean that he is nothing more than a warm body at 3rd base. He has a grand total of 3 starts over his career at 1st base.
The Angels – have played Napoli at 1st base since Kendry went down. Mathis is coming back and it makes sense that the team will stick with Mathis/Wilson at C and let Napoli gets reps at 1st base. Napoli is a far superior offensive player to Lowell. The Angels also have Matsui who might be able to play 1st base and Juan Rivera who has played 1st base. Now, if Lowell is free I can see the team taking a look at him but at any cost – they will pass.
The premise with Minnesota is the need at 3rd base and that Lowell can fill that need. The reality is that Lowell simply can’t field the position any longer. It was clear to the Red Sox (hence the Beltre signing) and clear to everyone else who saw Lowell last year (-14.4 UZR/150). If Lowell was posting an OPS in the 850-900 range then maybe a team is willing to live with that defense. But right now he doesn’t appear to be a clear upgrade over what the Twins are throwing out there right now.
Think it’s hilarious Red Sox media and fans are trying to drum up actual trade value for Lowell. Here’s the facts. The Red Sox know if they release him the Yankees will sign him. They have to pay his salary for him to be traded any other team, otherwise they have to carry him on their roster to keep him from becoming a Yankee. And don’t tell yourself he wouldn’t want to be a Yankee. He grew up in their organization and almost signed with them during his last free agent period. The Yankees would sign him to DH and spell Arod at 3b and he’d get close to full time at bats. If the Red Sox don’t want that to happen, they have to pick up all the money on this deal in order to deal him to another team and stop the media games of trying to trick an opposing GM into giving anything other than a roster spot up.Lowell has value, but the Red Sox and their handling of him has depreciated all that value to the point that they need someone to come bail them out.
How many threads can you comment on saying Mike Lowell will be a Yankee? Also, he didn’t almost sign with the Yankees when he was a FA…he was close to going to Philly. The Yankees were interested when A-Rod opted out, but they were never close to a deal. The Red Sox have handled the situation the only way they could since the non trade to Texas. Beltre, Ortiz, and Youk have been some of the best hitters in the AL since May, why should Lowell get more at bats?
If I was the Red Sox I would offer Mike Lowell for Raul Ibanez straight up.
And I’d offer Lowell straight up for Joe Mauer. At least then everyone would get that it’s a joke.
If I was the Phillies GM I would laugh and hang up the phone!
Have you looked at Ibanez’s numbers lately or considered how much he’s owed over the next 2 seasons? The Phillies have Domonic Brown playing extremely well in Double A to potentially step in and could unload the ~$17m that Ibanez is owed in the process.
I wouldn’t say it’s likely to happen but it’s definitely not a laughable idea.
For the same reasons you just said, why would Boston want Ibanez and his 12m for next year?
Awesome Trading Places reference
$1 Dollar!
I am so happy the RS finally gave him a shot.. Loved Nava when he was in Lancaster.
the kid will never forget this day!
Great Moment for a guy who never gave up, Wasn’t drafted, played in independent league, was released, became manger for that team, started playing again, was league mvp, rights bought by the sox, now in the bigs. Guys like that make baseball great.
Wonder if some thing of his will go to cooperstown for that first pitch grandslam, only forth time its happened, it’s more rare then the unassisted triple play.