The Red Sox have interest in acquiring both Shin-Soo Choo and Justin Masterson from the Indians, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. It's unclear how far along talks are, but Cleveland is getting calls about those two as well as Asdrubal Cabrera and Chris Perez.
Boston is seeking both outfield and rotation help this winter, so the fit is obvious. They originally drafted and developed Masterson before sending him to the Tribe in the Victor Martinez trade, though Morosi notes that new Indians manager Terry Francona could push to keep the right-hander, who had in Boston. Masterson is under team control through 2014 while Choo will be eligible for free agency after next season.
The Red Sox have enough prospects to offer in trades and plenty of payroll space to absorb contracts. Matt Swartz projects Choo to earn $7.9MM and Masterson to earn $5.7MM through arbitration next year. Boston also has both Mike Napoli and Adam LaRoche on their radar this offseason as well.
Red Sox have interest in [insert your favorite 1B/OF/SP here].
Well they do have plenty of holes to fill.
That’s what…… never mind.
Not a fan of them getting Choo unless they were to extend him or something. I’m not interested in one-year guys, personally.
pedroia is first…
Who aren’t the Red Sox interested in?
I’d love to see Masterson back w/ the Sox.
You want that 4.93ERA badly, dont you
“Badly”? What makes you say that?
I think he’d do a little better back in BOS; plus as a 4th-5th starter as opposed to the #1 starter might make a big difference. Then, of course, there’s the “Farrell factor”.
As a possible “buy low” trade candidate I think he’d be great for BOS.
Masterson would only cost prospects, That is, guys who have proven nothing at the ML level but are considered highly. The Red Sox fans may not like who the Indians want, but, both Cherrington and the Indians know that moving from the minors to the Major Leagues is a HUGE jump, perhaps the largest in all of sports. So, a deal isn’t likely for either or both Choo and Masterson.
He was never really a good starter for us, though =
When “we” had him he couldn’t get lefties out. He’s clearly gotten over that.
Looking at the rotation as currently constituted Masterson would be a great buy low candidate after his sub par season last year. If all else fails we all know he can work out of the BP too!
That sub-par season he had last year was because he reverted back to not being able to get lefties out, so I’d be pretty leery of giving up much of anything for him right now.
If that’s true I’d agree. I don’t think I saw his at all last year. I’d still take him as a buy low trade candidate. Even if it was to put him back in the BP.
Sure, if you can get him for cheap he’d be great to have; he’d be the perfect spot starter/long reliever, and if figures out how to get lefties out again he’d be a great starter, but I don’t think the Indians are going to give him away cheap because he did have some good success there before last year.
I dunno. I guess it all depends on the deal.
He also really struggled with command. He was walking guys left and right all season.
Masterson was very solid all around for Boston, that’s why we were able to acquire a bat like V-Mart.
Or for the Indians outside of 2011.
Red Sox Thursday on MLBtr
No!!!!!!!!!!
Austin – I’m okay with a whole day of Red Sox news! 🙂 Not psyched about Choo, but I always wanted to get Masterson back.
Choo would be a great fit in Boston.
Choo would be a great fit pretty much anywhere. He can hit anywhere in the lineup, sees a ton of pitches, uses the whole field, has some pop, and plays pretty good defense. Who wouldn’t want a guy like that?
I would rather Choo + Cabrera
I love Masterson, but pitching in the AL east once again, against a strong left handed New York Yankees offense, that would just be bad news for Bat Masterson.
As for Choo, I love his style and I would hate to see him go. But if we can net some good worth for him, we have to pull the trigger. No way will the Tribe be able to bring him back after his contract is up.
If we could get all four of them from the Indians…there is out Outfielder,Pitcher, Shortstop, and Closer…all 4 are good players…that is a stretch though
Choo’s great at hitting RHP, but a platoon hitting rental OF on the wrong side of 30 isnt the type of guy this team should trade prospects for.
Just about everyone in baseball hits better against opposite-handed pitching. That’s not what a platoon player is and Choo is not one.
Are you kidding me? .695 career OPS vs LHP and .605 in 2012. Just because he wasn’t platooned by Cleveland doesn’t mean he shouldn’t have been.
The one CLE game i went to was when Masterson went against Pit. He did wonderfuly and at that point i thought CLE had it in them to make a push at the AL Central title. However, Masterson, and everyone else it felt like, dropped the ball and here we are again. Take the deal on Masterson and even Choo for that matter. Cabrera is golden, keep him. Perez looked alright, so keep him as well. We need guys that can go the long all… Choo and Masterson proved so far that they cannot, so it’s time to move on.
I feel like every team would be interested in having them. Just more than others.
I don’t understand why the Tribe would trade Masterson when they need arms. Keep Masterson and instead trade Ubaldo for a keg of the Green Monstah IPA.