Though it can be argued that misses in free agency were the cause of Boston's disastrous 2012 season, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald thinks that shrewd free agent signings could help the team quickly return to prominence. Here's the latest from Fenway Park…
- The team has "shown only preliminary interest" in Ryan Dempster, reports Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald (Twitter link). Lauber notes that the Sox also didn't make a major push for Dempster at the trade deadline, though that could have been because they already considered the season lost.
- Red Sox officials were "seen meeting on" free agent catcher Russell Martin at the GM meetings, tweets CBS Sports' Jon Heyman. Signing Martin "might require more moves" for Boston, given the presence of Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Ryan Lavarnway behind the plate.
- Though the Diamondbacks are said to be looking for a third baseman, shortstop or starter in a Justin Upton trade and the Red Sox have several young players at those positions, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe doesn't think the Red Sox would part with any of their young core at this time.
- “Just because the Red Sox are coming off one losing season, I don’t lump them in with the non-contenders,” one player agent tells Scott Lauber. “Knowing what we know about the Red Sox, the market they play in, they’ll be back in the fray.” Another agent, however, predicts that veterans pursuing short-term deals on World Series contenders (such as Boston targets like Hiroki Kuroda or Torii Hunter) might avoid the Red Sox since the club doesn't look like it will turn things around by next season.
- GM Ben Cherington said the team is focusing on other needs besides at shortstop, reports Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. This would seem to indicate that the position is Jose Iglesias' to lose, though Abraham predicts the Sox will sign a veteran backup at short.
- Assistant GM Mike Hazen discussed Boston's young talent, the idea of trading prospects for established stars and other topics in a radio interview on WEEI's Red Sox Hot Stove Show. WEEI.com's Alex Speier has the partial transcript.
“Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe doesn’t think the Red Sox would part with any of their young core at this time.
Isn’t this obvious regardless? lol if they were to trade Mddlebrooks or even Xander I would punch the front office in the face. I honestly wouldn’t care to see Jose Iglesias move though. Get a veteran for 2 years and call up Boegarts in the second year, but he’ll probably in another position by then.
I think you got the right idea. I think the sox’s chances are pretty low in 2013. Upton is more of a move for that team that needs that one last player. Sox just have too many holes and too many question marks for them to consider giving up their prospects already.
As the team stands now they will do nothing in 2013. BenC needs to attract pitchers, the way you do that is to make a few signings that get the writers writing and the agents talking to their players.
If they signed BJ to play CF and signed one of Hunter or Ichiro for RF then signed Ross for left–that starts the ball rolling. They have their DH. I believe there 1b should be Gomez. With a .275 BA, .324 OBP and a .422 Slg % in a small sample of 37 games–he made one error in about 20 games at 1b –that’s acceptable: the guy can hit and hit with decent power.
Now you have a team that can live with a weak bat at SS, Iggy, or a little better bat Ciriaco.
Ichiro, Pedroia,BJ, Ortiz, Middlebrooks,Ross, Gomez,Salty, Iggy
Trade Ells and a prospect for Holland and sign Kuroda or Dempster.
That’s coming as a competitive team. Payroll probably $170 M.
No matter what goes down it has to start with the GM, guts or no guts-he has to part with some youth-trade them or lose them to Rule 5.Before you start the day today rent Moneyball again and be Brad Pitt.
That payroll would be a lot lower than 170 million. still i wouldnt do that because i dont want bj upton(incositent and will be overpaid) or gomez at 1B(worth giving a chance but most likely will underperform big time at the position) or Dempster(old and was terrible for texas). Ichiro, hunter, kuroda, and ross(on the right deal) would be solid though. I think the number one target for the sox should be anibel sanchez and then number 2 should be a decent bat at 1B like Napoli or Laroche or trading for one like Morse or Morneau.
Sanchez is asking for 6/90…Im thinking more like 4/52 or 5/65-70
What’s wrong with Ciriaco for the Red Sox at SS? Seems like Iglesias needs more time to learn how to hit…
Ciriaco goes with the same approach at each at-bat. Have you never payed attention when he goes to bat? lol
I know he terrorized my Yankees… he hit .293, doesn’t walk, but not a bad bottom of the order hitter.
Have you not payed attention to Jose Iglesias stats and AB in the majors?? and in the minors as well???
have you realized that iglesias is 22 and that when pedroia was 23 with 200 major leauge at bats his average was .150. Have you also realized igleasis plays great defense at a position where defesne is highly value? Also, have you realized that igleasias has been much younger than the guys he was facing in the minors and was rushed through the system due to his defesne?
Sorry about the rant but people are always bashing igleasis and while i think at his max he is a .275 hitter with little pop and great D, I dont see any reason to give up on him yet just like im extremly glad they didnt give up on pedroia
What a horrible comparison that is. Have you seen their minor league numbers?? Pedroia’s are wayy better, and besides that no one ever questioned Pedroia’s hit tool, thats what got him drafted in the 2nd round, with Iglesias, yeah hes 22 but scouts have all ways questioned how much he will hit, Also Pedroia is got much more power than Iglesias. Completely 2 different players. Sorry am not buying that Iglesias will ever hit more than .250. Don’t care how good his defense is, he’s not a starter long term in Boston.
And yeah Red Sox gave this guy a $6m bonus, I would have expected Boston to rush him (which they really didnt do).
Right, his average isn’t high enough. End of story… /sarcasm
they didnt rush him. the guy had 40 at bats in A Ball, 200 in AA Ball, and then as a 20 year old was put at AAA. yeah he is going to look overmatch there as well. just give him time, some scouts project him as capable of become a number 2 hitter on a first division team and most say that he is a number 9 hitter at worst. as for pedroia he hit .250 at pawtucket as a 21 year old just like igleasis dont act like he was tearing it up. yeah he was drafted for his bat and igleasis was signed for his glove but thats because one was a college player at 2B and the other was a international signing at 18 at SS. I just dont get people giving up on a player who is 22 and has such an amazing defensive skill set at the most important defensive position.
I think that if the sox can fill holes at other positions they can live with igleasis developing his hitting while giving them A defense.
“paid”
Ciriaco isn’t good enough to be a starter.
Is there a free agent who’s name hasn’t been linked to the Red Sox? If they signed 1/2 of the players they are supposedly interested in, they’d be back in the race.
If they signed half of the players they are supposedly interested in, they’d need a 60-man roster and a $2 billion payroll…and the dugout would have to extend to Pesky’s Pole.
Not really sure why the Sox waste money on Martin whom they don’t really need when there are other glaring holes in the lineup. Cherington seems to have this weird idea that if he buys low on a veteran catcher every year he can deal them at the deadline and while he got really lucky with Kelly Shoppach last year, I think they’re wasting time with this when Lavarnway really needs the MLB playing time.
Look at the 2012 stats and you’ll see that Martin and Salty are almost identical. Both hit for power, but low batting averages (in Martin’s case, Don Wert low). Neither is exactly Johnny Bench at throwing out would-be base stealers. If Martin was signed, Salty would almost have to be trade bait and he ain’t bringing much.
Exactly. Besides, I would greatly prefer to start Lavarnway and see what he can do as an everyday catcher. Defense is probably about the same, and I’d like to think he’ll carry a higher batting average with him. It’s time to give him a shot.
The Sox 2013 roster is:
C – Saltalamacchia, Lavarnway
1B – open, Gomez
2B – Pedroia, Ciriaco
SS – open, Ciriaco
3B – Middlebrooks, Gomez
RF – open, Kalish
CF – Ellsbury, open
LF – open
SP1 – open
SP2 – Lester
SP3 – Buchholz
SP4 – Doubront
SP5 – Lackey
The bullpen is ok but could really use 1 or 2 reliable arms, potentially someone to replace Bailey when he gets hurt.
It is unusual that a big market team has so many holes to fill and plenty of cash to do it. It is unrealistic but the Sox could sign Greinke, Napoli, Hunter, Ross, Affeldt, Adams and use Iglesias at SS for less than the salaries of AGonz, Crawford, Beckett and Matsuzaka.
I will say once again that it is unrealistic but feasible to become a contender if they really wanted to take the approach of spending in free agency.
i dont want grienke because he wants way to much money. much rather have sanchez and a depth signing like McCarthy. Napoli and Ross would be ok on reasonable 3 year deals but i feel like both are going to get overpaid. They have plenty of good bullpen guys on good contracts no reason to overpay affedlt and adams considering the inconsitency of bullpen arms. However if on the right deals the following team would be pretty good.
C – Saltalamacchia, Lavarnway, Napoli
1B – Napoli, Gomez
2B – Pedroia, Ciriaco
SS – Igleasis, Ciriaco
3B – Middlebrooks, Gomez
RF – Ross Kalish
CF – Ellsbury, Kalish(he backup all 3 positions)
LF – Hunter, Kalish
DH- Ortiz
SP1 – Sanchez
SP2 – Lester
SP3 – Buchholz
SP4 – Doubront
SP5 – Lackey
SPDepth of Morales, propsects, and a FA signing like McCarthy.
Assuming lester bounces back that could be a team that could contend for the division.
Never heard of that “Open” guy before. But he must be very versatile. You’ve got him penciled in to lots of spots.
I think it’s Carl Open, played A-ball last year. Good prospect. Seriously, the starting rotation in my eyes would be Lester, Buchholz, Doubront, Masterson, Lackey. I think Masterson (trade) and Sanchez or Guthrie (free agent) are the most realistic add-ons. Course, Jeremy will have to lower the price a bit.
Ha….I thought it might be U.S. Open, but he’s a golfer.
Masterson and Guthrie would be good pickups for any team, but the price is gonna be high.
Russell Martin had an .880 OPS vs. LHP this year.
If the Sox signed him they would trade Salty and make Lavarnway the starter. Then Martin would take Shoppach’s role last year and platoon him vs LHP.
This would honestly piss me off. Russell Martin was the one outspoken Yankee that openly said that he hated Boston and their fans….NO THANKS
If they are looking at him for a platoon role it would be with Salty, not Lavarnway. Martin and Lavarnway both hit better against lefties, so platooning them wouldn’t make any sense; Saltalamacchia is the only one who hits better against righties.
I think if Boston does make a trade it has to be for an ace. Something they haven’t truly had since Pedro and Schilling. But, who’s out there? I doubt Hernandez is available, so where do they turn?
james shields would be a great pick up but i dont see the rays and sox doing a deal togethor. Other than him there isn’t much unless you think lincecum will bounce back and that the giants are willing to trade him. Josh Johnsohn and Matt Garza both come with concerns and aren’t aces. Cliff Lee or Roy Halladay maybe if the Phillies are trying to clear salary but it seems more likely they will try to contend. Guys like Bauer and prospects maybe could be had in the right deal but they are unkown commodities.
I think Anibel Sanchez isn’t an ace but will be a pretty darn good number 2 for the next 5 years and is worth signing. When Lackey’s contract ends guys like Verland, kershaw, and King Felix are set to hit the market and im praying that one of them does.
Other than that the best chances of us aqquiring an ace is developing one ourself. Barnes maybe or the upcoming top ten pick we have.
Shields really isn’t an ace, though. Lincecum is a really intriguing option. SF doesn’t want to push payroll too much higher and if I’m not mistaken, he makes 22M next year. He pitched well in the playoffs, and would certainly be worth the look. The real question becomes… Would SF sell that low on him (since overall his season wasn’t that impressive like years past). If the price is right, it really would be worth the gamble for one year.
The thing with Lincecum is that if SF is willing to sell low then that has to be a red flag that they know something we don’t. If they are going to try to sell high then its probally not worth the risk anyways when he is a free agent next year.
I don’t think the Red Sox are at all thrilled with Salty or Lavarnway. I don’t see Lavarnway as anything more than a AAA player.
Xander Boegarts, the sixth best SS prospect in baseball, with a .280+/30/100 potential bat.
It says SS or 3B or SP. Red Sox have Middlebrooks (3B).
Oh yeah, forgot about him, but can he stick at SS in the majors?? or is he more of a 3B??
Body seems like more of a 3B, but scouts disagree on where he’ll end up. Some say he can play SS, some say he can’t.
Right now he’s got the body for SS, the debate is over how much he’ll grow as he gets older, and whether he’ll lose the range he needs for SS as he grows.