Red Sox Notes: Rotation, Doubront, Betts

The Red Sox should be willing to trade staff ace Jon Lester and any number of other non-core veteran players, opines Dan Szymborski of ESPN.com (Insider piece). Just as the club acted rationally in dealing away Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, and Josh Beckett two years ago, Szymborski says that Boston should face reality and take the opportunity to swap out some current pieces for future talent with an eye toward competing next year.

Here’s the latest out of Boston:

• One area of apparent excess — as it was before the season started — is the rotation, which just welcomed back Clay Buchholz. But while the club is currently carrying seven starters on its roster, that does not mean that it is simply biding time for a deal, reports Sean McAdam of Comcast SportsNet New England (via Twitter). Maintaining the full staff was not related to an effort to move Jake Peavy, in particular, WEEI.com’s Alex Speier reports.
• Nevertheless, southpaw Felix Doubront, who is being moved to the pen, took questions today about the possibility of being dealt. As Jason Mastrodonato of MassLive.com reports, Doubront acknowledged that a trade could have some positive repercussions, as it might deliver a more steady starting role — which is his clear preference. He did emphasize that he would his move to a relief role and a hypothetical departure in stride. As Tim Britton of the Providence Journal reports, Doubront’s approaching arbitration eligibility is also in limbo, as he would stand to increase his value as a starter. “Arbitration is just about numbers,” said Doubront. “I’m going to try to get better numbers and still win money. For the moment, that’s the only thing I can do, the only thing I can focus on and be positive: Get better numbers in this position.”
• When the pitching logjam is finally removed, Boston will likely dip into its minor league ranks for a right-handed bat, writes Speier. The club is in no apparent rush, but when it makes a move, the two obvious options are mid-season free agent signee Ryan Roberts, who has put up good numbers since being outrighted, and skyrocketing prospect Mookie Betts. As Speier notes, it is remarkable that a promotion of the 21-year-old is even under consideration.