We’ve already checked in with the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo once today, with his report that the White Sox and Angels could both be looking to acquire one of several notable outfielders before this summer’s trade deadline. Here’s some more from Cafardo’s weekly Sunday notes piece and a separate column…
- Josh Reddick is another addition to the list of left-handed hitting outfielders who could be targeted by the White Sox, or perhaps even the Cubs given Reddick’s past history with Theo Epstein. Reddick will be a free agent this winter and there doesn’t appear to be much progress between he and the Athletics on an extension. The A’s are 14-18 after today’s loss in Baltimore and Reddick stands out as a big trade candidate should Oakland continue to lag behind in the AL West race.
- If the Braves decide to make a change at manager, Cafardo suggests that Red Sox bench coach Torey Lovullo would be a good fit for the rebuilding club due to Lovullo’s experience in dealing with younger players. Lovullo posted a winning record while serving as Boston’s interim manager last year and received quite a bit of credit for helping end 2015 on a positive note after the disastrous first few months of the Sox season.
- Many scouts and front offices feel Julio Teheran will be made available before the trade deadline. The Braves had some talks with the Giants and Cubs about Teheran last winter, and the 25-year-old righty has likely elevated his value with a good start to his season after he struggled in the first half of 2015.
- One AL general manager thinks the Red Sox would be willing to include Blake Swihart in a trade package for “a No. 2 type pitcher.” Though Swihart has struggled defensively behind the plate and has been demoted to Triple-A, the former top prospect still has a lot of trade value. Swihart’s hitting potential makes him a bigger trade target than fellow Boston catcher Christian Vazquez for most teams, as Vazquez is a much better defender but is a question mark at the plate.
- It has become clear that the Red Sox made the right choice in choosing Jackie Bradley Jr. over Jacoby Ellsbury, Cafardo opines. Bradley is starting to show signs that he can be a consistent big league hitter and he’s always displayed an outstanding glove, while Ellsbury has battled injuries and declining performance since signing a seven-year/$153MM deal with the Yankees in the 2013-14 offseason.
Cafardo: “Red Sox players are not sympathetic to players who have tested positive for PEDs. One Sox player said, “I hope we nail every one of them. Let’s do one [positive test] and out [of baseball]. That would act as a deterrent, for sure.”
Let’s mark that one down. I doubt there’s a single team in baseball that doesn’t have players using–perhaps several players.
Big Papi could be the first to go.
I’m not accusing anyone. I just think that it’s pretty clear that PED use is still going on, and I don’t buy the idea that just because a player puts on a particular team’s uniform, he suddenly becomes pure. What are players supposed to say when Cafardo approaches them?
What is trade value of Teheran
I have wanted him to be traded, but agree, not sure what value he has. I think and hope it is more pressure than anything. I think he can still be a solid 3 in any rotation.
With his contract, potential & the way he has been pitching if you are not talking about Gary Sanchez than I don’t see any reason to move him.
Is it wise for the Yankees to be dealing prospects at this point?
Your hard-on for Gary Sanchez is absurd. His defense is average, at best, and up until last year his write-up was “Offensive potential, but lazy”. Diaz or McGuire from Pittsburgh would be better, and more realistic drool over prospects for the Braves.
I wish one of those 20 teams would call about Eybar, he has no range and can not hit. I think it is one of two things either our scouts are terrible or after watching Simmons you can’t make comparisons . Andrelton I don’t care if all you do is bat 200 you could play ss for me
Aybar wasn’t the centerpiece of the return for Simmons. He was more of an additional throw in that they hoped they could flip this season. The scouts never compared their defensive ability, since he’s just a warm body until Swanson or Albies is ready.
I’ve read reports the Red Sox offered any where between 80 million and 100 million to Ellsbury, this idea they let him go because they have confidence in Jackie Bradley Jr is strange, they also went through an influx of about a half dozen outfielders in that time period it seems like.
I don’t doubt that Jackie Bradley is a good defender but the early-season advanced metrics don’t paint a positive picture:
fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=cf&stats=fld&#…
The “early season advanced metrics” don’t paint any picture yet. The sample size is way too small, especially for defensive metrics like uzr. Here’s a good article to help you understand how uzr should be used: fangraphs.com/library/defense/uzr/
I’d say a AAA player who will be a starter at the next level but not a top top prospect. Maybe like McKinney, outfielder for the Cubs
I’d say either one high upside prospect or a quantity of lesser prospects type deal really depends on the team though. I think McKinney would definitely be an ok starting point though.
I would keep him then
I would keep Teheran over McKinney definitely. If it was a little higher level prospect like Brinson from Texas or Meadows from the Pirates it might be a little more palatable. Essentially though, Teheran has more value than Shelby did. They are about the same caliber but Teheran has more years of control due to his extension.
Papi biggest steroid abuser since bonds
ARod, Braun, Voloquez, Cabrera, Cruz, Peralta, Mejia. Just to name a few.
The 2003 report doesn’t even say what people were tested positive for. And since then people have been reporting that Ortiz is one of the most tested players in the game. So at this point, even if you believe Ortiz was on steroids in 2003, you’d basically have to believe there’s been a massive conspiracy by MLB since then to cover up Ortiz. And if you believe that I have bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.
It doesn’t take a conspiracy. It means that IF Ortiz is taking something, it’s something that is easy to mask, or not being tested for.
It’s not a big stretch of the imagination. Users are always ahead of the testers.
If that was the case then why has offense been in decline since the more strenuous testing system? Opinions don’t trump facts.
Says you. Anything to back that statement up?
you cant be serious. if we are just randomly speculating using the “eye test”, then how about Jose Bautista who went from a terrible major leaguer to hitting 50 bombs a year
Bautista doesn’t really work because he made a significant swing change and is now following the normal decline curve. It’s not like Bonds, Clemens Palmeiro and others who have double peaks in their stat graphs
You could justify most steroid users success one way or another
Your proof about Ortiz is?
Reddick would be a solid target for the White Sox.
Markakis is a better hitter.
No he isn’t
No, not really. Unless you like hitters with literally NO pop left in their bats. Not to mention the difference in defensive value as well. The only way I’d take Markakis over Reddick is if the difference in prospects going back is SIGNIFICANT. I’d definitely take Markakis on the cheap, but giving up any real value for him would be a mistake.
I wouldn’t give up a top of rotation pitcher for Swihart anymore. Defense at catcher is incredibly important and more valuable than anywhere else, he’s bad at pretty much everything defensively including the most important part (framing). If he moves to corner OF and even can play it adequately (no safe bet) what he will have to hit to be valuable is much more than at catcher. He’s still just barely 24, so I understand having interest but not at value of TOR guy
Ryan Lavarnway agrees.
People always bring up Lavarnway as if he was this top prospect; the highest he ever ranked in the Sox system was #9 in 2011, when Boston’s system wasn’t that great. No scouts ever thought he coud catch, and the bat was never going to be enough to play anywhere. He wasn’t in the class of Bogaerts and Betts and Bradley ever.
Sox exposed Swihart’s shortcomings and, as a result, Swihart’s value is down. Swihart draws a #3 starter, hopefully, not a legit #2. Swihart’s value is tied to catching and he’s never impressed me behind the dish. Agreed on the Lavarnway comment above. Nobody loves Red Sox prospects more than the Red Sox. While we’re at it, Henry Owens? What do the Sox see in this guy? Sox need a reality check on their prospect admiration. Every prospect in not untouchable and so much of trading prospects is timing – Sox got that timing right on Casey Kelly, for example. Matt LaPorta, too, comes to mind as another franchise’s well timed deal.
Every time I hear about how overrated Red Sox prospects are I can’t help but think about guys like David Murphy, Jed Lowrie, or Josh Reddick. Guys who most Red Sox fans agreed would be ok and many other fanbases laughed and said they merely overhyped because they were Red Sox prospects. And yet all became regular players.
Red Sox prospects are just as overhyped as any prospect. Fan bases and pundits hear about a potential ceiling and expect that they have a winning lottery ticket. When they don’t reach that pie in the sky potential some one from another fan base laughs and says “see, didn’t I predict that?” And that’s despite the fact that person said the same thing about all the prospects of teams they don’t root for.
Swihart and Owens have looked terrible at MLB level. But not every prospect is going to be a serviceable MLB player. They have a decent amount of players at the MLB level right now that came through their system.
They needed to trade Swihart like the Yankees knew to trade Montero. Trading Casey Kelly was a good idea but the trouble was that they packaged him with Anthony Rizzo.
Agreed. The Gonzalez deal was a bad move in retrospect, but the timing on shipping Kelly was appropriate.
The American League GM who said that was most likely Dombrowski lol
A trade involving Teheran for Swihart and Rusney seems like it would work. Maybe another player or two involved. Teheran could be the type a pitcher they are looking for and OF and C are 2 positions the Braves are lacking in the minors and majors. Gives thems some possible pop they so desperately need.
I am not completely sure that the Braves would part ways with Teheran for Swihart and Castillo. Julio has very solid value in this “Over Priced” Pitchers market. Cost for FA Starting Pitching has gotten out of hand. Considering the state of the market, Teheran has a very club friendly deal with control. He is a strong #3 (solid #2 for a strong offensive team). Considering the market and recent decline of BS and RC, I am not sure that haul would pluck Julio Teheran from the Braves right now (even though it addresses the biggest areas of need for the Braves).
I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Braves and Cubs (others) talking about Markakis. I know the focus is on Reddick at the moment, and rightfully so. However, I think the market on Reddick is going to be high for a guy that is heading towards FA. Markakis brings very similar qualities and control for less in return. The injury that seems to have stripped Markakis of his 15 homers per year is the only issue. If Markakis was placed into a productive lineup, some of home run production might return with runners on and productive hitters behind him. If he can return to a 10 HR type guy, teams would be pleased. As far as the Cubs go, he checks all of the boxes that the Cubs fan base and Joe Maddon typically love. The Cubs have the power at other positions to cover less HRs from NM.
No thanks – every Red Sox fan ever.
Henry Owens just needs to get over his jitters and make some adjustments. Funny that an article referencing the success of JBJ has so many short sighted people trashing Red Sox prospects. Believe it or not, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Lester and many more struggled at first after a hyped minor league career.
Also, Ellsbury has never been the defensive gem that JBJ is. I can see a top 10 mvp finish coming for JBJ in his pre-FA years.
Josh Reddick wouldn’t be a bad pick up but I would rather have Cargo. I’m not as scared about his home runs dropping moving to Chicago bc the guy is still gonna bat .300 for you. Then again he would be moving from the NL so maybe Reddick is the way to go..
I’d happily take either. So go get whichever one comes cheapest.