Red Sox Rumors

Quick Hits: Hill, BoSox, Bucs, Braves, Giants, Dodgers

By Connor Byrne | August 27, 2016 at 11:03pm CDT

Before he joined Oakland on a one-year, $6MM deal last November, the Red Sox tried to re-sign left-hander Rich Hill as a reliever, while the Pirates made a similar offer to the A’s and wanted him to start, reports Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com. Hill, who revived his career with four great starts as a member of the Red Sox last September, has carried his success into this year. Despite dealing with multiple injuries, the 36-year-old has put up a sterling 2.09 ERA, 10.21 K/9, 3.07 BB/9, 49.5 percent ground-ball rate and 15.7 percent infield fly rate in 82 innings. The A’s dealt him and outfielder Josh Reddick to the Dodgers on Aug. 1, thereby turning a cheap investment into three well-regarded prospects.

AL Notes: Sox, Rangers, Choo, Girardi

By Connor Byrne and Jeff Todd | August 27, 2016 at 8:13pm CDT

After dealing away Dioner Navarro on Friday, the White Sox may have further moves to make before the end of the month. As Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago tweets, GM Rick Hahn says that there are some other irons in the fire as contenders move to add players to their organization before the August 31 deadline to bring in postseason-eligible outsiders. “We were having dialogue with a lot of different clubs on a handful of different players,” says Hahn.

Red Sox Place Andrew Benintendi On Disabled List

By Steve Adams | August 26, 2016 at 4:22pm CDT

TODAY: Boston got fairly promising news on Benintendi, as manager John Farrell told reports including Tim Britton of the Providence Journal (Twitter link). The injury has been diagnosed as a knee sprain, with a litany of tests revealing no structural damage.

Per Farrell the organization is both relieved and optimistic that the young phenom can return this season. Boston is in solid enough shape without the 22-year-old, who has played in just 21 big league games, but he has provided a big jolt to the club and already seems an important part of the roster for the stretch run.

YESTERDAY: The Red Sox have placed left fielder Andrew Benintendi on the disabled list following last night’s knee injury, the team told reporters, including Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald (Twitter link). Benintendi, who was initially diagnosed with a left knee sprain, underwent an MRI this morning, and while the results are still being evaluated, the Sox felt it was a serious enough injury to warrant this move. Infielder Marco Hernandez is being recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket in his place.

Mastrodonato tweets that Chris Young will receive the majority of the at-bats in left field with Benintendi on the shelf, with Brock Holt getting some occasional time there as well as he bounces around the diamond. Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe tweets that manager John Farrell said that the Sox are hoping this isn’t a season-ending injury for their standout rookie, but Abraham adds that said sentiment seems to be “more wishful thinking than anything.”

Benintendi suffered the injury while attempting to get back to second base on what ultimately went down as a ground-ball double play. Benintendi had to be helped off the field after his ankle rolled significantly and his knee bent in an awkward direction (video link), though Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald tweets that his ankle is “fine.” Benintendi hasn’t been with the Sox long, debuting on Aug. 2, but his production will nonetheless be difficult to replace. In 74 plate appearances, the 2015 No. 7 overall pick is hitting .324/.365/.485 with a homer, six doubles and a triple already to his credit.

Injury Notes: Benintendi, Bedrosian, Minor, Zimmermann, Cobb

By Steve Adams | August 25, 2016 at 8:16am CDT

Red Sox left fielder Andrew Benintendi had to be helped off the field last night following a slip on the basepaths during which his ankle rolled significantly and his knee bent in an awkward direction (video link). The Red Sox are calling the injury a left knee sprain, writes Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. Abraham also tweets that with Benintendi sure to be out of the lineup for Thursday’s afternoon game, the team could wait until Friday’s return to Boston to send Benintendi for an MRI. The 22-year-old Benintendi, whom the Sox selected with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2015 draft, has batted an outstanding .324/.365/.485 through his first 74 big league plate appearances. The Red Sox did just get Chris Young back from the disabled list, but losing Benintendi for any significant period of time would of course be a substantial setback for Boston.

A few more notable injury stories from around the league…

The Angels announced on Wednesday that doctors have discovered a blood clot in the upper right arm of breakout reliever Cam Bedrosian. As Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register writes, the 24-year-old will see a vascular specialist before a next step is determined, but season-ending surgery is a possibility. Bedrosian was already on the disabled list due to tendinitis in his right middle finger. If this new issue does end his season, he’ll wrap up the year with a scintillating 1.12 ERA, 11.4 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and a 49.5 percent ground-ball rate in 40 1/3 innings.
Left-hander Mike Minor has been shut down for the year by the Royals, GM Dayton Moore told reporters, including Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link). Minor, 28, signed a two-year, $7.25MM contract with a mutual option this offseason but ultimately will miss the entire 2016 season — the second straight year in which shoulder problems have prevented him from being able to set foot on a Major League mound. The longtime Braves lefty last pitched in 2014, posting a 4.77 ERA in 145 1/3 innings and has a career 4.10 ERA in 652 2/3 innings with Atlanta. His backloaded contract only calls for him to earn $2MM this season.
The Tigers announced this morning that right-hander Jordan Zimmermann will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Toledo on Friday. Zimmermann has pitched for Detroit just once since June 30, lasting just 1 2/3 innings in his lone start back from a neck strain that sidelined him for the entire month of July. After that abbreviated return, Zimmermann went back on the DL with a lat strain, but he’ll look to make his return to the Tigers early next month. A healthy Zimmermann would be a breath of fresh air for Detroit, as the team currently sits just three games back from a Wild Card spot and 5.5 back from the division-leading Indians.
After 15 months of rehab from Tommy John surgery, right-hander Alex Cobb is lining up to make his return to the Rays’ rotation next weekend, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Cobb has already made seven rehab appearances and is set to make one final Triple-A start on Saturday before being activated on Sept. 2 or 3, per Topkin. Cobb hasn’t pitched for the Rays since the end of the 2014 season, as he initially suffered the injury that preceded his UCL tear in Spring Training 2015. The timing on that deal was remarkably poor, Topkin notes, as Cobb’s agents were in discussion with the Rays about an extension at the time of his initial injury.

Dombrowski: Red Sox Still “Open” To Adding Papelbon, Await His Decision

By Jeff Todd | August 24, 2016 at 11:52am CDT

The Red Sox are still amenable to reaching a deal with free agent reliever Jonathan Papelbon, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski suggested in comments to MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link).

Last we checked in, a return of Papelbon to Boston — where he made his name as a big leaguer — seemed unlikely. And that may still be the case, especially since the longer Papelbon goes without joining an organization, the more time (and less opportunity) he’ll have to ramp up.

[Related: Up-to-Date Red Sox Depth Chart]

It seems that the ball remains in Papelbon’s court to move his career forward, as at least the Red Sox, and possibly other organizations, remain interested in signing him. As Dombrowski put it, “he has to decide what he wants to do.” If he has any hopes of throwing in the playoffs, moreover, Papelbon will need to sign within the next week, as post-season rosters cannot include players that joined an organization after the end of August.

Whether Papelbon and his representatives are holding out for more favorable terms, or have other considerations in mind, isn’t really known. But the long-time closer doesn’t seem to have much leverage. Teams may not be willing to give him assurances of how often he’ll pitch or in what role, if they are even willing to commit a major league deal to a hurler who had turned in a career-worst 4.37 ERA and hasn’t pitched in nearly three weeks.

Barring a string of injuries, it’s not clear that the offers will improve, at least from the Red Sox. As Dombrowski characterized things, there doesn’t appear to be much room for negotiation: “We are open, we did call, he has to decide.”

John Henry On Dombrowski, Sandoval, Ortiz, Extensions, Pitching

By Jeff Todd | August 23, 2016 at 8:19am CDT

Red Sox owner John Henry discussed a variety of topics in an exchange with Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald (read more here and here). Fans of the team and those interested in the interaction of the front office and upper management will certainly want to give the Q&A a full read, but here are some of the highlights:

Henry discussed the baseball operations department quite a bit. He credited former GM Ben Cherington for his “discipline” during his tenure running the team. Indeed, Boston has benefited from the strong play of several young players who were often mentioned as possible trade pieces. Upon taking the helm, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has “done a very good job of bringing the clubhouse and front office together,” says Henry.

The decision to add Dombrowski not only represented a switch at the top of baseball ops, but also led Boston to join an increasing number of teams in utilizing a president of baseball operations as well as a general manager. C“I think most big clubs now realize that the traditional GM role was just too large and demanding,” Henry explains while noting that he has been impressed by the performance of new GM Mike Hazen, who was Cherington’s top lieutenant but ended up being retained and promoted by Dombrowski.

Henry also touched upon the status of injured and embattled Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval. The 30-year-old is an important part of the near future for Boston, Henry says. That’s self-evident to some extent, as Sandoval is owed $58MM over the next three seasons (including the buyout of a 2020 club option). But the Sox owner suggests that the organization has expectations that Sandoval can return to being the “supremely talented veteran and a proven winner” that the club signed up for in the first place. “This year and last were frustrating for him and frustrating for us,” Henry says of Sandoval. “We need him next year.”

Sandoval’s importance is heightened by the fact that David Ortiz is set to retire after the year, Henry suggests. Big Papi is in the midst of an all-time age-40 season — he currently leads the league with a 1.050 OPS — and that obviously represents a more-or-less irreplaceable source of offense, though the free agent market does promise to offer several big bats. Sandoval certainly doesn’t look like a direct substitute, but a typical pre-Boston season from the Panda would go a long way toward making up for the loss.

Ortiz’s monster season has inevitably raised questions about whether he’ll reconsider his decision to hang ’em up. While Henry says that he would invite that, it doesn’t sound as if anything is actually under consideration with Ortiz still battling through pain to make it on the field. “If at some point he seriously considers coming back, it would be a great day for the organization,” said Henry. “But, unfortunately, I don’t think that is in the cards.”

Even as the Sox bid adieu to Big Papi, they have some immensely talented, younger position players like Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, and Jackie Bradley Jr. on hand to constitute a new core. The natural question is whether and when Boston will aim to extend some of these regulars. While Henry declined to answer in any detail, he did note that, “if this group wants to play together for a long-time, we’ll do everything we can to make it happen.”

It’s rather easy to make a case for offering new, long-term deals to any of those three players, each of whom has now performed in the majors for a reasonably extended stretch — thus seemingly making good on their promise as prospects. But the Red Sox organization has a much less impressive record in developing pitching than in churning out bats from the farm. Unsurprisingly, Henry labeled that a “problem.” While he didn’t divulge much, he suggested that it’s a priority for the team to figure out how to draft and develop young arms.

Cafardo’s Latest: Moreland, Leon, Red Sox, Gomez, Puig

By Mark Polishuk | August 21, 2016 at 8:46pm CDT

The latest news and notes from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe…

The Astros have a lot of interest in Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland, though Cafardo doubts a trade is likely given Texas’ lack of first base depth in the wake of Prince Fielder’s retirement. (It would also be very unusual to see a trade between two division rivals in a pennant race, even if Houston has fallen well behind Texas in the AL West.) The Astros already have a left-handed hitting first baseman in rookie A.J. Reed, though Reed is still a work in progress despite some improved hitting over the last couple of weeks. While it doesn’t seem like Texas would deal Moreland, he has cleared trade waivers, so he can freely moved to any other club.
The Nationals’ trade of Sandy Leon to the Red Sox for cash considerations in March 2015 drew little attention at the time, though it has become an unexpectedly important deal given how Leon has blossomed in Boston. Leon entered the day with a stunning 1.088 OPS over 158 plate appearances this season, completely dwarfing anything he’d done at the major or minor league levels. “I personally signed Sandy Leon when he was 16½ years old…My name is on that one,” Nats GM Mike Rizzo said. “He was a good catch-and-throw kid, and what a kid. He’s one of the greatest young men I’ve ever been around. I’m so happy he’s doing well especially offensively, but I never saw it coming.”
The Red Sox could fill David Ortiz’s big shoes by DH at pursuing free agents Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista, Carlos Beltran, Mike Napoli or Mark Trumbo this winter, as Cafardo feels the team will look for an external solution. The simplest move would be to move Hanley Ramirez to DH, though that leaves both corner infield spots up in the air given the uncertainty around Pablo Sandoval’s weight, Travis Shaw’s ability to play every day and the development of prospects Yoan Moncada and Sam Travis.
Carlos Gomez drew interest from several teams before signing with the Rangers, with Cafardo adding the Indians and Blue Jays to the list of clubs already known to have been looking at the veteran outfielder. Gomez likely would’ve served as platoon partner for Tyler Naquin in center for the Tribe, though despite Michael Brantley missing virtually the entire season, Cleveland’s outfield has actually been pretty solid thanks to unexpected contributions from Naquin, Rajai Davis and (when he hasn’t been at third) Jose Ramirez. Gomez could’ve filled in the Jays outfield while Bautista and Kevin Pillar are on the DL, though his role would’ve been rather unclear once both returned.
Yasiel Puig “is considered toxic at the moment” and it seems unlikely that another team will take him off the Dodgers’ hands. One Dodgers official isn’t entirely closing the door on Puig remaining in L.A., saying “At some point, the talent, the maturity is going to take hold. Someone will benefit from it. We hope it’s us, but it’s hard to envision it right now.”

Reunion Unlikely For Red Sox, Jonathan Papelbon

By Connor Byrne | August 21, 2016 at 3:42pm CDT

A reunion between the playoff-contending Red Sox and their former closer, free agent Jonathan Papelbon, doesn’t appear to be in the offing, according to Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald. Papelbon, whom the Nationals released last Saturday, hasn’t pitched in two-plus weeks (Aug. 6) and there’s concern within the Boston organization that he won’t have enough time to prepare for the rest of the season in the event they do pick him up. The Red Sox believe Papelbon would need at least a week-long tuneup in the minors if they were to sign him.

General manager Mike Hazen said earlier this week that the club was “just kind of in a wait-and-see” situation with Papelbon, whom manager John Farrell has spoken with since he hit the open market. Farrell also acknowledged then that team brass broached the idea of adding Papelbon.

“We’ve talked about it, there’s some real strong points to ’Pap’ that could be an addition here,” he said.

There wouldn’t be much financial risk in adding Papelbon, who would cost the Red Sox the prorated portion of the league minimum. But the 35-year-old is only in position to sign for a cheap sum because his effectiveness has dwindled, which caused the playoff-bound Nationals to drop him. In his final five appearances with the Nats, Papelbon’s ERA rose from 2.56 to 4.37 as he yielded nine runs in 3 1/3 innings. That’s a far cry from the Papelbon who pitched for the Red Sox from 2005-11. During that seven-year period, the 2003 fourth-round pick threw 429 1/3 frames and registered a 2.33 ERA, 10.67 K/9 and 2.41 BB/9. He also helped Boston to a World Series title in 2007 and converted a franchise-record 219 regular-season saves in 248 attempts – good for a sterling 88-plus percent success rate. However, Papelbon’s fastball velocity, strikeout and walk rates, and ground-ball percentage have all declined significantly since then.

Regardless of whether they bring back Papelbon, the Red Sox will have some questions at the back end of their bullpen. To name a trio of prominent ones, Junichi Tazawa has allowed seven earned runs over his past four appearances (two innings); July acquisition Fernando Abad hasn’t yet carried his success from Minnesota to Boston; and 41-year-old Koji Uehara hasn’t pitched since July 19 because of a pectoral strain. Even before landing on the disabled list, Uehara’s ERA was a career-worst 4.50 across 36 innings, during which he yielded eight home runs and posted a personal-low 19 percent ground-ball rate. Moreover, Uehara excelled at generating infield pop-ups in previous years, but that figure has dropped from 16.1 percent in 2015 to 8.2 percent this season.

As Mastrodonato notes, though, the Red Sox have potential in-house solutions in a pair of right-handers, Heath Hembree and Joe Kelly, and lefty Brian Johnson. Hembree is currently in the club’s bullpen, while Kelly and Johnson are candidates to come up when rosters expand in September.

AL Notes: Mariners, Angels, Red Sox, Aybar

By Jeff Todd | August 18, 2016 at 10:39pm CDT

Major League Baseball’s owners have voted to approve the recent sale of the Mariners from Nintendo to a group led by new chairman and CEO John Stanton, as Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports. That step was largely a formality to finalize the major transaction, which also transfers the team-owned Root Sports network. The sale placed the value of the franchise at $1.4B.

Here’s more from the American League:

Angels pro scouting director Hal Morris is leaving the organization, according to Keith Law of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The big league veteran had held his position since the fall of 2011, when he was hired by then-GM Jerry Dipoto. Much has changed since that time, of course, as Dipoto left his post last summer and the organization ended up replacing him with Billy Eppler over the offseason.
Of the five young Red Sox international signees who were recently returned to the open market as a penalty for the team’s signing violations, only one — righty Cesar Gonzalez — had failed to sign with a new organization in the immediate aftermath of the move. As Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald recently reported, Gonzalez has now found a new home with the Padres. The 17-year-old was not considered a significant prospect, and landed only $25K from San Diego, per MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter), though he’ll also get to hold onto his original signing bonus from Boston and will get a fresh start with a new organization.
The Tigers are looking to just-acquired infielder Erick Aybar for a boost, though they won’t necessarily install him as the regular shortstop, George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press writes. It seems that the 32-year-old is likely to share time up the middle with Dixon Machado for the time being, and presumably he’ll move into more of a utility role upon the anticipated return of Jose Iglesias and Nick Castellanos from the DL later this year. Aybar got off to a hideous start with the Braves, though he had hit much better leading up to the trade. “I know it’s been a down year,” manager Brad Ausmus said of Aybar’s season to date. “He’s not necessarily here to replace anybody. If he comes in here and plays well he’ll play. Simple as that. We’re in the business of winning baseball games. If he helps us win baseball games he’ll play.”

Latest On Jonathan Papelbon

By Jeff Todd | August 18, 2016 at 12:02am CDT

Former Nationals reliever Jonathan Papelbon remains unsigned, though he hasn’t been on the open market for long and is still assessing his options. While a near-term signing may still be anticipated, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com notes on Twitter that the veteran’s timetable for joining a new organization appears to have shifted back somewhat.

One team that will not be considering the former star closer is the Rangers. According to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, via Twitter, Texas has no interest whatsoever.

The Red Sox, though, continue to be linked to a pitcher who made his name in Boston. As Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald reports, GM Mike Hazen told WEEI’s Lou Merloni and Mike Mutnansky that the club is “just kind of in a wait-and-see” situation after having expressed interest.

Hazen did note that the Sox are looking at ways to bolster their pen, with the idea being to build as much depth as possible. It has seemingly been tough going on the fickle August trade market, making the freely-available Papelbon a more appealing target.

Though questions have understandably been raised not only as to Papelbon’s effectiveness but also whether he’d be a good clubhouse presence, his former employers and teammates haven’t shied away. After a previous statements of support from Cubs lefty Jon Lester, Red Sox slugger David Ortiz says that his former teammate would be a welcome addition, as ESPN.com’s Scott Lauber writes.

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