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Red Sox Hope For More Production In Right

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No team in baseball has scored as often as the Red Sox (409 runs), but there’s room for improvement, even in Boston. Red Sox right fielders have the worst average (.220), on-base percentage (.304) and slugging percentage (.326) of any American League team. And as one Red Sox source tells Alex Speier of WEEI.com, the status quo isn’t good enough. 

“We need more out of that position,” Speier’s source said.

J.D. Drew hasn’t been as effective as expected against right-handers and Mike Cameron and Darnell McDonald haven’t produced as expected against left-handers, especially recently. Speier says it wouldn’t be surprising if Cameron or McDonald gets cut when Carl Crawford returns from the disabled list.

The Red Sox would prefer for their existing options – Drew, Cameron, McDonald and Josh Reddick – to play so well that no reinforcements seem necessary. But Boston’s interest in right-handed outfielders who can contribute off of the bench appears to be growing, according to Speier.

Quick Hits: Maholm, Chulk, Cardinals

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Two years ago today, the Indians traded third baseman Mark DeRosa to the Cardinals for Chris Perez, with Jess Todd also going to Cleveland as the player to be named later.  DeRosa injured his wrist shortly after the trade and struggled in his time with the Cards, but they received a consolation prize in righty Seth Blair, chosen in the 2010 draft as compensation when DeRosa signed with the Giants.  Perez has racked up 42 saves as the Indians' closer.  Todd was designated for assignment in April of this year, claimed by the Yankees, designated again in May, claimed by the Cardinals, and recently outrighted to Triple-A.  On to today's links…

  • Rangers reliever Darren O'Day may return this week from the 60-day DL, meaning the team will need to open up a 40-man roster spot.
  • The Red Sox announced they activated righty Junichi Tazawa from the 60-day DL and optioned him to Double-A; lefty Rich Hill was placed on the 60-day DL to keep the 40-man roster at 40.
  • Pirates lefty Paul Maholm reiterated to Karen Price of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that he'd like to stay in Pittsburgh, but he's not going to beg or initiate extension talks.  In general terms, GM Neal Huntington expressed a strong preference for avoiding in-season negotiations.  He has a $9.75MM option on Maholm for 2012.  For more on the Maholm situation, click here.
  • Athletics reliever Vinnie Chulk can opt out of his contract Friday, notes SI's Jon Heyman (Twitter link).  The 32-year-old righty has a 2.75 ERA, 6.9 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, and 0.2 HR/9 in 39 1/3 Triple-A innings this year.
  • Heyman talked to agents and executives, asking them to predict contracts for Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, and Jose Reyes.  Everyone sees Pujols getting at least $27.5MM and at least six years.  I have to wonder if he'd prefer a one-year deal if his return is less than stellar.  Meanwhile, most of the participants saw Fielder getting $24-25MM a year and at least five years.
  • The Cardinals could try to acquire two relievers rather than go after a big fish like Heath Bell, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

New York Notes: Crosstown Trades, Osuna, Reyes

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The Yankees own the best record in the American League and a half-game lead in the AL East over the Red Sox.  The Mets are at .500 and sit 4.5 games out in the wild card race.  The latest on New York's teams…

Millwood Chooses Not To Exercise Opt-Out

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Veteran pitcher Kevin Millwood has chosen not to exercise his opt-out with the Red Sox organization, writes Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.  Millwood, 36, will remain in the Sox' organization with the understanding that exploring opportunities in other organizations may be revisited as the season progresses.

Millwood's official opt-out date was on Monday.  The right-hander has looked solid in five starts with Triple-A Pawtucket, posting a 2.89 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9.

Quick Hits: Nationals, Padres, Drew, Quade

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Some notes from around the majors….

  • ESPN's Buster Olney is "85-95%" confident that Davey Johnson will be the next Nationals manager.  Johnson is currently an advisor with the Nats and hasn't managed since 2000.  SI.com's Jon Heyman says Johnson is "in the mix" and might take the job if offered but "he loves [Jim] Riggleman and is sensitive to [the] situation" concerning Riggleman's abrupt departure.  (All Twitter links)
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports also chimes in on the Nationals' managerial situation, noting that while Riggleman was wrong to leave the team, it was also unfair of Nationals management to leave Riggleman as a lame duck without a guaranteed 2012 contract.  Rosenthal also reports that GM Mike Rizzo rarely communicated with Riggleman and has a similar lack of regular contact with his scouting department.
  • “Given the division, if we were to get real hot over the next two weeks, a final decision might be delayed a week or two,” a Padres executive tells Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune about when the Friars will start looking to trade players. “But the day is coming.”  Center figures Heath Bell, Ryan Ludwick and Chad Qualls are all sure bets to be dealt.  Jason Bartlett and Orlando Hudson may stay put, however, since San Diego has no Major League-ready middle infield replacements in the farm system.  Such a young player could possibly come back in any deal for one of those two veterans, but if you're a team with a good young middle infielder, you'd probably want to keep that player rather than move him for a Hudson or a Bartlett.
  • Jed Hoyer says "nothing is imminent" and "the only thing that’s true [about various Padres rumors] is that people call us," reports Marty Caswell of XX1090 Radio in San Diego.  (Twitter link)
  • With David Wright cleared to resume baseball activities, ESPN New York's Rob Parker hopes the Mets won't abandon a much-needed rebuilding plan in pursuit of a longshot chance at the postseason.
  • ESPN Boston's Jeremy Lundblad looks at J.D. Drew's struggles this season.  With Drew and Mike Cameron providing a negative WAR, Lundblad argues the Red Sox will need to look for right field help, whether it's via trade or an internal option like Josh Reddick or Ryan Kalish.
  • The Cubs will have to go on a tear in the second half of the season in order to save Mike Quade's job, writes Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.  Even this might not be enough, since if GM Jim Hendry goes, so will Quade.
  • In an appearance on Jim Rome's radio show on Wednesday (via Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post), Todd Helton said he thinks the Rockies need another quality starter to be World Series contenders.  Colorado GM Dan O'Dowd recently stated his team might be in the market for pitching.

Red Sox Notes: Cameron, Navarro, Miller

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Despite today’s loss, the 44-30 Red Sox have proven that they’re one of baseball’s top teams. Here’s the latest on the Red Sox from Peter Gammons of MLB Network, who joined WEEI’s Mut & Merloni show today (Audio here, Ryan Hannable has the highlights):

  • The Red Sox may consider pursuing a right-handed hitting outfielder, since there’s some concern about Mike Cameron. Gammons mentions Jeff Baker of the Cubs and Ryan Spilborghs of the Rockies as possible targets for Boston.
  • Minor league infielder Yamaico Navarro is recovering from an oblique injury, but the Red Sox could call on the versatile prospect if they need depth later in the summer. "I know they think that he’s going to be a really important guy to this team, because he’s got so much versatility,” Gammons said. “He’s so young. And he’s grown up a lot in the last year.” Navarro has a .283/.387/.538 line at Triple-A this year.
  • The Red Sox envision Andrew Miller as someone who has “the potential of being a big-time power starter” rather than a reliever, Gammons said. The left-hander made his Red Sox debut this week, tossing 5 2/3 innings and allowing seven hits, three walks and three runs while stiking out six.

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Accardo, Blue Jays

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Wade Boggs hit his first MLB home run on this date 29 years ago. Power wasn't an essential part of Boggs' game, but he won five batting titles and collected 3,010 hits in his 18-year career with the Yankees, Red Sox and Devil Rays. Here's the latest on Boggs' former division:

  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports knows there's no perfect team in baseball, but he says the Red Sox are as close as it gets. Only Philadelphia has a better record than Boston, which entered today's action with an AL-best 44-29 record.
  • Jeremy Accardo could be a free agent by tomorrow. The Orioles reliever has to choose between an assignment to Triple-A Norfolk with a big league salary or free agency and uncertain job prospects, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). 
  • Blue Jays manager John Farrell told Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca that the Blue Jays will consider possible changes before opening their series against the Cardinals (Twitter link). “We need a spark, that’s clear,” Farrell said. “How we look to do that we’ll examine in this room first.” The Braves just swept the 36-39 Jays out of Atlanta.

Checking In On The Newest $100MM Players

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Every year a few select players join baseball’s exclusive $100MM club with free agent deals and mega-extensions. Last offseason was no different – we saw six players sign nine figure deals. The contracts were all for five years or more, so it’s far too early to call them successes or failures. But as the season approaches its halfway point, let’s check in on baseball’s newest $100MM players:

  • Troy Tulowitzki, ten-year, $157.75MM extension – Tulo has slowed down after a scorching start, but he's still having an excellent season. His .274/.339/.491 line and 13 homers look especially good when you consider that he's a good defensive shortstop.
  • Adrian Gonzalez, seven-year, $154MM extension – Red Sox fans dreamed of a season like this when Theo Epstein acquired Gonzalez from the Padres in December. The first baseman is a leading MVP candidate with a .350/.403/.603 line and 15 home runs. 
  • Carl Crawford, seven-year, $142MM contract – Crawford was heating up before he hit the disabled list, but his numbers are poor overall. He has a .243/.275/.384 batting line, just 8 stolen bases and his lowest walk rate (3.2%) since 2002, his rookie season.
  • Jayson Werth, seven-year, $126MM contract – Werth is hitting just .233/.334/.409, though he has 10 home runs. Nationals fans may be consoled by the fact that Werth erupted in the second half last year and has traditionally produced better after the All-Star break.
  • Cliff Lee, five-year, $120MM contract – The prize of the offseason free agent market, Lee has a 3.12 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 104 innings. The lefty is in the midst of another fantastic season and this time he doesn't have to worry about being traded.
  • Ryan Braun, five-year, $105MM extension – Braun is having a monster year. He has a .310/.397/.555 line with 15 homers and a career-best 12.1% walk rate for the first-place Brewers.  

It's fair to expect Werth and Crawford to turn their seasons around and produce as they did before signing nine figure free agent contracts. The other four additions to the $100MM club are justifying the deals, at least to the extent that it's possible in less than three months.

Quick Hits: Braves, Mariners, Balfour, Posting System

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Today the Diamondbacks purchased the contract of Wily Mo Pena with the aim of employing him in the middle of their order as a designated hitter during the AL leg of their interleague schedule.  The D'Backs had open spots on the 40-man roster for Pena, who hasn't played in the bigs since '08 but has a .363/.439/.726 line with 21 home runs in 271 Triple-A plate appearances.  Today's links…

  • Braves GM Frank Wren spoke to Dave O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the state of the trade market, saying teams are "starting to reach out and talk to each other." He added that they "talked to a number of clubs about where they think they’re going to be going at the trade deadline, but that’s even somewhat nebulous on a lot of clubs."
  • Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times explored the idea of the Mariners trading either Jason Vargas or Doug Fister for offensive help and tried to figure out what a realistic return would be.
  • In today's Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney mentions that Grant Balfour of the Athletics is among the relievers expected to be available this summer. He speculates that the Rangers could be a fit.
  • Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal looked at how the Red Sox were about to snag Anthony Rizzo in the sixth round three years before he was a key piece in the Adrian Gonzalez trade.
  • NPB has decided against pursuing changes to the posting system according to a Japanese report passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker. Reasons include the difficulty of changing things on MLB's side, as well as the potential for large posting fees offered by the current system.
  • In the wake of Andrew Miller's return to the big leagues, WEEI.com's Alex Speier listed the seven pitchers in the last 15 years that reached the Majors the year they were drafted. It's not a pretty list.

Quick Hits: Mariners, Rizzo, Gonzalez, Orioles

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On this date in 1997, the Reds called Aaron Boone up and sent his brother, Bret, to the minors. Bret would emerge as a power threat the following year and average 26 homers per season for the next seven years. Aaron put together a solid 12-year career that featured an All-Star Game berth and one of the most memorable home runs in Yankees history. Here's the latest from around MLB…

  • Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner runs through some possible left field targets for the Mariners, including Ryan Ludwick and Luke Scott.
  • Padres GM Jed Hoyer told Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald that he doesn't want 21-year-old first baseman Anthony Rizzo to try to replace Adrian Gonzalez, the man he was traded for last winter. "Adrian Gonzalez at 21 years old was toiling in Triple-A," Hoyer said. "It took Adrian a number of years before he really established himself as a Major League player."
  • Hoyer says he's not surprised that Gonzalez has turned in a "monster" season for the Red Sox so far. Unfortunately for the Padres, they couldn't afford him long-term.
  • The Orioles have agreed to terms with third round right-hander Mike Wright, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.
  • The MLBPA Alumni Association is working on a program that will transition players to jobs beyond the playing field, according to Evan Drellich of MLB.com. Most Major Leaguers retire without millions of dollars saved up, so the program will be important for players like veteran minor leaguer Andy Tracy, who expects to retire after the season.
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