Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Red Sox Rumors

Odds & Ends: Blake, Kemp, Hendrickson, Matias, Hill

By | at

If there were any doubts about how much trade deadline acquisitions can affect the postseason, last night's Giants/Braves contest silenced them. A pair of former Royals, Rick Ankiel and Kyle Farnsworth, helped lead Atlanta to victory, while ex-Red Sox Ramon Ramirez gave up Ankiel's game-winning blast. As we prepare for another round of playoff baseball tonight, let's check out a few links….

Odds & Ends: Orioles, V-Mart, Buck, Nationals

By | at

We at MLBTR send our best wishes to Ernie Tyler, the Orioles' 86-year-old umpires attendant who has worked every Opening Day in Baltimore for the last 51 years.  Tyler underwent brain surgery earlier this week to remove a benign tumor, and The Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly reports that Tyler is progressing well in the early stages of his recovery.  We look forward to seeing Tyler at Camden Yards in April to extend his streak to 52 years.

Let's check out some news items from around the majors…

  • Speaking of Dan Connolly, he thinks Baltimore "will go hard after Victor Martinez and/or Derrek Lee," with Lee being the likelier candidate to sign with the Orioles.
  • ESPNBoston.com's Gordon Edes thinks the possibility of Martinez re-signing with the Red Sox "looks iffy at best," though three other ESPNBoston contributors predict the free agent will return to the Sox. 
  • Edes also notes that another free agent catcher, John Buck, has a big supporter in Boston assistant GM Allard Baird.
  • If the Nationals don't re-sign Adam Dunn, MLB.com's Bill Ladson writes that Carlos Pena "is at the top of their list" of potential replacements.  Ladson also notes that Washington will "go after [James Loney] hard" if the Dodgers put him on the trade market, and that the Nats could also pursue an outfielder like Jayson Werth and fill their first-base opening from within with Josh Willingham.
  • Arizona assistant general manager Peter Woodfork and the D'Backs have reached a "mutual decision" to part ways, tweets FOXSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi.  It's not an unexpected move since, as Morosi noted in a follow-up tweet, Woodfork has long-term ties to former Arizona GM Josh Byrnes and new D'Backs GM Kevin Towers probably wants to hire his own assistant.
  • Baseball America's Matt Eddy has a recall-filled edition of the week's minor league transactions.
  • With Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and C.C. Sabathia all anchoring the staffs of World Series contenders this postseason, Steve Dilbeck of the L.A. Times bemoans how the Dodgers missed out on acquiring any of the three "true aces" over the last two seasons.
  • Anthony Witrado of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel covered a number of Brewers topics in a chat with readers.

Red Sox Drop Brown, Cash, Manuel From Roster

By | at

Dusty Brown, Kevin Cash and Robert Manuel have all been removed from Boston's 40-man roster, reports WEEI's Alex Speier.  The three players will all be eligible for free agency five days after the last game of the World Series.

Brown has played in a total of 13 career major league games (all over the last two seasons) and has been in Boston's minor league system for the past decade.  The catcher has a .729 OPS in 2759 minor league plate appearances.

Cash was acquired from Houston in July to give the injury-plagued Sox some catching depth.  Though he managed just a .374 OPS in 68 plate appearances, Cash "received raves from the Sox for his clubhouse impact," according to Speier.  It was Cash's second stint in Boston and the eight-year major league veteran is likely to get a minor-league deal from another club looking for an experienced backup option.

Manuel posted a 4.26 ERA in 10 relief appearances for the Red Sox in 2010.  Originally signed by the Mets in 2005, the right-hander has also pitched in the Cincinnati and Seattle systems, getting a three-game big league cup of coffee with the Reds in 2009.  Given Manuel's impressive minor league numbers (2.70 ERA, 4.90 K/BB ratio, 8.1 K/9 rate in 214 appearances, 23 of them starts), you'd have to think the 27-year-old Houston native will get a look from another club.

Odds & Ends: Mets, Varitek, Crawford, McClendon

By | at

Thursday night links, as the Rangers and Yankees move one win closer to meeting in the ALCS….

  • The Mets will interview three GM candidates in the coming week, tweets Andy Martino of the New York Daily News: Rick Hahn, Allard Baird, and Josh Byrnes.
  • Terry Francona hinted in a WEEI interview that Jason Varitek's time as a Red Sox may be nearing an end, says Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.
  • When asked about the possibility of returning to Tampa Bay next year, Carl Crawford replied, "You always keep that little ounce of hope," according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
  • Danny Knobler of CBS Sports (Twitter link) thinks former Pirates manager and current Tigers hitting coach Lloyd McClendon should be getting consideration for managerial openings around the league.

Matsuzaka Remains In Boston’s 2011 Plans

By | at

Physical conditioning and improved secondary pitches have placed Daisuke Matsuzaka firmly in Boston’s projected 2011 rotation. A Red Sox source told Alex Speier of WEEI.com that Matsuzaka is “very much” a part of the organization’s plans going forward. The Red Sox won’t try to trade the pitcher, partly because they saw improvement over the course of the 2010 season.

"To look where we were with him in March, and where we are now, I think we feel a lot better about it now,” GM Theo Epstein said.” Along the way there’s been consistent velocity that we hadn’t seen the last couple years, and some improvement in the secondary stuff, even as recently as his last couple starts, so again more positive signs to take into the winter."

Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, John Lackey, Josh Beckett, Tim Wakefield and Felix Doubront give Boston more rotation depth than most teams, but the organization expects to rely on seven or eight starters over the course of a full season, so Matsuzaka is likely staying put.

Peter Gammons suggested on WEEI last week that the Red Sox could flip Matsuzaka to the Mets for Carlos Beltran, but the Red Sox appear to have little interest in Beltran, according to Speier.

Odds & Ends: Ludwick, Lee, D’Backs, Mets, Red Sox

By | at

Links for Wednesday night, as we congratulate Roy Halladay for throwing baseball's first postseason no-hitter in over 50 years….

  • In a radio appearance, Jed Hoyer "essentially guarantees" that Ryan Ludwick will be a Padre next season, tweets MLB.com's Corey Brock. Ludwick will be owed an arbitration raise on this year's $5.45MM salary.
  • The Rangers are aware that Cliff Lee's outing earlier today may have driven up his offseason price tag, writes Ed Price of AOL FanHouse. "That's a good problem to have," according to GM Jon Daniels.
  • Kevin Towers has made his first major front office shake-up, firing D'Backs scouting director Tom Allison, as Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports reports. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic confirms the move and adds a few details.
  • SI.com's Jon Heyman suggests (via Twitter) that Terry Ryan may not be interested in the Mets' GM position. For his part, Ryan had no comment when Newsday's Ken Davidoff (Twitter link) asked him about the possibility.
  • New England Sports Ventures' purchase of the Liverpool Football Club will not adversely affect the group's investment in the Red Sox, according to WEEI's Alex Speier.
  • The Blue Jays will interview Rick Renteria for their managerial opening, tweets Corey Brock. Assuming Renteria isn't hired by another club as its manager, he'll be the Padres' bench coach next season (Twitter link).

Odds & Ends: Ortiz, Brewers, Rasmus

By | at

Links for Wednesday, as the playoffs finally begin…

Odds & Ends: Iwakuma, Ichiro, Red Sox, Barmes

By | at

Links for Sunday evening, with the regular season behind us and the playoff picture defined…

  • Angels GM Tony Reagins tells Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times he's "confident we'll be able to add an important piece."
  • As passed along by NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman on Twitter, Sanspo reports that a posting announcement will come soon regarding Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma.  The righty, 30 in April, posted a 2.82 ERA, 6.9 K/9, 1.6 BB/9, and 0.49 HR/9 in 201 innings this year for Rakuten. 
  • Ichiro Suzuki's 10-and-5 rights kicked in today after the Mariners' game, tweets Larry Stone of the Seattle Times.
  • In his end-of-the-season press conference, Red Sox GM Theo Epstein indicated fixing the bullpen and retaining important free agents are his offseason priorities (WEEI's Alex Speier reporting).  Epstein fielded all kinds of questions and was noncommittal in most cases, but the transcript is still worth a read.
  • Clint Barmes would like to return to the Rockies if he can't find an everyday role elsewhere, he explained to Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post.  We discussed Barmes' non-tender candidacy in August, and 79% of MLBTR readers predicted he'll be cut loose.
  • The Dodgers officially announced Brad Ausmus' retirement with a press release.  Ausmus revealed his decision to reporters in July.

Odds & Ends: Marlins, Orioles, Matsuzaka, Mariners

By | at

A few links to check out as the Padres live to fight another day…

  • The Marlins told interim manager Edwin Rodriguez that he will be evaluated after the season and there is no managerial commitment for 2011 yet, according to Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post (Twitter links).
  • Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun says that the Orioles brain trust and new manager Buck Showalter have already had "extensive conversations" about the direction they want to go this offseason.
  • ESPNBoston.com's Gordon Edes hears that Daisuke Matsuzaka would be willing to waive his no trade clause if it sent him to the West Coast. John Hickey of AOL Fanhouse says the Mariners might be willing to discuss a trade with the Sox, as long as the price is low (both Twitter links).
  • The Phillies have asked their entire coaching staff to return for the 2011 season, writes MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. It's no sure thing they'll all return though; GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said he's had at least one inquiry on a coach for a managerial opening.
  • Josh Byrnes told Ken Rosenthal (Twitter links)that he'd be interested in returning to a GM role if the situation was right. Rosenthal didn't ask him about the Mets, as Omar Minaya is technically still their GM.
  • Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun writes that Jeremy Guthrie has graduated to being a "go-to starter" and shouldn't be traded by the Orioles.
  • Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh-Post Gazette says that Pirates team president Frank Coonelly and owner Bob Nutting will soon decide the fate of GM Neal Huntington and other baseball personnel, and that Huntington will have input into the future of manager John Russell if he's retained. Both are under contract through next season, but Huntington's job appears to be safer. The GM was non-committal when discussing Russell during an interview Thursday night. 
  • Adrian Beltre has put himself into a real nice position heading into free agency, writes Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe. The third baseman said that he "will give everyone a chance" when it comes to listening to contract offers, but ultimately he will do what's best for him and his family. 
  • Dodgers GM Ned Colletti told ESPN's Buster Olney (Insider req'd) that he is not looking to trade Matt Kemp, but he will certainly listen to any offers that come his way. "But there's not going to be any shopping on our part," said Colletti. He expressed a similar sentiment about the team's other "core younger guys."
  • Even though he is on his way out as Blue Jays manager, Cito Gaston told MLB.com's Jordan Bastian that he feels the team will need some veteran relievers next season. Jason Frasor, Scott Downs, and Kevin Gregg could all depart via free agency this winter.

Tim Wakefield Will Retire After 2011

By | at

Tim Wakefield confirmed to The Boston Globe's Amalie Benjamin that the 2011 season would be his last in the big leagues (Twitter link). The 44-year-old knuckleballer is under contract for just $2MM next year.

Wakefield has both started and relieved this season, pitching to a 5.20 ERA in 135 innings before today's start against the Yankees. The former Pirate has posted a 4.37 ERA during his 18-year career, and is poised to join the 200 win club next summer. He had been working on what amounted to a lifetime contract worth $4MM annually since 2006, but the two sides restructured the deal last offseason.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top