Red Sox Rumors

News From Twitter: Red Sox, Corey Hart, Victor Martinez, Cardinals

By Brian Shephard | June 1, 2009 at 8:10pm CDT

A few of tonight's trade tidbits from baseball writers on Twitter:

Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal: "GM Doug Melvin told me any talk of the Brewers shopping RF Corey Hart is pure nonsense."

Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated: "Red Sox looking hard for a hitter. Victor Martinez would be perfect. but [C.C.] Sabathia told me no way Tribe trades V-Mart."

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote that Troy Glaus is ready to resume baseball activities and noted that the Cardinals are "expanding [a] wide net for possible help."

You can follow MLB Trade Rumors on Twitter here.

Odds And Ends: Red Sox, Peavy, Indians, Torre

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 1, 2009 at 2:59pm CDT

Odds And Ends: Red Sox, Oswalt, Angels

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 1, 2009 at 9:43am CDT

Links to start the week off…

Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe suggests a few ways of improving the Red Sox. He says acquiring a catcher like Victor Martinez or Jarrod Saltalamacchia would set the team up for this year and beyond.
Think the Tigers are happy they parted with Matt Joyce to acquire Edwin Jackson? Aubrey Huff told the Detroit Free Press that Jackson and Justin Verlander are the best back-to-back starters he's seen in his nine-year career.
ESPN.com's Amy Nelson says (via Twitter) that Roy Oswalt's open to being traded but would like to remain in the NL.
Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times says the Angels are "believed to be exploring" trades to improve their 'pen.
Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle argues that Astros GM Ed Wade "cut corners" when assembling his pitching staff.
Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu likes his current lineup, according to MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger.
ESPN.com's Keith Law says the two college pitchers who threw 129 and 169 pitches in a 25 inning game were exposed to injury unfairly.
Brian Joura counts down the worst #1 overall draft choices in baseball history on FantasyPros911.
And I'm thrilled to be stepping in for a bit here on MLBTR as Tim takes care of far more important things.

Odds & Ends: Penny, Yankees

By Nat Boyle | May 31, 2009 at 11:03am CDT

Some bullet points from around the internet:

Despite immensely enjoying his experience with the Red Sox, Brad Penny is not letting the trade rumors distract him, says Rob Bradford of WEEI.
Chris Gimenez was promoted to replace Grady Sizemore who hit the 15-day disabled list today. Gimenez can play corner outfield and serve as a backup catcher, says Anthony Castrovince.
River Ave. Blues takes a look at the Yankees 25-man roster and suggests better options for the bench.
The Mets and Phillies are both seeking a starting pitcher. The Phillies want a front-of-the-rotation guy while the Mets want a bottom-of-the-rotation guy. New York Post columnist Larry Brooks wonders in jest which role Pedro Martinez could fill.

Cafardo’s Latest: Hart, Tejada, Red Sox, White Sox

By Nat Boyle | May 31, 2009 at 10:45am CDT

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has his share of rumors every Sunday. Let's have a look.

The Tigers, Giants, and Red Sox have either scouted or discussed Corey Hart. While the Sox have the pitching the Brewers need, with Mark Kotsay expected back soon and Rocco Baldelli not on the disabled list, I'm not sure an everyday player like Hart makes as much sense for Boston as he does for the Giants. Thoughts?
Jeff Francoeur used to carry a Red Sox Mastercard until his teammates made him cancel it. Cafardo says one Sox official was unaware of any interest in Francoeur, who has struggled for two years now.
The Astros would consider dealing Miguel Tejada if they could net a pitching prospect in return. Cafardo notes Tejada's reputation as a great teammate. MLBTR speculated the White Sox could be interested in him as a solution at third base.
Speaking of White Sox third basemen, watch out Josh Fields. Cafardo notes Gordon Beckham was promoted from Double-A to Triple-A and moved to third base.
Cafardo also notes Jake Peavy's willingness to reconsider a trade to the White Sox down the line, and that the White Sox "will surely make that deal again" if in contention.

Odds And Ends: Rangers, Brewers, O’Dowd

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 30, 2009 at 9:26am CDT

A few links for Saturday morning…

Nolan Ryan could buy into the Texas Rangers according to this MLB.com article by T.R. Sullivan.
ESPN.com's Buster Olney points out that the Rangers have the resources to "out-bid others for the likes of Erik Bedard" if they decide to trade for pitching help.
Brewers GM Doug Melvin said once again that he's not looking outside the organization for second base help, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Melvin said he's happy with Craig Counsell at second in the absence of Rickie Weeks.
Now that the Phillies hope to acquire an impact pitcher, Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog.com wonders whether the Mets might decide to get in the Phillies' way and go after an arm, too.
As Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe reports, the Red Sox aren't about to implement a six-man rotation. The Sox will still have arms to spare so we'll continue to hear Brad Penny's name in trade rumors.
Dave Krieger of the Denver Post says the next four months will be a "referendum" on Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd and his front office.
As MLB.com's John Schlegel reports Stephen Strasburg struck out 15 in his most recent start, walking no one and allowing two earned runs on eight hits.
Check out a discussion I had about the Jays and other MLB teams on TorontoSportsMedia.com.
Newsday's Ken Davidoff likes the Lance Broadway–Ramon Castro swap for the Mets.
Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle takes a look at Ed Wade's Kaz Matsui signing and doesn't like what he sees.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Peavy, Braves, Penny, Francoeur

By Cork Gaines | May 29, 2009 at 4:00pm CDT

On this date 20 years ago, Mike Schmidt announced his retirement 42 games into the season. He was still voted to the National League All-Star team, but did not play. Schmidt retired with a career line of .267/.380/.527, 548 home runs and 10 gold gloves. As we approach the 50-game mark of the '09 season, teams are starting to recognize needs and make changes. Let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…

The Fightins make a case for the Phillies going after Jake Peavy.
When Sid Slid highlights players the Braves might be able to target in a trade, including Luke Scott, Josh Willingham and Brad Hawpe.
Center Field Gate takes a look at a Manny Delcarmen-Nick Johnson swap from a Nats perspective and finds things not to like. Nats GM Mike Rizzo said the rumor was a fabrication, anyway.
The Bottom Line puts together a list of catchers the Red Sox might target in a trade involving Brad Penny or Clay Buchholz.
Capitol Avenue Club says it is time for the Braves to shake things up and moving Jeff Francoeur is the key.
The Ghost of Moonlight Graham sees a Matt LaPorta for Michael Bowden trade as good for both the Red Sox and Indians.
DC Sports Plus takes a look back at the Nationals' recent draft history.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.

Olney Speculation: Penny For Donald?

By Tim Dierkes | May 29, 2009 at 11:15am CDT

This is 100% speculation on Buster Olney's part, but it makes for a good discussion topic. Should the Phillies trade infield prospect Jason Donald for starter Brad Penny? (I repeat – this is not an actual trade rumor).

The first question is how much Penny would help the Phillies. He's rung up a 5.96 ERA in nine American League starts, and has a 5.47 xFIP to match. Olney discounts Pedro Martinez for the Phillies in part because he's a flyball pitcher, but Penny's groundball rate this year isn't impressive at 38.4%. Olney's other argument against Pedro is that he does not go deep into games, but Penny's averaged only 5.37 innings per start this year. So if the Phillies like Penny, shouldn't they like Pedro almost as much? (They actually have no interest in Pedro, by the way).

The other question is whether six years of Donald is too much to give up for four or fewer months of Penny. Does Donald profile as a super-utility player in the future, as Baseball America wondered in their '09 Handbook?

Stark On Peavy, Oswalt, Phillies, DeRosa, Giants

By Tim Dierkes | May 28, 2009 at 2:28pm CDT

Let's take a look at the latest Rumblings and Grumblings column from ESPN's Jayson Stark.

The Padres' recent winning streak has not changed their intention of trading Jake Peavy. The Dodgers and Cubs are in Peavy's first tier of choices, follwed by the Giants, Cardinals, and Astros. The Angels would be the one AL team he'd consider. The East Coast is a long shot. Also, Peavy will want his 2011-13 partial no-trade clause to become a full no-trade. Peavy's friend Roy Oswalt has been unsuccessful in lobbying Astros owner Drayton McLane, as the 'Stros can't take on Peavy's contract. As for the Dodgers, GM Ned Colletti told the L.A. Times he hasn't talked to the Padres about Peavy since the pitcher vetoed the White Sox deal.
Stark talked to scouts who believe Oswalt has "lost his edge" and needs a change of scenery. The Phillies have inquired on him, but they've asked about everyone: Peavy, Brandon Webb, Roy Halladay, Doug Davis, Erik Bedard, Cliff Lee, Aaron Harang, Brad Penny, Chris Young and Jason Marquis. Popular Phillies trade targets include Lou Marson, Jason Donald, Carlos Carrasco, Travis D'Arnaud, Freddy Galvis, Kyle Drabek, Dominic Brown, and Antonio Bastardo.
The Braves are interested in bringing Mark DeRosa back to Atlanta. He came up with them and was non-tendered in '04 after tearing his ACL. But to deal young arms, the Braves would want an impact bat. Stark says they're "mostly listening" rather than shopping Jeff Francoeur. His trade value is difficult to gauge.
The Mets seem content to wait out the first base trade market.
The Giants seek a middle-of-the-order bat, and Jonathan Sanchez is being dangled. Three targets they haven't had success on are Dan Uggla, Jorge Cantu, and possibly Carlos Lee. Lee, according to one Stark source, doesn't intend to waive his no-trade for anyone.

Edes On Francoeur, Nick Johnson, Valverde

By Tim Dierkes | May 27, 2009 at 8:10pm CDT

8:10pm: David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on the Red Sox-Francoeur rumor:

Talked to someone in Braves organization who sort of dismissed the Red Sox rumor. Said he hadn’t heard one thing about them having any serious interest in Francoeur or scouting him recently.

9:01am: Yahoo's Gordon Edes wrote about many different trade scenarios in his column last night.

Edes seconds Ken Rosenthal's rumor that the Red Sox have been scouting Jeff Francoeur.
The Nationals have been scouting the Mets' Triple and Double A teams, trying to figure out a possible return for Nick Johnson. Names of interest for Washington: Jon Niese, Mike Antonini, Eddie Kunz, and big leaguer Bobby Parnell. The Red Sox also had interest in Johnson, but not for the price of Michael Bowden. Back to the Mets – Joel Sherman of the New York Post has a list of available players they could consider aside from Johnson, including Jermaine Dye, Ben Francisco, Adam LaRoche, and Eric Hinske.
Edes likes the fit of Jose Valverde with the Rays, but speculates that the Astros could ask for Wade Davis in return. Six years of Davis would be a huge price to pay for a few months of Valverde plus possible draft picks. Edes also likes Mark DeRosa for Tampa Bay, but they seem well-equipped to handle Akinori Iwamura's injury with internal options.
Edes names the Phillies, Brewers, Royals, and Twins as possible suitors for Brad Penny. Edes adds that the Phillies "are already making plans for life without Brett Myers" after this season.
The shortstop market includes Jack Wilson and perhaps John McDonald, but could become more interesting for a team like Boston if the Indians make Jhonny Peralta available.

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