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Olney On Trade Scenarios

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ESPN's Buster Olney talks about future trade possibilities in his blog today.

  • Olney's Brewers source says the team is not looking outside for Rickie Weeks' replacement at this point.  Manager Ken Macha doesn't view Craig Counsell as a regular, but he can platoon with Casey McGehee.  And Alcides Escobar will start to work at second base in Triple A.
  • The Red Sox might have to do something to replace David Ortiz at DH if he doesn't show signs of life soon.  Olney speculates on the idea of Boston trading starting pitching "for some talented young hitter – like Matt LaPorta of the Indians."  That would stink for LaPorta, getting traded twice within a year.
  • Olney likes Mark DeRosa for the Mets.  Most writers like DeRosa for any team though.  Olney figures the Indians would seek pitching for him. 

Rosenthal Discusses Victor Martinez

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports sets up a new line of trade speculatin' today: he asks whether the Indians might be willing to take offers on catcher/first baseman Victor Martinez in the near future.  The Indians would have to fall out of contention first (they're currently 7.5 games out), and even then it'd be a long shot.  Martinez, 30, is hitting a robust .401/.478/.632 in 178 plate appearances this year.  He has $4.3MM more coming this year and an easily-decided $7MM club option for 2010.

Rosenthal says the Red Sox already inquired on Martinez about a month ago.  While "premium players on both sides" were discussed, "the talks failed to progress."  Rosenthal speculates on names such as Clay Buchholz, Daniel Bard, and Lars Anderson.

Rosenthal doesn't mention them, but the Mets could be a nice fit for V-Mart if Carlos Delgado's injury puts him out for several months.

Gammons On Ackley, Red Sox, Relievers

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ESPN's Peter Gammons has a new blog post up.  Let's take a look.

  • Gammons writes in praise of North Carolina's Dustin Ackley, who is likely to be chosen by the Mariners at #2 in June.  Ackley may wind up at center field or second base.
  • The Red Sox don't appear willing to trade young pitchers like Clay Buchholz, Michael Bowden, and Nick Hagadone.  The Sox have looked at bats such as Colorado's Matt Murton and Ryan Spilborghs, but for now aren't desperate enough to trade pitching.  Gammons wonders if, for the right bat, Boston would part with Manny Delcarmen.  He believes Delcarmen could close in the NL.
  • Gammons says the Mets think they could have Carlos Delgado back by August if he has hip surgery, allowing them to stay in-house for his replacements.
  • The Dodgers, Indians, Yankees, and Twins are looking for relief help.  Gammon names Jose Valverde, Huston Street, Danys Baez, Russ Springer, and John Grabow as future trade candidates.

Javier Lopez Clears Waivers

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According to Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal, Javier Lopez has cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Pawtucket.  The left-hander was DFA'd last week in order to clear roster space for Daniel Bard.  Lopez, who had posted a 9.26 ERA through 11 2/3 innings in the bigs, hopes to work his way back to Boston this season.

"It's a long season and it's early," Lopez said Saturday. "Things didn't work out the way I wanted them to up there.  It's a special club and if you're not getting the job done they're going to get people up there [who can].  It's not a division you can really slack off in, so that's all the motivation I need."

Odds & Ends: Sheets, Blanco, Coghlan

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Links for Friday…

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Trades Possibilities

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On this date 11 years ago, the Marlins traded Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla, Charles Johnson and two others to the Dodgers for Mike Piazza and Todd Zeile. Piazza's tenure with the Marlins would last five games in which he was 5-18 with a triple and 5 RBI. Seven days later he was traded to the Mets for Preston Wilson and two minor league pitchers that would combine for 5 career appearances. To this day, Mike Francessa of WFAN in New York City will tell anybody that listens that he was responsible for convincing the Mets to make the deal. So far this season we have seen a couple of minor deals. Let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…

  • Feeling Dodger Blue feels now is a good time to trade James Loney and wonders if Jorge Cantu can be had.
  • Fire Brand of the American League addresses the possibility of the Red Sox trading Brad Penny and looks at some players the Red Sox might pursue.
  • 6 Pound 8 Ounce Baby Joba takes an early look at the teams that might be buyers and sellers at the deadline.
  • Around the Majors takes a look at the 2010 free agents that are represented by Scott Boras.
  • Jorge Says No! discusses whether Koji Uehara was the best free agent signing this year.
  • The Bottom Line wonders if the Red Sox missed an opportunity to sign Jason Bay to an extension.
  • El Lefty Malo takes a look at several players the Giants let go and whether the moves were smart in hindsight.
  • Goat Riders of the Apocalypse proposes some names that can be brought in to fix the Cubs bullpen.

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

Odds & Ends: Proctor, Dunn, Contreras

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Links for Tuesday…

Rosenthal On Ortiz, Braves, White Sox

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The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…

  • Rosenthal notes how easy it would be for the Red Sox to find a left-handed hitter to top David Ortiz's 2009 production – many such bats are impending free agents and could be available in July.  A shortstop and young catcher also remain on Boston's wish list.  Unfortunately, with no-trade protection and about $22.5MM remaining on his contract, Ortiz is pretty much immovable.
  • Former D'Backs pitching coach Bryan Price resigned in part due to reservations about working for new manager A.J. Hinch. 
  • Rosenthal notes the Braves' surplus of quality minor league arms, and suggests they're well-equipped to trade for a bat.  The Braves rank 11th in the NL with 4.41 runs scored per game.
  • The White Sox's rotation is looking a bit shaky given the ineffectiveness of Jose Contreras.  Rosenthal says "the team eventually figures to be in the market for a starter."  The Sox are hanging in there at 3.5 games out with a 14-17 record.
  • Aside from Cliff Lee, Rosenthal believes Indians infielder Mark DeRosa could draw attention closer to the trade deadline.

Boston Pitching Surplus

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ESPN's Buster Olney speculates on Boston's pitching surplus:

Eventually, it figures that Justin Masterson will go back to the Boston bullpen, and that will create the spot in the rotation for Daisuke Matsuzaka. If the Red Sox want to create another for Clay Buchholz, they would always have the option of taking offers for a veteran pitcher who has had quality starts in four of his six outings. That guy is Brad Penny, who might be a nice fit for a team like the Milwaukee Brewers or the Mets. That's all speculation at this point.

Even if Buchholz can't supplant Penny, how about John Smoltz?  He's back on track and may even pitch an extended spring training game on Friday.  The surplus also includes 22 year-old Michael Bowden, he of the 1.01 ERA in five Triple A starts.

The best bet for the Sox may be to just hoard this depth in the event of an injury.  Even though most expect Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, and Penny to pitch much better from here on out, the fact is that Boston's rotation ranks dead last in the AL with a collective 5.81 ERA.  They're 20-12 despite that stat.

Red Sox Call Up Daniel Bard, DFA Lopez

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4:39pm: The Boston Herald reports that in order to make room for Bard, the Red Sox have designated Javier Lopez for assignment. Lopez had posted a 9.26 ERA through 11.2 innings this season.

11:19am: Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal reports the Red Sox will call up Daniel Bard in time for tonight's game. Writes McDonald:

"The 23-year-old right-hander was original selected as the Sox' second pick of the first round (28th overall) in the 2006 draft. This highly-touted prospect has been outstanding for the PawSox this season. He's 1-0 with a 1.13 ERA and 6 saves in 11 games. He has struck out 29 batters in 16 innings and can easily reach 100 MPH on the radar gun. He's been the closer for Pawtucket."

McDonald notes the Sox will have to take someone off the 25-man roster and make a move to put Bard on the 40-man.

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