Red Sox Rumors

Gammons On Pitching Shortages

By Tim Dierkes | March 27, 2009 at 9:51am CDT

The theme of Peter Gammons' latest blog post: almost every team needs pitching. One GM told Gammons, "Other than the Yankees, Rays, Red Sox, Reds, Marlins and Twins, everyone is looking for pitching, at least affordable pitching." Most of the clubs with possible surpluses are thought to be hoarding arms.

Gammons talked to an NL GM who commented on the Red Sox:

"There are a lot of teams sniffing around on guys like Manny Delcarmen and Ramon Ramirez. But they want a premium young catcher or bat in return. When they're ready to bring Clay Buchholz and John Smoltz into the equation, they may be dealing from a position of strength because of their pitching depth and the fact that they are so far under budget."

My opinion – a pitching surplus often turns into a deficit in the course of a month or two.

Odds & Ends: Wieters, Padres, Peavy, Price

By Tim Dierkes | March 26, 2009 at 3:00pm CDT

LInks for Thursday…

Chico Harlan of the Washington Post says the Nationals will honor a handshake agreement Dmitri Young made with Jim Bowden, and put the first baseman back on the 40-man roster.
Catcher Matt Wieters has been told by the Orioles that he'll be optioned to Triple A on Monday, according to Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun. Will the Orioles wait until late May to try to avoid Super Two status?
Reds assistant GM Bob Miller talked to fans in an MLB.com Q&A.
Check out an entertaining chat transcript with Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times over at Halos Heaven.
Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star interviewed Zack Greinke.
Rangers owner Tom Hicks told Richard Durrett of the Dallas Morning News that the team has not reduced its budget for 2010. The Rangers have yet to set next year's budget, but it's known that some big salaries will be coming off the books. Meanwhile, MLB.com's Barry Bloom notes that Hicks intends to sell a minority share of the team.
Rays exec Andrew Friedman said the team's demotion of David Price was entirely for baseball reasons, talking to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. R.J. Anderson of DRays Bay supports the decision. Bart Given agrees.
Tom Haudricourt and Adam McCalvy write about Brewers GM Doug Melvin's irritation with the bogus Jake Peavy rumor.
Purely speculative, but Mike Berardino of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel wonders if Dontrelle Willis could get his career back on track with the Marlins.
Rockies infielder Jeff Baker, unaffected by the trade rumors, homered twice yesterday.
John Moores says the Padres sale to Jeff Moorad is "awfully close," talking to MLB.com's Barry Bloom. As you know, Sandy Alderson will step down as CEO when the deal closes (possibly today).
Padres pitcher Shawn Hill had offers from six teams, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock.
The Red Sox signed reliever Rocky Cherry to a minor league deal.
MLB.com's Alyson Footer says reliever Danny Graves asked for and received his release from the Astros.

Odds & Ends: Beckham, Taschner, Red Sox

By Tim Dierkes | March 25, 2009 at 11:28am CDT

Links for Wednesday…

Chat today, 2pm CST.
The White Sox sent last year's first-round pick Gordon Beckham to Double A to play shortstop, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.
Brian McTaggart of the Houston Chronicle talked to Astros GM Ed Wade about the difference between guaranteed and non-guaranteed contracts.
El Lefty Malo expects the Giants to trade lefty Jack Taschner and go after free agent Will Ohman. Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News dismissed an internet rumor about Taschner and the Tigers. Not sure where that came from.
Alex Speier of WEEI projects Boston's Opening Day payroll to be under $120MM, its lowest since '03. Speier suggests this could allow midseason financial flexibility.
Chico Harlan of the Washington Post asks whether the Nationals will try to avoid an eventual Super Two status for Jordan Zimmermann.
Bart Given says Shawn Hill made the right decision in signing with San Diego.
Oil Can Boyd hopes to pitch in Ottawa in the Cam-Am Baseball League.
The Royals Authority 2009 Annual is on sale now – check it out.

Odds & Ends: Clement, Schilling, Strasburg

By Tim Dierkes | March 24, 2009 at 10:50am CDT

Links for Tuesday…

RotoAuthority examines A's starter Trevor Cahill from a fantasy baseball perspective.
Today's chat has been pushed to Wednesday at 2pm CST.
The Blue Jays demoted Matt Clement, according to Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star. Clement is trying to decide whether to accept the assignment. He allowed 11 runs and 12 walks in 10.3 spring innings.
WEEI's Alex Speier looks back at the shockingly low price in prospects the Red Sox paid to acquire Curt Schilling from Arizona. The D'Backs were eyeing players such as Jon Lester, Hanley Ramirez, and Kelly Shoppach, but didn't make any of them a requirement.
Tyler Bleszinski of Athletics Nation has part 2 of his interview with A's GM Billy Beane. Beane notes his great relationship with Scott Boras.
I spoke to Tyler Hissey and Doug Gray of Minor League Notebook Weekly yesterday.
Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post says the Nationals should not draft Stephen Strasburg unless he'll sign in the $9-10MM range of David Price and Mark Prior. ESPN's Rob Neyer explains that many can't-miss pitchers did indeed miss.
Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle talked to Giants lefty Jack Taschner about the possibility of being traded.
Bart Given of Inside the Majors says the Blue Jays should keep Travis Snider at Triple A until May 15th so that they'll control him for the 2015 season.

Gammons On Matthews, Teahen, Harang, Peavy

By Tim Dierkes | March 23, 2009 at 12:07pm CDT

12:07pm: John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer asked Reds GM Walt Jocketty about Gammons' Harang note. Jocketty said, "I'm not going to comment on something when he doesn't know what he's talking about."

9:19am: ESPN's Peter Gammons had a new blog post yesterday discussing available players.

Gammons names Geoff Jenkins ($8MM remaining, limited no-trade), Brian Giles ($9MM remaining, full no-trade), Gary Matthews Jr. ($33.5MM remaining, full no-trade), Marcus Thames ($2.275MM salary), Nick Johnson ($5.5MM salary), Jason Repko, and Jeff Baker as players being dangled. Gammons links Matthews to the Yankees but admits his contract will be an issue.
Mark Teahen has drawn interest from the Astros, Red Sox, and Yankees.
Gammons says the Reds "have let teams know that they will wait and see whether they need to move Aaron Harang during the season." It'd be a shame to see the Reds break up that rotation. Harang has about $36MM coming to him over the next three seasons if his 2011 option is exercised.
Brewers third baseman Bill Hall expects his team to pursue Padres ace Jake Peavy if available this summer. Unlike C.C. Sabathia, Peavy is more than a rental.

Odds & Ends: Gregerson, Hanley, Strasburg

By Tim Dierkes | March 23, 2009 at 11:56am CDT

Links for Monday…

Matt Eddy of Baseball America has the minor league transactions, including the Dodgers' signing of J.D Durbin.
Marc Lancaster of the Tampa Tribune says Rays Rule 5 pick Derek Rodriguez, a reliever, has been returned to the White Sox.
Yahoo's David Brown talked to Carlos Pena about many topics, including his agent Scott Boras.
According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Padres received pitcher Luke Gregerson as the player to be named later in the Khalil Greene deal. The other player the Padres received, the now-injured Mark Worrell, was also a minor league closer. Given the state of the Padres' pen, Gregerson could reach the Majors this year. UPDATE: Here is Paul DePodesta's take on Gregerson.
MLB.com's Ken Gurnick noted yesterday that the Dodgers cut pitcher Shawn Estes, and he's yet to decide whether to accept a Triple A assignment. UPDATE: Estes will head to the minors and attempt to reinvent himself as a lefthanded specialist.
Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald quizzed Hanley Ramirez about Boston's attempt to reacquire him in November.
MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan wonders about Frank Catalanotto's future. Useful player, but the Rangers would have to eat most of his $6MM to move him.
Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post talked to Nationals president Stan Kasten about the six-year, $50MM Stephen Strasburg rumor. We all know how Boras works…if he wants $25MM for Strasburg, he starts at $50MM.
South Side Sox and Sox Machine comment on the Gavin Floyd extension, as well as the offers to John Danks and Carlos Quentin.
Talking to David Lennon of Newsday, Tom Glavine responded to Pedro Martinez's distaste for signing a "Glavine-like" contract.
Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun spoke to Aubrey Huff, who "doesn't even understand the concept of a contract push."
Ivan Rodriguez explained to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez why he didn't sign with the Marlins.

Rosenthal On Jeter, Jenkins, Keppinger

By Tim Dierkes | March 23, 2009 at 10:03am CDT

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports posted a new column last night.

Rosenthal wonders if the eventual emergence of Yankees shortstop prospects Ramiro Pena and Eduardo Nunez will prompt the team to ask Derek Jeter to change positions in the future. Neither player ranked among the Yankees' top 30 prospects in the Baseball America 2009 Handbook, however. Jeter's current contract runs through 2010.
Rosenthal says Boston's talks for catchers Miguel Montero and Jarrod Saltalamacchia "remain stalled because of those clubs' respective asking prices."
Rosenthal believes the Phillies are unlikely to trade Geoff Jenkins or Matt Stairs.
The Reds are considering trading infielder Jeff Keppinger, and Rosenthal wonders if the Astros would be a fit. He also speculates on Juan Uribe for Houston. John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer talked about the Keppinger possibility on Friday.

Curt Schilling Retires

By Tim Dierkes | March 23, 2009 at 9:25am CDT

Pitcher Curt Schilling announced his retirement today via a blog post at 38 Pitches. He finishes with a 3.46 ERA and 216 wins in 3,261 innings for the Orioles, Astros, Phillies, Diamondbacks, and Red Sox. He also won 11 postseason games with a 2.23 ERA in 133.3 innings.

Heyman On Bargains, Andruw, Buchholz

By Tim Dierkes | March 20, 2009 at 1:47pm CDT

The latest from SI.com's Jon Heyman…

Heyman runs through his top 13 free agent bargains, beginning with Orlando Cabrera, Bobby Abreu, and Jon Garland.
Andruw Jones will decide next week whether to opt out and become a free agent again. Heyman reminds us that the Yankees, Braves, and Phillies were previously interested. He says a Yankees person "hedged" when asked if they'd rejoin the Jones pursuit.
The Twins sent a scout to watch Ivan Rodriguez before he signed with Houston, but Heyman figures they must be confident about Joe Mauer's back after standing pat.
The Red Sox "remain uninterested in the Rangers' proposal from a few months ago of Jarrod Saltalamacchia for Clay Buchholz." Buchholz has allowed one run, nine Ks, and two walks in 8.6 innings this spring.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Bucs, Jays, Pedro, Pudge, Phils, Twins

By Cork Gaines | March 20, 2009 at 8:26am CDT

On this date 72 years ago, in what may have been the biggest trade in Negro League history, Josh Gibson and Judy Johnson were traded from the Pittsburgh Crawfords to the Homestead Grays for $25K and two players. Earlier this week, Pudge Rodriguez, one of the greatest catchers of this generation, became the latest big-name free agent to find a home. Let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…

Pirate Revolution takes a look at some players that could become available for the Pirates in the next two weeks as teams trim their rosters, including Jeff Niemann.
The 2012 payroll commitments in the AL East do not sit well with Drunk Jays Fans.
MLB Notebook attempts to calculate exactly how much teams should be willing to give Pedro Martinez.
Jorge Says No! says the Astros and Pedro are a good match and the recent signing of Pudge is an indication that the Astros are going for it this season.
The Ghost of Moonlight Graham says Pudge "fooled" the Astros into giving him $1.5MM.
The Fightins try to dispel the myth that Raul Ibanez was a poor defensive addition to the Phillies.
Twins Geek takes a look at the Twins incredible shrinking payroll.
Fire Brand of the American League says the release of Josh Bard has much bigger implications for the Red Sox than might be evident on the surface.
Sully Baseball takes a look at the Cleveland Indians all-time homegrown team versus their all-time acquired team.

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

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