Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Red Sox Rumors

Red Sox Call Royals About Mark Redman

By | at

A source tells me that the Red Sox have placed a call with Kansas City to assess their demands for 32 year-old All-Star southpaw Mark Redman.  I say All-Star with tongue firmly planted in cheek.

In 15 starts this year, Redman has a 5.38 ERA and 1.46 WHIP.  Redman’s walks have been up this season, and it’s hard to survive when striking out 3.3 batters per nine.  He missed a start with forearm tightness in late May, and missed the first two weeks of April because of knee surgery.

Redman chose to exercise his $4.5MM player option last November with the Pirates, leading to a trade to the Royals the next month.  Another possible contributor is rumored trouble in the clubhouse.

To his credit, Redman did manage a decent June with five wins and a 3.74 ERA.  He’s tied with Scott Elarton for the team lead in quality starts, with six in fifteen tries.  That’s a backhanded compliment, as even Jeff Weaver has had seven quality starts.  Scuffy Moehler, too.  I’m not sure what the Red Sox or any other suitor would have to give up for Redman, but it won’t be much.   

Red Sox Interested In Klesko?

By | at

A reader passed along a trade rumor heard this morning on WEEI in Boston from Sean MacAdams.  Here’s the report:

The Red Sox would send reliever Rudy Seanez to the Padres for first baseman Ryan Klesko.

Some background seems appropriate.  Seanez is a 37 year-old right-handed reliever signed to a one-year, $1.9MM deal by the Red Sox this winter.  The club has a $2.1MM option for ’07 that can be bought out for $200,000.  Seanez also will earn incentives this year for his number of appearances. 

Last year with the Padres was easily the best season of his career; he was worth more than three wins and had the third best strikeout rate in the game among pitchers with 60 innings.  He’s toiled for eight different teams and a return to San Diego would mark his third stint with the Pads.  Seanez has seen all of his peripherals decline in his 33 innings this year, and he’s projected by Baseball Prospectus to be out of the game by ’08.  He spent time on the DL last year with shoulder discomfort.

I’m sure you’re familiar with 35 year-old slugger Ryan Klesko.  He was once a feared six-win player in the early part of the decade with San Diego.  The left-hander was acquired by the Padres in a blockbuster deal in 1999 along with Bret Boone in exchange for Quilvio Veras, Wally Joyner, and Reggie Sanders.  Klesko has a no-trade clause as a 10 and 5 player as part of his complicated, reworked contract; he makes $8MM in the final year of the deal.  Kevin Towers has already said he will not exercise the ’07 option.

Klesko hopes to return to the Padres around August 1st after having shoulder surgery on his A/C joint in April.  He hasn’t topped 500 ABs since 2002, but remains adept at drawing walks and may owe last year’s career-low slugging percentage to his painful shoulder and a pinched nerve in his neck.  Klesko would certainly clear waivers, so the Padres have until August 31st to deal him.  He’s willing to waive his no-trade rights if he’s not getting playing time with the Padres and he’s being sent to a contender.  That’s probably the main wrinkle in this possible deal – Klesko would only be a bench player in Boston.  In addition, Kevin Towers’s main concern right now is finding a third baseman.   

Lining Up For Shealy

By | at

It might be helpful to summarize all the Ryan Shealy suitors from the last few months, just so we can keep them straight.  These are all from various newspapers. 

The most recent one is that the Red Sox offered 23 year-old southpaw starter Abe Alvarez.  Alvarez posted a 4.85 ERA but a solid 1.20 WHIP in Triple A last year. This season, he’s at 4.46 with a 1.36 WHIP.  He’s had little opportunity to prove himself in Boston.  Random bio: Alvarez likes to wear his hat crooked, is legally blind in one eye, and is known for pinpoint control.  Actually, those first two facts aren’t so random – Alvarez wears his hat that way to balance the lighting for that eye.  Sounds like a good kid who has overcome quite a bit of adversity, but the Rockies are looking for more.

Then there’s the Orioles.  Baltimore has little in the way of first basemen waiting in the wings, but they balked at the Rockies’ request for Hayden Penn.  It’s said the team would prefer to deal Javy Lopez, but they’ve been trying to do that for ages.  The Rockies could use a decent catcher for their unlikely pennant run, and Lopez is hitting .282/.329/.437 this season at 35.  That’s not particularly young for a backstop, and Lopez has only caught 12 games this season out of 56 played.  He’d make an interesting addition to a lot of teams, but at $8.5MM this will probably just be a salary dump. The O’s will have to surrender a young player to get Shealy.  Adam Loewen seems like too high a price, but I am not an expert in the Orioles’ farm system. 

It’s been noted that the Blue Jays are interested, so a third AL East team is in the mix.  The Jays already have Shea Hillenbrand and Eric Hinske clogging up the DH spot, so something would have to give before they acquired Shealy.  Toronto doesn’t have much in the way of Triple A starters who could be swapped with the Rox.

The Cubs poked around in May with their first base vacancy (albeit two weeks later than they should have).  Recent word is that Cubs offered reliever David Aardsma.  Besides having the first name in the baseball encyclopedia, Aardsma has 20 solid Triple A innings to his credit.  He hasn’t shown much in the Majors this season.  The persistent walk problem remains.  Assuming Shealy was healthy enough to play left field, the Cubs should step up their offer to at least Rich Hill.

One of the papers mentioned that the Indians inquired within the last year, but there’s no longer a fit.  Ryan Garko is not setting the world afire at Buffalo, nor is Ryan Mulhern at Double A.  Michael Aubrey has been on the DL with a knee injury since late May.  So I’m thinking the Indians would still like to acquire Shealy, but maybe the Rockies were asking for too much.

Shealy is doing well in Colorado Springs (though of course in a hitters’ environment).  He’s at .284/.357/.593 after 43 games.

Craig Hansen A Starter?

By | at

A few more rumors out of Boston:

Is Craig Hansen developing a third pitch so that the Red Sox can use him in the rotation?  Could be, according to my source.  They’ll wait and see what comes of David Wells’s rehab start first, however.  Given that Hansen suffered from a tired arm last year, the Red Sox will have to be extra careful if they try it.

My source also corrected my Dustin Pedroia speculation, saying that while the club is not happy with Pedroia as a shortstop, they will have no problem using him in place of Mark Loretta if need be.  Loretta has four hits in his last eight at-bats, so he may be coming around.

Do The Red Sox Need Izturis?

By | at

It is apparent that Dodgers shortstop Cesar Izturis is available, as the Dodgers don’t have an opening for him at shortstop.  I would think that the overall health/performance shakiness of the entire infield would be enough for L.A. to keep Izturis around as a backup all season.

But the rumors persist, the main one being that the Red Sox are interested.  I have to wonder why.  The team already has a slick-fielding, walk-allergic shortstop, and his name is Alex Gonzalez.  I admit, Gonzalez had a terrible April with the bat.  But he’s had similar months in his career, so why not see if he can shake it off and hit his usual .240 with decent pop?  That’s all that was expected in the first place.

Now, if the Red Sox were jonesing to acquire, say, Julio Lugo, I’d understand.  A healthy Lugo would be worth a good three wins in the standings compared to Gonzo.  But Cesar Izturis is a .261/.295/.338 career hitter, and he’s signed through 2007.  Even if Gonzalez tanks and Izturis is himself, the team’s gain is minimal.  The Dodgers are going to want something decent in return for Izturis, so why bother?  They already gave up something decent to reacquire Tim Wakefield’s personal catcher.   

Pedroia Falling Out of Favor?

By | at

A source out of Boston had a little nugget about Red Sox second base/shortstop prospect Dustin Pedroia.  Pedroia, by the way, is the 11th best prospect in baseball according to Baseball Prospectus.

My source tells me that Pedroia is "falling out of favor with the Sox brass."  Apparently the Red Sox think he’s gotten way too big and is too slow to play shortstop.

Pedroia has come back from a shoulder strain to play shortstop for Boston’s Triple A affiliate.  He was moved to second base last year, but the Hanley Ramirez trade resulted in a switch back to short.  The 22 year-old is hitting .269/.367/.385 for the Pawtucket Red Sox in 52 ABs. 

You have to be worried about Pedroia’s lack of power at the Triple A level , dating back to last year.  Nonetheless, BP projects Pedroia to hit .290/.362/.450 in the Majors this year.  My guess is that Pedroia is showcased in the big leagues within a month’s time.  He could serve as a major young trading chip for Boston this summer.   

Mirabelli Back to Boston?

By | at

Word is that Doug Mirabelli is currently on a charter plane to Boston from San Francisco.  Apparently this one is all over Dennis and Callahan and Dale and Holley on WEEI.

No word yet on who the Red Sox would send over to get Tim Wakefield’s personal catcher back.

UPDATE: The Red Sox are trying to get Mirabelli to Fenway by gametime tonight.

Who Could Use Melvin Mora?

By | at

Melvin Mora is still a pretty good third baseman, tied for tenth best in baseball in 2005 according to WARP.  He enters his age 34 season with free agency looming.  Mora set a deadline for today for the Orioles to work out a contract extension with him, but Orioles VP Jim Duquette is pretty much ignoring that.  Reports say Mora wants $10MM annually, but there is no indication on a number of years.

Mora will make just $4MM in 2006, and he should be worth about twice that.  He can only hope he ages like Jeff Kent, one of his top comparables according to Baseball Prospectus.  Kent, so far, has been quite productive during his age 34-37 seasons, hitting .298/.362/.531 over 576 games.  That included 115 HRs.

I wouldn’t say the Orioles and Mora’s agent are at an impasse yet, but one can at least envision a scenario in which Mora is placed on the trading block between now and July 31st.  If the Orioles don’t want to hang on to him, they’d be wise to try to get some value before he leaves.

Here’s a rundown of teams that have questions at third base and could be looking reinforcements at some point.  While it’s true that Mora is capable of playing outfield, we’ll stick to the hot corner.

Red Sox:  They have the depth to cover a complete Mike Lowell collapse.  But if the team wants to upgrade from Youkilis/Choi at the corners, Mora would add dependability.  Of course, we all know that deals between division rivals are rare.

Twins:  Michael Cuddyer still might be ready for Opening Day despite a strained oblique.  He’s the fallback option for Tony Batista, assuming Jason Kubel and/or Lew Ford can handle right field.  Batista isn’t off to a great start this year and he’s anything but a lock.  Mora’s affordable salary would be attractive to Terry Ryan, though he’d have to part with some young pitching to him.

Braves:  Moving Chipper Jones to first and acquiring Mora for third base would be a huge net gain for the Braves’ offense and defense.  It would also help keep Chipper healthy.  I don’t see it happening, but it’s worth noting.

Phillies:  The Phils could really, really use a solid third baseman right now.  The hot corner is easily the offense’s weak spot.  There have been whispers that David Bell is mulling over retirement, according to Will Carroll.

Juan Gonzalez Tries Out For Rockies

By | at

The Juan Gonzalez saga is fairly amusing for a lazy Friday afternoon, so let me take another crack at translating a new El Nuevo Dia article.

Yesterday, Juan Gonzalez tried out for the Colorado Rockies in Puerto Rico.  He’s reportedly in magnificent physical condition.  That report has been passed along to Colorado’s front office, but there is no agreement as of yet.

Gonzalez tried out for the Athletics on Monday, and worked for the Red Sox and Cubs previously.  Despite reports that Gonzalez was due in Red Sox camp this week, a close friend of Gonzalez’s told El Nuevo Dia that he never signed a contract with them.  His agent has negotiated with the Sox, but he’s still a free agent.  There may have been a verbal agreement in place prior to the Wily Mo Pena trade.

The Biggest Games. The Best Tickets. StubHub.com

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