Sockgate
This is another one of those "I know it’s not a trade rumor, but…" type things. Orioles play-by-play guy Gary Thorne asserted last night on the air that Curt Schilling’s sock wasn’t actually bloody, but was painted red for PR effect. It sounds far-fetched, but Thorne insists he heard it from Doug Mirabelli. Mirabelli angrily denied this.
Schilling has yet to respond to the allegation on his blog. As an unbiased, mildly interested third party, I say it was blood. I suppose if we really wanted to be sure they could run some tests on the sock fairly easily. But then someone would be spending time and money to run tests on Curt Schilling‘s sock. There has to be a better use of that scientist’s time.
A-Rod Options
A couple of high-profile options for Alex Rodriguez were discussed in the papers today. A-Rod’s hitting like a madman, which brings his opt-out clause to the forefront even though it’s April 20th.
Gerry Callahan of the Boston Herald has "no doubt" that the Red Sox will make a run at Rodriguez after this season. It does make plenty of sense – the Sox proved they’d pay a ridiculous amount for star power with the Daisuke Matsuzaka bidding. They’ve got the open slot at third base with Mike Lowell leaving. And they almost acquired Rodriguez in 2003. Basically, all the talking points you’re going to hear between now and when he signs somewhere.
Some salary should come off the books for Boston after this season: Curt Schilling at $13MM, Matt Clement at $9.5MM, Mike Lowell at $9MM, Eric Hinske at $2.8MM, Joel Pineiro at $4MM, Julian Tavarez at $3.1MM. Of course, the Sox need to replace some of these guys, but they could be subtracting $40MM. There is room for a marquee addition, and it could be on offense. I could see a big push to sign A-Rod and John Smoltz, if he’ll leave Atlanta.
Another possibility is the Phillies. Would Phils fans really show the love to A-Rod, as Nick Fierro suggests? I feel like they could turn on him pretty quickly. Then again, there’s no reason Rodriguez wouldn’t tear up the National League and give them nothing to boo about. The Phils could lose Freddy Garcia at $10MM, Jon Lieber at $7.5MM, and Aaron Rowand at $4.35MM. They are also paying $7MM towards Jim Thome’s salary this year. I just don’t see the Phillies winning the bidding for a free agent superstar, however. They wouldn’t pony up for Alfonso Soriano or Carlos Lee this winter.
The Red Sox and Phillies are just two of many teams thought to be interested in Rodriguez. Despite the money, the list is huge and may also include the Angels, Dodgers, White Sox, Cubs, Giants, Diamondbacks, and Indians.
Ringolsby On Lidge, Otsuka, And More
Esteemed Denver Post writer Tracy Ringolsby drops a few trade rumors on us in this morning’s column.
- Ringolsby writes that the Padres have some rainy-day money saved up to be used specifically for one of three players, if they are available and the team is contending. The players are future free agents Ichiro Suzuki, Andruw Jones, and Torii Hunter. I’m not sure how Mike Cameron would feel about that, and whether it would affect his contract negotiations. Hopefully he wouldn’t mind moving to a corner.
- Should Eric Gagne prove himself healthy and reliable (a long shot), the Red Sox, Indians, and Marlins have interest in acquiring Akinori Otsuka. In my opinion the Phillies might want in on that too. The Mets and Diamondbacks have expressed interest in the past. I’m a bit skeptical that the Marlins would take on another $3MM reliever after the Jorge Julio debacle.
- The same three teams Ringolsby mentioned for Otsuka would have interest in Brad Lidge if available. Also, some major connections between Lidge and the Rockies are described. And Buster Olney mentions the Blue Jays as another possibility in his blog today.
- Ringolsby quotes Joe Nathan as saying his agents have had positive initial talks with the Twins. Yesterday, Jon Heyman of SI.com had a source indicating that talks with Nathan had slowed.
Felix 1, Daisuke 0
Daisuke Matsuzaka received all the hype from ESPN entering tonight’s game. After all, it was his Fenway debut. He tossed a solid seven innings, allowing three runs to the Mariners. He retired Ichiro every time, even striking him out once. Matsuzaka also threw one high and tight to Ichiro, and it wasn’t an accident. Nor was his HBP of Jose Guillen, in my opinion. Kenji Johjima, who’s had plenty of ABs against Matsuzaka, smacked a couple of doubles for the Mariners.
But the big story was 21 year-old Felix Hernandez, who carried a no-hitter into the 8th inning. I was hoping he’d quiet Boston down, and it was incredible to watch him carve up their lineup in "radiant HD." Before the game, I couldn’t resist the +162 Bodog was giving for a bet on Felix. Something tells me they won’t set the line there again for him, no matter who he’s facing. (Some of you may remember my now-defunct website DailyBaseballPicks.com. Turns out I had $39 sitting around in my Bodog account from that little experiment).
ESPN’s announcers at least avoided the term "no-hitter" for most of the game, although they just said "screw it" around the 7th inning and said it a few times. Not cool, guys. Still, I must say I enjoy the pitching insight added by Orel Hershiser. ESPN’s gun was blatantly at least 3 mph fast – Joel Pineiro wasn’t throwing 94 – but Felix was obviously dealing. The guy’s sliders and changeups are on par with most pitchers’ fastballs. Barely anything left the infield or the ground against him, though Jose Lopez lended some excellent glovework at second base.
After his one-hitter on the big stage tonight, we can safely say Felix Hernandez has arrived. You have to wonder – if Felix pitches to his 90th percentile PECOTA – a 2.74 ERA – and does it for 215 innings, can the Mariners ride that to the playoffs? In the King, they have one of the most valuable commodities in the game.
Pineiro On The Block?
The Boston Herald reports that scouts from several teams have been monitoring 28 year-old former starter Joel Pineiro. He and his $4MM+ salary may be deemed expendable by the Red Sox with Papelbon closing.
The Globe’s Jeff Horrigan mentions the Reds as a good fit, as their bullpen remains questionable. I believe that newly signed free agents have trade veto power for at least the first few months, but I can’t find the exact rule in writing yet. If Pineiro can get himself over to the NL on a team with an open closing situation (Giants, Marlins?) he should jump at the chance.
UPDATE: A guy who would know dropped me a line – a player cannot be traded within six months of signing. He doesn’t believe it’s a veto thing; it just isn’t allowed. The Red Sox signed Pineiro around January 4th, so I’m not sure how this would work.
UPDATE 2: Another fellow told me that if a newly signed free agent is to be traded before June 15th, he must give his permission. That is the only restriction.
Papelbon Back To Pen
It’s not a trade rumor, but it’s somewhat related. According to ESPN’s Erin Andrews, the Red Sox are expected to announce Jonathan Papelbon‘s return to the closer role today. Somewhere, Joel Pineiro just shed a tear. Papelbon hopes to become the next Mariano Rivera.
My guess is that the Sox will use a stopgap solution in the fifth starter spot until Jon Lester is ready, perhaps by late April. Personally, I like the decision. Baseball Prospectus’s Nate Silver summed it up well:
"I understand full well that a great starter is more valuable than a great reliever. But in Papelbon’s case, the risk is too high to justify the reward."
Curt Schilling discusses the transition at his blog. Check out the fantasy ramifications over at RotoAuthority.
Red Sox Scouting Turnbow?
My apologies for the lack of posts today; I had an all-day fantasy draft. Back to trade rumors: Adam McCalvy of MLB.com had several Brewers ones in today’s article.
To begin with, 26 year-old righty starter Ben Hendrickson cleared waivers and was sent to Triple A. He was angry about it, perhaps because he had a 2.45 ERA in five appearances this spring. Apparently the Nationals and Padres are interested, and both the Brewers and Hendrickson look forward to a trade. According to Baseball America, Hendrickson has a plus curve and an 88-91 fastball. He may be a Quad-A type player; PECOTA sees a 5.00 ERA and 1.49 WHIP in 109 innings.
The Red Sox had a scout watching Derrick Turnbow on Friday, though Doug Melvin says he’s not shopping the reliever. Maybe Sox pitching coach John Farrell can fix Turnbow’s walk problem, but it’s a long shot. Turnbow has two years and $5.5MM left on his contract. While that extension was ill-advised, it’s not nearly as bad as the Cubs giving Ryan Dempster three years and $15.5MM. In both cases, fairly small samples of decent control were taken as permanent and rewarded.
McCalvy also mentioned a "lunchroom rumor" that had the Padres looking at Brady Clark. Melvin said he hasn’t heard from the club. The Crew would love to shed Clark’s $3.8MM salary.
Schilling Clears The Air
Curt Schilling has a lengthy post on his blog explaining his situation this spring regarding the Red Sox and his 2008 contract.
It sounds like there were no hard feelings. Schilling surprised the Red Sox by indicating his intention to play in ’08, and the Sox are unwilling to commit $13MM of their free cash to the 40 year-old before seeing him pitch this year. If it was for less money, the deal might’ve been done.
Schilling will hit the market after this season and take the best offer, Yankees not included. The Sox could still bring him back and are his first choice.
I am curious what price would compel the Red Sox to commit now. In a world where 32 starts of crap are worth $7-8MM, it doesn’t seem a stretch for a rich team to overpay a little on a one-year commitment.
Olney: Boston Tracking Lidge
In his blog today, Buster Olney mentioned that the Red Sox are still interested in Houston closer Brad Lidge. This rumor dates back to July.
Lidge’s control and HR rate slipped last year, though he was still dominant in terms of racking up strikeouts. Olney indicates that the Astros aren’t shopping him and the Red Sox would have to overpay, perhaps with Jacoby Ellsbury, Craig Hansen, and more.
Additionally, Peter Gammons mentioned a couple days ago that Chad Qualls might be a target for Boston.
Marlins Trade Rumors
The Fish might do some minor dealing in the coming days. Let’s see what they have cooking.
For one, Mike Berardino of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel thinks they should bring Armando Benitez back, now that he’s healthy. He says it would probably only cost the Marlins a million bucks in addition to the player(s) they trade. Benitez says he hasn’t been in shape like he is now since he played for the Orioles.
The Marlins may have their eye on a couple of Red Sox: center fielder David Murphy and pitcher Kyle Snyder. The Nationals also have interest in Snyder. Snyder, 29, hails from Florida for what that’s worth. He can probably post an ERA below 5 in the NL, so he belongs on someone’s roster. Murphy still has a chance to become a credible CF, especially if his new build adds a little power. Houston also likes Murphy.
Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post has another tidbit: though the Marlins scouted Jorge Julio, they’re not close to proposing a deal.
Finally, the Marlins have no interest in Javy Lopez but are drawing interest for outfielder Cody Ross.