- The Red Sox recently sent senior vice president of baseball operations Frank Wren – their top talent evaluator – to St. Petersburg, Fla., to observe division-rival Rays righty Jake Odorizzi. Last-place Tampa Bay is considering shopping Odorizzi, who should draw plenty of interest given his cheap salary ($520,700) and three years of arbitration eligibility remaining. The 26-year-old has compiled a 4.33 ERA, 8.49 K/9, 2.98 BB/9 in 99 2/3 frames this season. He previously combined for 337 1/3 innings of 3.74 ERA pitching and similar strikeout and walk rates from 2014-15.
- As of earlier this week, the Red Sox were scouting Phillies 29-year-old right-hander Jeremy Hellickson, a pending free agent who has posted a 3.92 ERA, 7.92 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 105 2/3 innings this season. Preparing for a possible trade, the Phillies have reciprocated by scouting Boston’s farm system.
- The Red Sox considered trading for Athletics infielder Jed Lowrie before acquiring Aaron Hill from the Brewers on Thursday. But Hill’s relationship with Red Sox infield coach Brian Butterfield helped tip the scales in his favor. Lowrie played in Boston from 2008-11 after the franchise drafted him 45th overall in 2005.
[SOURCE LINK]
Red Sox Rumors
Red Sox Notes: SP Market, Hill, Benintendi, Closer
The Red Sox are searching for starting pitching help as the Aug. 1 trade deadline nears, but president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is having difficulty finding viable options. “This is not an easy starting pitching market,” he said Saturday (via Scott Lauber of ESPN.com). Boston isn’t necessarily looking for a front-end starter, but someone at least capable of giving the team six reliable innings, Dombrowski continued. Red Sox starters entered Saturday just 24th in the majors in innings (760) and 21st in ERA (4.52), though they’re a much better 12th in K-BB percentage (13.7).
More from Boston, which improved to 48-38 with a win over the Rays on Saturday:
- While further addressing the difficult market for starters, Dombrowski commented (per Lauber), “The names we don’t want to trade always seem to start the conversation. “It’s a common thread of the same names that seem to be coming up. But they have come up in every conversation we have, and then you try to get realistic and move from there.” It’s fair to suggest one of the names that teams have asked about is Double-A outfielder Andrew Benintendi, who ranks ninth on Baseball America’s just-updated top 100 prospects list. Given his outstanding production, the 2015 seventh overall pick could soon join the left fielder-needy Red Sox, writes WEEI’s Rob Bradford. “He’s played very well,” said Dombrowski, who added that he’s not averse to moving a player straight from Double-A to the majors. “There’s some benefits to going to Triple-A. I don’t mean to downplay it. But I’ve had a lot of success throughout my career with guys going from Double-A to the big leagues.” After ripping up High-A pitching to begin the season, the 22-year-old Benintendi has hit .288/.347/.497 with six home runs in 196 plate appearances with Double-A Portland.
- Athletics left-hander Rich Hill – who revived his career with the Red Sox last September and could end up with them (or someone else) at the deadline – told Bradford that he thought re-signing with Boston last offseason was a possibility. “I did think there was a good chance to come back to Boston just because of everything that was going on there,” the 36-year-old said. “We had some really good things working.” The journeyman instead inked a $6MM deal in Oakland, where he has continued thriving. Hill has spun 76 innings of 2.25 ERA ball with the A’s this year while supporting that figure with a 10.66 K/9, 50 percent ground-ball rate and 14.5 percent infield fly rate. He could soon end up as the top starter dealt this summer, but he told Bradford that “there really hasn’t been too much thought about being traded somewhere.”
- Although the Red Sox acquired closer Brad Ziegler from the Diamondbacks early Saturday, manager John Farrell indicated Saturday (via Lauber) that he’s second to Koji Uehara in the ninth-inning pecking order.“Koji’s our closer. On days when (Uehara) isn’t available, we’ve got Brad (Ziegler) to turn to,” Farrell said. Of course, the Red Sox are only choosing between Uehara and Ziegler because of All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel’s knee injury. While Uehara did pick up the save Saturday, he expressed skepticism toward Farrell’s statement, saying, “I don’t think I’ve won back the job” (Twitter link via Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald).
Red Sox Acquire Brad Ziegler
The Red Sox acquired reliever Brad Ziegler from the Diamondbacks for minor leaguers Jose Almonte and Luis Alejandro Basabe, according to a team press release. Blake Swihart was transferred to the 60-day DL to clear a 40-man roster spot for Ziegler.
Ziegler, 36, has served as Arizona’s closer in recent years. This season, the sidearmer owns a 2.82 ERA, 6.3 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, and 63% groundball rate, with just one home run allowed in 38 1/3 innings. The veteran groundballer will slot in toward the back end of Boston’s bullpen.
Notably, Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel was unavailable Friday due to knee soreness, leading to a save chance for Koji Uehara. Kimbrel’s injury popped up Friday during pregame warmups, with ESPN’s Scott Lauber reporting that MRI results are expected today. The injury will likely keep Kimbrel out of Tuesday night’s All-Star game in San Diego. Another key reliever, Junichi Tazawa, was unavailable Friday due to shoulder discomfort. Earlier this year, the Red Sox lost key acquisition Carson Smith to Tommy John surgery, so it’s no surprise president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski felt the need to act. The Ziegler deal marks Dombrowski’s third trade of the young month, after his pickups of Aaron Hill and Michael Martinez.
[Updated depth charts: Red Sox and Diamondbacks]
This is Ziegler’s ninth Major League season. He’ll be eligible for free agency at its conclusion, having signed an extension with the D’Backs in 2013. In June of this year, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports spoke to Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart, who said the team was considering extensions for relievers Ziegler and Daniel Hudson. Instead, Ziegler and the remaining $2.5MM+ on his contract were sent to Boston for a pair of prospects.
The Diamondbacks’ front office may be signaling a willingness to sell, given the team’s 38-50 record heading into the All-Star break. In an article Thursday, Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball said the team was “getting the most trade hits” on relievers Ziegler, Hudson, and Tyler Clippard. Like Ziegler, Hudson is eligible for free agency after the season. The 29-year-old Hudson has worked his way into a setup role, having overcome a pair of Tommy John surgeries. Clippard, 31, will join Hudson in trying to handle the ninth inning for Arizona following Ziegler’s departure. He’s signed through 2017.
In Almonte, the D’Backs added a Low A starting pitcher who was signed out of the Dominican Republic four years ago for $610K. Almonte’s pitching coach Walter Miranda gave his thoughts on the young pitcher to MiLB.com’s Chris Tripodi in late May. Arizona also picked up middle infielder Luis Alejandro Basabe, not to be confused with twin brother and teammate Luis Alexander Basabe. Luis Alejandro is generally regarded as the lesser prospect, but he is hitting .311/.414/.471 in 271 plate appearances this year at Low A and will participate in the South Atlantic League All-Star game.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Red Sox Still Banking On Rodriguez; Have Watched Hill, Teheran
- Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski says that he still has hope that Eduardo Rodriguez can contribute to the team this year, as Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports. That assessment could well have an impact on the team’s approach to the trade deadline. “If people would be looking to say we’re going to be getting someone more talented than Eduardo Rodriguez, it’s not going to happen,” said Dombrowski. “They’re just not out there. They’re not out there and available. Sometimes you’ve got to fix some things internally. We’ll see what happens.”
- Regardless of the Red Sox’ views on Rodriguez, the team figures to be in the hunt for at least one rotation arm. As Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald reports, Boston has been in touch with the Padres, who could market Drew Pomeranz and/or Andrew Cashner (though the latter had a really rough outing tonight). Also, senior VP of baseball ops Frank Wren is said to have watched both Rich Hill of the Athletics and Julio Teheran of the Braves recently.
- Hill has returned from the DL to rave reviews for the Athletics, and both Drellich and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle suggest that widespread interest is building in the southpaw. The former cites the Red Sox, Dodgers, Cubs, and Tigers as organizations that are taking a look at Hill. And Slusser adds yet more teams to the possible mix, listing the Blue Jays, Royals, and Orioles as possible suitors that have been watching him pitch of late. While Hill’s frequent injuries limit his appeal somewhat, there’s an argument to be made that he’s the best pure rental piece available this summer.
Red Sox Injury Notes: Holt, Kimbrel, Tazawa
- Red Sox infielder/outfielder Brock Holt has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 ankle sprain after an awkward slide, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports on Twitter. Holt will require a walking boot, but that is the least concerning grade of the injury. While the prognosis doesn’t sound too serious, and the All-Star break will allow some added rest, it’s another tough blow to a team that just went out to plug some leaks by adding Aaron Hill and Michael Martinez via trade. Holt had been expected to hold down left field, so Boston will need to fill another gap for at least the near-term.
- Additionally, Red Sox relievers Craig Kimbrel and Junichi Tazawa were deemed unavailable for tonight’s action due to varying maladies, as Jason Mastrodonato and Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald were among those to report (Twitter links). Kimbrel came down with a sore knee before the game and has had an MRI, with results expected tomorrow, per Speier (via Twitter). Tazawa, meanwhile, is experiencing shoulder soreness of unknown seriousness. An MRI has not yet been ordered in his case. Any absence from either pitcher would certainly increase Boston’s desire to add to its pen, though it’s not yet known whether either situation is cause for much concern.
Red Sox Designate Sean Coyle
The Red Sox have designated infielder Sean Coyle for assignment, the team announced. His roster spot will go to utilityman Michael Martinez, whose acquisition is now official.
[Related: Updated Red Sox Depth Chart]
Coyle, 24, was originally a third-round selection in the 2010 draft. He had shown plenty of promise in the 2013-14 campaigns, when he posted .800+ OPS batting lines with double-digit home runs at High-A and then Double-A.
Things haven’t progressed quite as well since, however. Following a tough 2015 season, Coyle has posted a meager .165/.263/.280 slash over 250 plate appearances this year while splitting his time between the Double-A and Triple-A levels.
Red Sox Acquire Michael Martinez From Indians
The Indians announced today that utilityman Michael Martinez has been traded to the Red Sox in exchange for cash considerations. Martinez had been designated for assignment this past Saturday.
[Related: Updated Red Sox & Indians Depth Charts]
The 33-year-old Martinez has never hit much in the Majors but brings some defensive versatility to the Red Sox’ depth chart. Though he’s just a .199/.244/.272 hitter at the big league level, Martinez does have experience at second base, third base, shortstop and all three outfield positions. He batted .283/.306/.383 in 63 trips to the plate with Cleveland this season and is a lifetime .282/.336/.395 hitter in parts of nine seasons at the Triple-A level.
Red Sox Acquire Aaron Hill
JULY 8: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that Hill receives a $1MM assignment bonus due to the fact that he was traded (links to Twitter). Hill received the same bonus this past winter when being shipped from Phoenix to Milwaukee, he adds. Tim Britton of the Providence Journal tweets that the Sox are only paying a “modest” amount of the remaining commitment to Hill, with Arizona and Milwaukee on the hook for most of the remaining money.
JULY 7: The Brewers announced that they have traded Aaron Hill and cash considerations to the Red Sox in exchange for minor league right-hander Aaron Wilkerson and minor league second baseman Wendell Rijo. The Sox announced the trade as well, adding that outfielder Ryan LaMarre has been designated for assignment to clear a spot on the roster.
[Related: Updated Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers depth charts]
The 34-year-old Hill, traded from the D-backs to the Brewers this past offseason, has been enjoying a rebound campaign in Milwaukee, batting .283/.359/.421 with eight homers, 11 doubles and four steals in 292 plate appearances. While he’s played second base for most of his career, Hill has played third base in 59 games this season, compared to just 20 contests spent playing second base. He’ll provide the ailing Red Sox with some infield depth and also presents Boston with a capable platoon partner for Travis Shaw, who has batted .211/.240/.380 against left-handed pitching this year. Hill is in the final season of a three-year, $35MM deal that pays him $12MM in 2016. The D-backs, however, are on the hook for $6.5MM of that sum as part of the aforementioned trade, and the Brewers will cover a yet undetermined portion of the money remaining on his deal, so the financial implications for the Red Sox figure to be relatively minimal.
LaMarre, 27, is the roster casualty for Hill. He signed with Boston on a minor league deal this winter and appeared in six games but has spent most of his time in Triple-A, where he’s batted .313/.383/.475 in 180 trips to the plate. The Sox will have 10 days to trade LaMarre or try to pass him through outright waivers in an attempt to keep him in the organization as a non-40-man player. Prior to this season, the former second-round pick had spent his entire career in the Reds organization. He’s a .267/.332/.409 hitter in parts of four Triple-A seasons.
For the Brewers, they’ll now turn to a combination of Will Middlebrooks, Hernan Perez and Jake Elmore at the hot corner, GM David Stearns told the media (Twitter link via the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s Todd Rosiak). Middlebrooks has enjoyed a nice season at Triple-A Colorado Springs, batting .282/.308/.508 with 10 homers, although that production does come in an excessively hitter-friendly environment. Perez and Elmore give the Brewers a pair of alternatives that come with a fair share of MLB experience, though each is more of a utility player than an everyday option for the club in the long term.
Of the two prospects acquired by the Brewers in this deal, Rijo has received more fanfare on prospect rankings. MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis have him 17th among Boston farmhands at the moment, while Baseball America rated him 15th following the season and Fangraphs’ Dan Farnsworth placed him 22nd in the offseason. The 20-year-old opened the season at Double-A but struggled as one of the youngest players in the Eastern League, hitting just .186/.245/.266 in 51 games. He was moved back down to Class-A Advanced when Yoan Moncada arrived in Double-A, and he’s batting an improved .270/.364/.324 in 11 games. Callis and Mayo note that a previous ACL injury has dropped Rijo from a plus runner to an average runner, but he offers plenty of gap power and the upside for double-digit home runs once he adds to his 5’11”, 170-pound frame. BA notes that he’s made some improvements at second base and has the potential to be an everyday option that racks up doubles, though Farnsworth pegged him as more of a bench player or fringe regular.
Wilkerson was absent from the club’s prospect rankings, but the 27-year-old did just land on Jason Martinez’s most recent edition of “Knocking Down the Door” here at MLBTR due to his strong performance for Boston’s Triple-A affiliate. In 92 1/3 innings between Boston’s Double-A and Triple-A affiliates this season, Wilkerson has compiled an oustanding 2.14 ERA with 9.9 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 and a 40.3 percent ground-ball rate (via MLBFarm.com). The Texas native went undrafted out of college due to the fact that he required Tommy John surgery as a senior in college. That unfortunate realization led him to the independent circuit, where eventually caught the eyes of Boston scouts and signed with the Sox as a 25-year-old back in 2014. The Boston Herald’s Evan Drellich profiled Wilkerson’s unusual path to affiliated ball back in April, and as Jason noted in the above-linked piece, that path may have him on the cusp of the Major Leagues. The Brewers are currently relying on Matt Garza, Jimmy Nelson, Chase Anderson, Junior Guerra and Zach Davies in the rotation, but Wilkerson could be one of the top alternatives in the event that the club incurs an injury in the rotation or finds a trade partner for Garza.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Red Sox Showing Interest In Jeremy Hellickson
- The Red Sox have been scouting Phillies right-hander Jeremy Hellickson lately tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports and MLB.com. Per Morosi, Hellickson is one of many options that Boston is considering as it seeks to upgrade the back of its rotation. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said tonight on the conference call to discuss the Aaron Hill trade with the media that the fourth and fifth spots of his rotation are indeed areas of focus, as ESPN Boston’s Scott Lauber writes. Hellickson could indeed fill one of those spots, as he’s delivered a solid 3.92 ERA with 7.9 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and a 42.4 percent ground-ball rate in 105 2/3 innings. The Phillies can probably get more for Hellickson than they surrendered to acquire him at this point, and as a free agent at season’s end it seems likely that he’ll be wearing a new uniform by the time the non-waiver deadline passes.
Red Sox Release Justin Maxwell To Sign With KBO’s Lotte Giants
Outfielder Justin Maxwell has been released by the Red Sox to allow him to sign with Korea’s Lotte Giants, as Yonhap’s Jee-ho Yoo reports. He’ll receive a $280K salary in the KBO.
Maxwell, 32, was hitting .219/.310/.320 over 253 plate appearances on the year at Triple-A Pawtucket. That wasn’t enough to earn him a big league promotion despite some need at the major league level, and Boston obviously had decided it did not need him in the organization.
Before his middling start to the present season, though, Maxwell had taken over 250 turns at bat in three of the last four campaigns at the MLB level. All told, he has compiled a .220/.303/.399 batting line in 1,193 big league plate appearances, with 41 home runs and 28 steals.
At his best, Maxwell is a slightly above-average hitter with some pop, and he has also added some value with the glove and on the bases. Maxwell’s new club will certainly hope that he brings a silver hammer with him to the hitter-friendly KBO.
Notably, per the report, Maxwell was pursued because former big leaguer Jim Adduci was released after failing some sort of drug test.
