Discussion: The Red Sox And David Ortiz
David Ortiz has presented the Red Sox with a dilemma. Without him the Red Sox probably wouldn't have won two World Series titles this decade, but this year he's hitting just .211/.318/.324. He hit his first homer of the year this week, after Terry Francona benched him for a few days, but he hasn't found the form that saw him post an OPS over 1.000 and average over 40 homers a year from 2003-07.
- ESPN.com's Peter Gammons says the Red Sox are willing to wait on Big Papi.
- A few days ago ESPN.com's Buster Olney suggested the Red Sox would have to consider replacing Ortiz if he doesn't start producing soon. Olney speculated that the Red Sox would like to deal for a young hitter like Matt LaPorta.
- Earlier in the week, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wrote that it would be easy for the Red Sox to replace Big Papi's numbers, but nearly impossible to trade him.
The Red Sox have many choices; what should they do? Trade for a bat to replace Ortiz immediately? Ride the slump out for a few more weeks? Hope that, like Carlos Delgado a year ago, Ortiz puts it all together? Stick with him for the season regardless of his production?
Gammons On Peavy, Greene, Holliday
More rumors from ESPN.com's Peter Gammons in his latest column:
- Gammons says it made sense for Kenny Williams to try to deal for Jake Peavy because the AL Central is winnable and Gordon Beckham wasn't part of the deal.
- Gammons expects teams to be wary of no-trade clauses after seeing Peavy thwart the Padres' plans to deal him.
- Nats GM Mike Rizzo wants to deal now, while more teams are in the pennant race and remain possible buyers.
- Rizzo would like to improve his bullpen, which has an ERA nearing 7.00.
- The Red Sox want to wait on David Ortiz and plan on giving him the chance to start hitting. He finally homered this week, but has struck out in seven of his last 20 plate appearances.
- Gammons believes it makes sense for the Cardinals to see if the Red Sox have interest in Khalil Greene.
- Billy Beane may face a limited market for Matt Holliday if he decides to trade the left fielder in July.
Jake Peavy Not A Fit In Boston
In the aftermath of the failed White Sox-Padres swap that would have sent Peavy to Chicago, there are other reactions from around the majors:
- MLB.com's Todd Zolecki wonders if it would be smart for the Phillies to acquire Peavy. Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. declined to comment on the chances of making such a deal happen.
- Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that Cubs GM Jim Hendry didn't comment when asked about re-starting talks to acquire the righty. Ryan Theriot sounds excited about pursuing Peavy.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan writes that Peavy made the right call, since the White Sox are no sure thing.
Gammons On Indians, Nationals, Mauer
Here are the highlights from Peter Gammons' analysis on Mike and Mike in the Morning. Joe Haggerty of the Boston Metro has the interview transcript on his blog, Hacks with Haggs.
- The Padres will have a hard time dealing Jake Peavy because there aren't many takers who have the resources to acquire him. The Braves don't figure in now that they have enough pitching and the Cardinals aren't a likely fit either.
- "Victor Martinez and Cliff Lee are not on the trade block," according to Gammons.
- The Indians would deal Mark DeRosa for "major league ready pitching."
- Washington would like to deal Nick Johnson, Austin Kearns and some of their "semi-attractive" relievers.
- The Nationals offered Johnson to the Red Sox for Manny Delcarmen.
- Gammons says he believes it's in the best interest of the buyer and the seller to deal earlier, rather than later.
- The Yankees and Red Sox could offer Mark Teixeira money ($180MM) to Joe Mauer if the catcher hits free agency after the 2010 season.
Jake Peavy Will Not Accept Trade to White Sox
6:10pm: Ken Rosenthal argues that Peavy's decision to nix the deal was justified, saying, "If I were Jake Peavy, I would not go to the White Sox."
Rosenthal thinks back to the offseason, when the Padres "blew two chances" to trade Peavy. "The Braves clearly offered a better package than the White Sox. The Cubs' deal might have turned out better, too." He writes tha the longer the Padres take to deal Peavy, the less they will get in return.
Rosenthal has doubts about the White Sox's ability to compete in the future, and he says that this may have been on Peavy's mind when he rejected the trade.
5:53pm: Jon Heyman writes that Peavy will speak to the media shortly after 6pm CST. He also mentions that the White Sox were asked by the Padres earlier in the day if they had "any ideas on how to persuade" Peavy to accept the deal.
5:41pm: Joe Cowley and Toni Ginnetti of the Chicago Sun-Times are reporting that sources close to Peavy say that he has notified the Padres that he will not accept a trade to the White Sox. Peavy talked it over with his family and decided not to make the move. Manager Ozzie Guillen admitted he was surprised the Sox were willing to take on the $60MM commitment.
5:25pm: Via Twitter, Jon Heyman reports that the White Sox will not try to convince Peavy to agree to the deal by committing to pick up the $22MM option in his contract for 2013. This is still in Peavy's hands.
1:27pm: Gonzales has more from Linebrink about his conversation with Peavy. Linebrink didn't see the AL/NL thing as a big concern for Peavy.
Also, Diamond Leung passes along a Ned Colletti interview with Dan Patrick today. The Dodgers GM spoke to Towers about a Peavy trade as recently as a month ago but the asking price was too high. Meanwhile the Red Sox have not been involved, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
12:47pm: Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune says Peavy will likely not be traded to the White Sox, presumably because he'll veto the deal if it reaches that point. Krasovic notes that in addition to Poreda and Richard, Lance Broadway has been discussed.
Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times explains why the trade would make sense for the Sox and why it wouldn't.
12:21pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says beyond Poreda and Richard, the Padres would choose two players to be named later from a list of four. Axelrod explained the situation to Rosenthal:
"Approval or disapproval is not necessarily black or white. Depending on what is involved could make it more desirable or less desirable. There may be certain things he has to have as conditions. We're not near the point of talking about that, what he would want to see adjusted if he were to approve."
11:52am: ESPN's Jerry Crasnick talked to Axelrod, who gave the impression that Peavy is leaning against accepting the trade:
"If I had to make a bet on it, I would guess that Jake would say he's not ready to take that step today. But he wouldn't necessarily preclude it at any time in the future."
Peavy maintains his strong preference for the NL.
11:31am: Brock talked to Peavy's agent Barry Axelrod. Axelrod hasn't spoken to Peavy yet today, but was asked by the Padres "about Jake's feeling about the possibility of (playing for) the White Sox."
10:11am: ESPN's Peter Gammons says Beckham is not part of the deal. CBS' Danny Knobler says it would be Poreda, Richard, and one or two others. The others would also be pitchers, says Knobler. Yahoo's Gordon Edes says the White Sox have agreed to send four pitching prospects including Poreda and Richard.
ESPN's Bruce Levine talked to White Sox pitcher and former Peavy teammate Scott Linebrink, who gave Peavy a 50-50 chance of accepting the deal.
9:39am: MLB.com's Corey Brock and Scott Merkin say Poreda and Clayton Richard are believed to be part of the deal.
9:19am: Jon Heyman says the White Sox and Padres have agreed to a Peavy trade, and await the pitcher's approval. MLB.com's Corey Brock agrees. Ken Williams, always operating under the radar. Now we get to see just how much Peavy hates the AL.
Peavy is owed an additional $8.35MM this year, $15MM in '10, $16MM in '11, $17MM in '12, and a $4MM buyout for '13. Total: $60.35MM guaranteed through 2012. It is surprising to see the White Sox willing to take on such a commitment to a pitcher.
No idea if he's involved, but yes, the Sox could trade Gordon Beckham in this deal as a player to be named later.
9:09am: Via Gonzales on Twitter: "Waiting for approval from Peavy on SD trade, according to source."
6:51am: Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune is reporting that the Padres are in discussions to send Jake Peavy to the White Sox.
According to Padres personnel, Peavy met with Padres manager Bud Black late Wednesday night to discuss a trade overture from the Sox.
It is apparently a four-player offer, which would presumably gut Chicago's farm system. Peavy would have to approve any trade and according to Krasovic Peavy is telling people that the trade is "something to think about." However, Krasovic says Peavy "may have reservations about pitching for Ozzie Guillen."
MLB.com's Corey Brock asked Peavy about the rumor. He said, "I only know what you guys [media] know." Brock expects the Padres would require a frontline pitcher like Aaron Poreda. Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald makes the Poreda link as well, but finds Peavy's contract prohibitive. Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune says the Padres had a scout watching the White Sox last weekend in Toronto. Meanwhile, SI's Jon Heyman says Peavy still prefers the West or Midwest and the NL. Heyman likes the Cubs or Brewers.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here. Tim Dierkes also contributed to this post.
Stark On White Sox, Bedard, A’s, Penny
A new Rumblings and Grumblings column from ESPN's Jayson Stark…
- Even if they don't acquire Jake Peavy, the White Sox are apparently "open for business." Stark takes that to mean names such as Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Octavio Dotel, and A.J. Pierzynski could hit the market.
- The Mariners are not quite yet at the point of making Erik Bedard available. They figure to price him like an ace if they do so.
- If A's GM Billy Beane decides to fold on 2009, he could make veterans such as Matt Holliday, Orlando Cabrera, Jason Giambi, and Russ Springer available.
- It's very unlikely that the D'Backs shop Brandon Webb this summer, since he'll be coming off a shoulder injury.
- Indians GM Mark Shapiro seems to be leaning toward hanging on to Cliff Lee for now. Shapiro may look to add pitching by trading Mark DeRosa or an outfielder.
- The Red Sox are "actively listening" on Brad Penny. My opinion: the Phillies, Indians, White Sox, or Mets could make sense.
Odds and Ends: Big Papi, Ray, Murphy
The night in baseball so far…
- David Ortiz finally homered after 149 regular-season at-bats without a home run dating back to September 22, 2008. Home runs tend to come in bunches, so if Ortiz quickly follows with a few more, consider the Red Sox less interested in hitters like Aubrey Huff or Nick Johnson.
- Chris Ray is throwing with desired velocity, but still doesn't have his location, according to Spencer Fordin or MLB.com. Watch Ray's walk rate. He's walked nine in 12 2/3 innings. But with 15 strikeouts in that time, he's a bit of control away from helping the Orioles-or perhaps a contending team, come the trade deadline.
- All those thinking the Mets will trade for a first baseman, watch the next four games carefully. The Mets are giving Daniel Murphy a chance to grab the position, and Murphy, a natural third baseman, should have an easier adjustment there than in left field.
Odds & Ends: Bray, Fox, Manny, Crow
Links for Wednesday…
- Today's chat will be at 3pm CST.
- According to Andy Martino, the Phillies claimed righty Steven Register off waivers from the Rockies today and sent him to Triple A.
- Reds reliever Bill Bray will miss the rest of the season due to Tommy John surgery, according to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon yesterday.
- Dave Cameron at FanGraphs says Jake Fox belongs in the Majors, given his ridiculous Triple A numbers (.431/.513/.954 in 130 ABs with 17 HR and 50 RBI). The Cubs, though, are already trying to find ways to get Micah Hoffpauir into the lineup.
- ESPN's Buster Olney pictures what would've unfolded if Manny Ramirez hadn't used PEDs.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle on the Noah Lowry situation.
- Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe speculates on possible moves for the Red Sox.
- Baseball America's Jim Callis says Nationals GM Mike Rizzo has been talking to Randy Hendricks about getting Aaron Crow's consent in the event the Nationals want to draft him again.
Nick Johnson Rumors
The Nationals' injury-prone first baseman, Nick Johnson, is off to a .333/.432/.468 start in 169 plate appearances. He hasn't played a full season since '06, so it might make sense for GM Mike Rizzo to trade him while he's healthy and hitting. Johnson has about $4.2MM left on his contract.
On Saturday, ESPN's Peter Gammons wrote:
The Nationals have let it be known that Nick Johnson is available, but Boston won't trade Clay Buchholz.
I think MLB.com's Bill Ladson was responding to that Gammons sentence when he wrote today:
Nationals first baseman Nick Johnson has been mentioned in trade rumors of late. The Red Sox are said to be scouting Johnson, but the truth is, according to a baseball source, Washington and Boston haven't talked since April.
Ladson goes on to say that the Nationals would want a pitching prospect in a Johnson trade, and the player had kind words for the Red Sox.
How about the Giants, who are 14th in the NL with 3.97 runs scored per game and have gotten a .228/.275/.272 line out of first basemen Travis Ishikawa and Rich Aurilia? Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News says "I heard Nick Johnson's name on the lips of more than one uniformed person Tuesday." Aurilia might be on the way out, but to make room for Jesus Guzman.
The Mets are another team often speculated as a suitor for Johnson. GM Omar Minaya will stay in-house for now for Carlos Delgado's replacement, but maybe he'll make a deal if Delgado has a setback.
Olney On Trade Scenarios
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.