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Daisuke Matsuzaka

Red Sox Notes: Matsuzaka, Lackey, Martinez

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On this date nine years ago, Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez disposed of the Mariners in the first inning by striking out the side on nine pitches. Today, the outlook isn't nearly as rosy for Boston, which is above .500 for the first time this year. Here's the latest: 

  • The Red Sox announced that Daisuke Matsuzaka experienced elbow tightness during his last start. An MRI confirmed that the right-hander appears to have a sprained ulnar collateral ligament and strain to his common flexor mass. The Red Sox will re-examine him in two weeks.
  • Boston's other injured starter, John Lackey, received a cortisone shot in his right pitching elbow, according to Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com (on Twitter). 
  • Tonight, Victor Martinez returns to Fenway Park for the first time this season. Back in March, Alex Speier of WEEI.com explained that the Red Sox didn't offer V-Mart more than $42MM in guaranteed money, but believed he would have returned if they had matched the Tigers' $50MM offer.
  • Peter Gammons weighed in on all things Red Sox earlier today.

Trade Or Release Remains Unlikely For Matsuzaka

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Daisuke Matsuzaka had already strained the patience of Red Sox Nation before this Monday’s horrendous start. Boston may skip Matsuzaka’s next outing, but talk of trading or releasing the right-hander remains premature. 

The Red Sox aren’t about to give up on Matsuzaka, though their patience for him is dwindling, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark. Releasing Matsuzaka this year is not an option, according to Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald. The Red Sox still owe Matsuzaka $10MM this year and $10MM more in 2012 and they aren’t eager to eat that much money.

There’s a slim possibility the Red Sox will look into deals for Matsuzaka even though he has a no-trade clause. Peter Gammons said on WEEI's Mut & Merloni show that the Red Sox could consider trading him for another player with a bad contract.

Quick Hits: Votto, Davis, Matsuzaka, Indians

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Links for Tuesday, as the Rangers announce that Josh Hamilton will miss six to eight weeks with a non-displaced fracture of his right shoulder…

  • The other MVP from last year, Joey Votto, continues to adjust and improve his game, as Dave Cameron points out at FanGraphs. Votto appears to be chasing fewer pitches outside of the strike zone.
  • Trackman, a Danish technology company, is using 3D Doppler radar ball flight measurement to scout pitchers and pitches with hard data, as Tom Verducci reports at SI.com.
  • Doug Davis can opt out of his minor league deal with the Cubs on May 30th, according to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com (on Twitter).
  • The Red Sox are, of course, unlikely to trade Daisuke Matsuzaka, despite his awful start yesterday. However, they are considering skipping his next start, according to the Boston Herald.
  • Yahoo's Tim Brown examines the Indians' hot start and says it provides us with the "opportunity to discover what is right in an organization that has been forced into hard decisions" since they took a 3-1 lead over the Red Sox in the 2007 ALCS.

Red Sox Notes: Gonzalez, Buck, Matsuzaka

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When the Red Sox acquired Adrian Gonzalez three months ago, he was recovering from shoulder surgery and wasn't a lock to be ready for Opening Day. Yesterday, having not experienced any setbacks, Gonzalez played in his first game of the spring, a strong sign that his rehab has been a success. Speaking to reporters today, the slugger suggested he doesn't expect his health to be an issue this season. In fact, he wants to play in all 162 games, writes Alex Speier of WEEI.com.

"I'm a first baseman," said Gonzalez. "How much energy do you really put out there? I don't steal bases. I don’t run fast. I play first base. As long as my legs can take it, I'm good."

More Sox-related links:

  • In a separate column for WEEI, Speier looks back at the other trade involving Gonzalez, one that helped the Marlins win the 2003 World Series.
  • John Buck was keeping an eye on Victor Martinez and the Red Sox this winter, according to Speier. Alhough contract talks with the Sox never got serious, Buck was intrigued by the possibility of replacing V-Mart behind the plate in Boston: "Who doesn’t want to play for the Red Sox? Being a kind of historian of baseball, regardless of all the money and all that other stuff, it would just be a cool place to play."
  • The Red Sox are making changes to Daisuke Matsuzaka's throwing routine in hopes of turning his spring around, says Tim Britton of the Providence Journal. Yesterday, Theo Epstein shot down a report that Boston was open to trade offers for Dice-K and others.
  • The starting rotation in Boston is becoming clearer, writes Britton in another ProJo blog entry.

Red Sox Open To Offers For Matsuzaka, Others?

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7:51pm: One Red Sox official has called the ESPNBoston story "false," tweets Edes. According to Edes, however, his source was describing scenarios he'd been told by another Sox official. GM Theo Epstein also disputed the report, writes John Tomase of the Boston Herald.

5:49pm: The Red Sox moved a little closer to finalizing their Opening Day roster today by reassigning a number of players to minor league camp. Before April 1st rolls around, however, the club appears open to making more significant roster moves. Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston reports that the Red Sox "have let it be known" they'll listen to trade offers on a number of players expected to start the year with the team.

According to Edes' source, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield, Mike Cameron, Darnell McDonald, and Marco Scutaro would be available in the right deal. Some of those players would likely draw more interest than others. Matsuzaka, for instance, in addition to having a full no-trade clause, is owed $10MM this season and has struggled so far this spring. So while Edes writes that the Red Sox would move the right-hander if they could "add to their young catching inventory," finding a deal that works could be tricky.

Cameron and Scutaro have been identified as potential trade candidates previously this winter, given Boston's depth at their respective positions. As for Wakefield, Edes' source says the 44-year-old is "on the bubble" and could be available for a left-handed reliever. Though his 2011 role with the Sox is up in the air, the knuckleballer said earlier this week that he can't imagine playing anywhere besides Boston.

Cafardo’s Latest: Uggla, Pavano, Matsuzaka, Ellsbury

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In today's column, Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe asked ten baseball people to select the ten most significant moves/non-moves of the offseason. Unsurprisingly, Adrian Gonzalez, Zack Greinke, Carl Crawford, and Cliff Lee topped the list. Here are the rest of Cafardo's rumors…

  • Talks between the Braves and Dan Uggla have slowed because he's seeking more money, but an extension should get done during the first week of January. Cafardo reported that the two sides were close to a five-year deal worth $60-61MM about two weeks ago.
  • The Orioles still have interest in Kevin Gregg and the Red Sox still have interest in Brian Fuentes, but other free agent relievers like Rafael Soriano, Grant Balfour, Octavio Dotel, Aaron Heilman, Manny Delcarmen, Hideki Okajima and Jon Rauch remain in limbo.
  • Carl Pavano is holding out for three years, with the Nationals, Twins, and Rangers still showing interest. Cafardo adds the Mariners to the mix, with the caveat that they free up some money first.
  • The teams considering Pavano could also turn to Joe Blanton, who would certainly come cheaper.
  • The Red Sox "haven’t heard anything close to the value they would need in return" for Daisuke Matsuzaka.
  • The Angels and several other teams made a run at Jacoby Ellsbury this offseason, but the Sox "never heard any offer resembling proper value."
  • Cafardo wonders if Adrian Beltre is looking at a much smaller payday than originally anticipated. Last we heard, the Angels pulled their five-year, $70MM offer to the third baseman, but they remain in the mix to sign him.
  • David Aardsma is still trade bait and the Mariners wouldn't mind moving him for starting pitching depth. Earlier this week we heard Seattle wanted an impact bat for its closer.

Teams Have Inquired On Matsuzaka

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9:40am: The Sox have shown no active desire to trade Matsuzaka, notes WEEI's Alex Speier.

7:27am: In his latest column for the Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo cites Major League sources in saying that Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein has received inquiries on Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Cafardo says Epstein is hesitant to move Matsuzaka because he doesn't want to weaken the depth of starting pitching he's built up for his club without getting a big return. Boston currently has a rotation consisting of Matsuzaka, Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, and John Lackey, with Tim Wakefield under contract for 2011 as well.

It makes sense that with struggles from some of his starters last season, particularly Beckett, and little available via free agency, Epstein wouldn't want to begin moving starting pitchers. There's also the issue of Matsuzaka's full no-trade clause, which would allow the 30-year-old right-hander to veto a trade to any club.

While Matsuzaka has been the cause of some recent speculation in regards to the Carlos Beltran rumors, it seems as though the odds are stacked against Epstein moving him, or any of his starters for that matter.

Carlos Beltran Rumors: Wednesday

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On Tuesday at the Winter Meetings, the idea of the Red Sox acquiring Carlos Beltran surfaced. For the remainder of the day, we heard a few pieces, culminating with a reported meeting between Boston and the Mets to discuss the idea. Here's your early edition of Wednesday's Beltran rumors:

  • A source involved in the discussions told Joel Sherman of the New York Post that nothing was close with Boston and Beltran (Twitter link). Sherman was told yesterday that the Red Sox see Beltran as a fallback.
  • SI.com's Jon Heyman spoke to one NL executive who estimated the Mets would have to eat about half of Beltran's salary in order to move him (Twitter link).
  • Newsday's David Lennon says a deal between the Red Sox and Mets has gained some traction. While a trade is still a long shot, Mets GM Sandy Alderson is not averse to eating salary to move him. Lennon also speculates on a Daisuke Matsuzaka-Beltran swap, as the two are owed nearly the same amount of money ($20MM vs. $18.5MM, respectively). Matsuzaka would need to waive his no-trade clause to facilitate such a deal.

Red Sox Rumors: DeJesus, Matsuzaka, Crawford

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There's been lots of chatter about the Red Sox and Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth, but Boston isn't necessarily committed to acquiring an outfielder through free agency. Here's the latest:

Cafardo’s Latest: Matsuzaka, Managers, Konerko

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Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe spoke to nearly a dozen scouts and executives and found that there would be substantial interest in Daisuke Matsuzaka if the Red Sox made the righthander available in a trade this offseason. Most of those polled believe Boston would have to kick in some money to offset the two-years and $20MM left on his deal, but it's unclear what they would want in return. As Cafardo reminds us, there's no such thing as too much pitching depth, so the Sox could simply hold onto him.

As far as teams that could have potential interest in Dice-K, Cafardo names the Mariners, Mets, Dodgers, Brewers, Rangers, and Tigers. Here are the rest of his rumors…

  • There's talk that the Red Sox might go after Yu Darvish if he's posted this winter, and there is a little bit of a New England connection there: Darvish's father attended school in the area.
  • Doug Melvin said he will go outside the organization to replace departed manager Ken Macha, which rules out Dale Sveum and Willie Randolph.
  • Jim Hendry and Cubs ownership likes what interim manager Mike Quade got out of his players down the stretch, so the sentiment to retain him is growing.
  • Fredi Gonzalez turned down a chance to interview with the Cubbies, and it's looking more and more likely that he will take over for the retiring Bobby Cox in Atlanta.
  • Alex Anthopoulos is looking at third base/bench coaches for his next manager, while Neal Huntington might dip into his Indians' roots to fill the Pirates' managerial vacancy.
  • Paul Konerko indicated that contract length won't be much of a factor when he hits free agency this winter because he isn't sure how much longer he wants to play. Kenny Williams indicated that there might not be enough room in the budget for the White Sox to bring back their captain, especially if they seeks out a lefty bat as expected.
  • Jason Varitek wants to return to the Red Sox but the team is thinking bigger picture with Jarrod Saltalamacchia on board. Cafardo suggests the Marlins as a potential landing spot for Varitek, where he would work with the team's young pitchers.
  • Meanwhile, the Sox could sign John Buck as a stopgap while they wait for Salty to establish himself.
  • Teams in need of a second baseman are very interested in Jed Lowrie, though at least one scout thinks he can stick at shortstop. The 26-year-old hit .287/.381/.526 in 197 plate appearances this year.
  • Despite a strong finish (1.41 ERA in his last ten starts), the Cubs would still like to move Carlos Zambrano. Of course, they're going to have to eat some of the $55MM left of his contract to do so.
  • Cafardo thinks that Carl Pavano could command a three-year deal worth $30MM as a free agent this winter, but he'd have to give a bit of a discount to return to Minnesota. The Twins have shown a willingness to spend in the last year, so this will be an interesting negotiation for them.
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