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Daisuke Matsuzaka

Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Penny, Harden, Lidge

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Rumor machine Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count Video up at FoxSports.com. Let's dive on in…

  • The outcome of this weekend's games could determine which team the recently released Brad Penny signs with. The Giants and Marlins are the two teams pursuing him the most, but the Giants are in a better position in the NL Wildcard standings.
  • The Yankees, Twins, and A's are also expressing interest in the righthander, but "what pitcher in his right mind would want to stay in the American League?"
  • The A's and Padres have even "floated the idea" of signing Penny beyond the rest of this season, but Penny's best bet might be to go to a team like the Giants and reestablish himself in a pennant race, then go back into the free agent pool this winter on a high note.
  • The Cubs are more open to dealing Rich Harden to the Twins than you might think. The Cubs could receive two high draft picks if they offer Harden arbitration after the season and he signs elsewhere, but that's a risky strategy. Given his injury history, the club might not want to take a $10MM or so hit if he accepts, even for only one year.
  • The bigger question with Harden may be how aggressive the Twins will be in trying to deal for him. Remember that stars Justin Morneau and Joe Nathan have said the team needs more to contend, with Morneau mentioning that the team needs to impress Joe Mauer since he's due to become a free agent after next season.
  • Yes, the Yankees were messing with the Red Sox when they claimed Chris Carter off waivers, but Boston's 40-man roster only has 38 players on it at the moment. Daisuke Matsuzaka will assume one of those spots when he comes off the 60-day DL, and the other is reserved for Paul Byrd.
  • People might need to relax when it comes to Brad Lidge's struggles. His recent blown save against the Pirates might be the result of overuse, as Lidge was pitching for the fourth straight day. He had done it twice before this season, but he entered game three of that stretch with a four-run lead. Manager Charlie Manuel may need to be more careful with how he uses his closer down the stretch.

Red Sox To Listen On Matsuzaka?

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According to Nick Cafardo at the Boston Globe, you can expect the Red Sox to listen to offers for Daisuke Matsuzaka this offseason. There's a hope Matsuzaka will right the ship and return to success after injuries this season to help his trade value.

Matsuzaka's recent comments criticizing the team's rehab process might have been too much for him to have a place on the organization. Cafardo wonders if the team underestimated "the cultural and philosophical differences that would lead to a constant butting of heads." Matsuzaka would have to sign off on any deal, but indications are that he would okay a trade.

Cafardo also talked to a GM who said that Matsuzaka should draw interest from teams, as the Red Sox have already paid the enormous posting fee (over $51MM), his contract is otherwise reasonable, and because the Sox have a good history of taking care of their pitchers.

Discussion: Evaluating Theo Epstein

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Jim Donaldson of the Providence Journal wrote today that evaluating Red Sox GM Theo Epstein is "as tricky as [Julio] Lugo trying to field a hot grounder." The reason, says Donaldson, is that the Sox can afford to make expensive mistakes like Lugo's contract.

Donaldson seems to argue that Epstein is overrated, citing continual problems at shortstop and big contracts to Daisuke Matsuzaka and J.D. Drew as his biggest flaws so far.

Well, if our readers can't resolve this, nobody can. What do you think? Does large payroll capacity allow Epstein to get away with mistakes? Where do you rank his moves compared to those of other GM's?

If you need a crib sheet, don't forget MLBTR contributor Brendan Bianowicz's GM Trade History for Epstein from last year.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Harper, A-Rod, Dice-K, A’s

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On this date 45 years ago, in the final year before Major League Baseball instituted the amateur draft, Rick Reichardt was signed by the Los Angeles Angels for $200K. At the time, it was the largest signing bonus ever given to an amateur baseball player. Reichardt would only play 57 minor league games before making his big league debut later that year. He would go on to play 11 seasons with four franchises. With this year's draft class starting to sign their first contracts, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…

  • Jorge Says No! says MLB should consider moving the trade deadline since the introduction of the wild card leaves more teams in contention in July.
  • Sully Baseball says it is hypocritical to criticize Bryce Harper for wanting to turn pro at age 16.
  • River Ave. Blues suggests that if the Yankees could have one contract absorbed by MLB it would be Alex Rodriguez's.
  • Around the Majors takes a look at Scott Boras' upcoming free agent class, which includes Eric Gagne, who has been converted back to a starter.
  • MLB Notebook wonders who the A's can trade outside of Matt Holliday.
  • Fire Brand of the American League looks at whether Daisuke Matsuzaka has been worth the contract he signed.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.

Odds & Ends: Ransom, Dice-K, O’s

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MLBTR's own Eddie Schmid started posting this special little feature a couple weeks ago and it drew a nice response.  I'm just a thief.  This day in MLBTR history: On June 23, 2008, the bidding war was heating up for 16-year-old pitching phenom Michael Inoa.  He, of course, eventually signed with the Oakland A's.

A couple more links for Tuesday evening…

  • Marc Craig of the Newark Star-Ledger notes that Cody Ransom's 60-day stay on the disabled list will end Wednesday.  At that point, the Yankees either have to add him to the 25-man roster or designate him for assignment and risk losing him to another club.
  • The Boston Globe's Bob Ryan is almost ready to call Daisuke Matsuzaka a bust.  The Japanese import is 1-5 this season with an 8.23 ERA and 2.20 WHIP.  Sure, he was solid last year, but keep in mind the Red Sox shelled out $103MM to land him.
  • Matthew Pouliot of NBCSports.com and Rotoworld fame lists 10 outfielders who are "most likely to be traded" this season.  Matt Holliday tops the list, followed closely by Ryan Spilborghs, Jeff Francoeur and Cody Ross.
  • As the fellas over at "The Rays Party" point out, 2005 first-round pick Wade Townsend has decided to call it a career.  The right-hander out of Rice University battled all sorts of injuries during his four-year minor league campaign.
  • The Baltimore Sun's Peter Schmuck suggests a few moves the Orioles could make at the trade deadline.  "Keep Aubrey Huff… Listen to offers for George Sherrill… Don't listen to offers for Cesar Izturis," he writes.

Odds And Ends: Red Sox, Mateo, Sano

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More links for the afternoon…

  • The Pirates signed Victor Black, their supplemental round pick, according to Mike Vukovcan of KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh.
  • Alex Speier of WEEI.com reports that the Red Sox are set to sign their second round pick, righty Alex Wilson, for about $475k. He turned down $600k from the Cubs last year.
  • ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure says the Nats will work Wagner Mateo out, but aren't likely to sign him.
  • Arangure says the  Mariners, Cardinals, Dodgers, Giants, Yankees and Cubs could sign Mateo.
  • Arangure still expects Miguel Angel Sano to sign with the Pirates. 
  • Peter Abraham of the Journal News suggests the Yankees should release Brett Tomko and Angel Berroa. He also suggests five other ways the Yankees could improve without making a trade.
  • Peter Gammons says C.C. Sabathia could use some extra rest in this ESPN Radio discussion. Gammons also believes Daisuke Matsuzaka's injury is "pretty serious."
  • MLB.com's Rustin Dodd looks back at the deal that sent Carlos Beltran to the Astros. Five years ago Wednesday, the Royals acquired Mike Wood, Mark Teahen and John Buck for their center fielder.
  • Click here to take another look at the MLBTR glossary post on the international signing period. It now explains how some players born in early September, 1993 can sign this year.

Dice-K Skipped; Penny Off The Block?

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According to Alex Speier of Boston's WEEI, Daisuke Matsuzaka "will be skipped in his next turn through the rotation."  

There is some injury concern — he'll be examined by a team doctor — but this is mostly a performance-based decision.  Dice-K allowed six runs in four innings during his last outing and is now 1-5 with an 8.23 ERA and 2.20 WHIP on the season.  If the Red Sox decide to throw him into the bullpen for the remainder of the '09 campaign, or find some sort of physical issue, Speier suggests they might pull Brad Penny off the trading block.

Even with John Smoltz set to join the club Thursday, it would appear Boston's rotational depth just took a small hit.

Odds & Ends: Crow, Matsuzaka, Harrington

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Links for Monday…

Red Sox Reach Deals With Bard, Penny

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9:59pm: Ian Browne of MLB.com weighs in on Bard. He discusses the catching situation, and in particular, how the Red Sox will use Bard if free-agent Jason Varitek returns to the franchise.

SI.com points out Penny’s Interleague numbers: 7-11 with a 5.08 ERA in 24 appearances against American League opponents. Penny has spent his entire career in the National League.

8:41pm: Rob Bradford of WEEI.com spoke with Brad Penny, who confirmed his deal with the Boston Red Sox.

From Bradford:

“There were a lot of teams involved,” said Penny in a phone conversation. “But I wanted to go somewhere where I knew we had a great chance at winning, and Boston is that place.”

Bradford adds that Penny will be in Boston on Jan. 7 to take his physical and will begin his throwing program next week.

Bradford also updates the status of Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett, who has started exercises on his throwing shoulder, which is earlier than in years past. Bradford’s post states that the injury that plagued Beckett at the end of the 2008 season has subsided. The injury centered around the intercostal muscles near the ribs and not the oblique as previously thought.

7:33pm: Free-agent catcher Josh Bard has reached a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox, Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald and Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe are reporting.

The Bard agreement is a nonguaranteed major-league deal worth $1.6MM. According to McAdam, Bard is viewed as a backup, but he could see more time depending upon what Boston decides to do at catcher.

Bard, 31 in March, spent seven games with the Red Sox in 2006 before Boston traded him to the Padres. He hit .202 in 57 games with San Diego in 2008.

McAdam has more on the Brad Penny deal, too. The agreement, a one-year deal with a base salary of $5MM, will be finalized Monday. Incentives and performance bonuses can increase the total deal another $3MM if Penny pitches more than 160 innings, McAdam reports.

Penny, 31 in May, went 6-9 with a 6.27 ERA in 17 starts and two relief appearances in 2008 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The right-hander played 4.5 seasons for the Dodgers. He played with the Florida Marlins from 2000 until he was traded in 2004.

With the addition of Penny, the Boston rotation now consists of Penny, Josh Beckett, Tim Wakefield, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jon Lester.

The move also allows righty Justin Masterson to remain in a setup role for closer Jonathan Papelbon.

Red Sox Rumors: Sabathia, Youkilis, Tazawa

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Red Sox rumors and links abound this morning.

  • ESPN’s Buster Olney says the Red Sox will meet with C.C. Sabathia within the next few days.  It’s unknown whether they have serious interest.
  • Olney adds that the Sox hope to sign Kevin Youkilis and Jon Lester long-term, in the wake of the Dustin Pedroia deal.  Peter Gammons suggested a deal for Youkilis could get done quickly.
  • Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe says GM Theo Epstein has prioritized catching.  Epstein suggested more catchers may be available in trade than people think.
  • Benjamin says the Red Sox also want to add a right-handed hitting outfielder who can play center (such as Rocco Baldelli) and a corner infielder.  Trade talks with the Tigers for Julio Lugo have broken down.
  • Epstein indicated to Benjamin that certain free agent pitchers will "dominate for years to come," and that’s the type he’s interested in.  He also said an eight-to-ten year deal for a free agent is unlikely, but Benjamin says not to rule out Mark Teixeira.
  • Epstein said at a press conference yesterday that the team’s Junichi Tazawa signing was made possible in part by the Daisuke Matsuzaka signing a few years back.  Dice-K and Hideki Okajima could be reasons Tazawa turned down more money from the Rangers.  Tazawa may begin his career in Double A.
  • The Boston Herald’s Sean McAdam looks at the controversy caused by the Tazawa deal.
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