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Paul Byrd

Byrd Would Consider Pitching Next Year

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Paul Byrd recovered from a rough outing against the White Sox to help the Red Sox beat the Orioles last night. His numbers to date aren't good, though the sample size is admittedly small. The 38-year-old righty has started three games for the Red Sox and has allowed 19 hits and six walks in 13.1 innings, striking out five. Still, Byrd tells WEEI.com's Rob Bradford that he would consider pitching again next season.

"I'm going to do the same thing until I can't offer anybody anything, until I can't bring anything to the table," Byrd said. "So I think this year is really important to prove that."

Byrd was able to spend time with his family and preserve his health before joining the Red Sox in time for the stretch run. Given the recent success of older pitchers like Jamie Moyer and Tim Wakefield, it's not hard to imagine Byrd pitching again next year, especially if he finishes the season with a stretch of effective starts.

Odds And Ends: Yankees, Wagner, Byrd

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Some links to start the week off…

Odds & Ends: Kazmir, Byrd, A’s, Lackey

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Sunday evening linkage…

  • As noted by Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, new Angels hurler Scott Kazmir is already falling in love out West.  "It kind of feels like a playoff atmosphere every time you're here," Kazmir said Sunday. "You have the Rally Monkey, the whole thing going on."  He's under team control until 2012 and will make his Angels debut Wednesday.
  • Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com spoke Sunday with A's manager Bob Geren, who revealed his plan for September's roster expansion.  It has already been confirmed that Brett Wallace will not see major league action this year.
  • Paul Byrd told WEEI.com's Rob Bradford that he wasn't guaranteed a call-up by the Red Sox when they signed him to a minor league deal in early August.  The 38-year-old made his 2009 debut Sunday afternoon, tossing six shutout innings against the Blue Jays.
  • John Lackey earned his 100th career win Sunday with eight innings of five-hit ball against the Athletics.  He heads an intriguing 2010 free agent class.

Odds & Ends: Kazmir, Rays, Hoffman, Byrd

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We can link to it, we have the technology…

  • ESPN's Keith Law feels the Rays received "a tremendous return for a pitcher whose value had really nose-dived over the past 10 months" when they dealt Scott Kazmir to the Angels late Friday evening.
  • Manager Joe Maddon says that the team feels they have the depth to cover the loss of Kazmir, and that it won't hurt their chances of getting back to playoffs this year. The depth Maddon speaks of comes in the form of Andy Sonnanstine and prospect Wade Davis, though Marc Topkin of The St. Petersburg Times says Sonnanstine will get the call against the Red Sox on Tuesday.
  • Topkin was all over the Kazmir saga yesterday, and now that the dust has settled he says the team can use the savings to keep it's core intact. Several veterans, such as Carl Crawford, have raises built into their contracts, and several of the club's young players will be due big raises in arbitration.
  • When asked if closer Trevor Hoffman might go to the Giants after being claimed on waivers, Brewers GM Doug Melvin said "probably not," according to Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel.
  • Boston reportedly agreed to give Paul Byrd a September callup, but it looks like his shot may come sooner than that. With Tim Wakefield's back acting up again, the Sox will send Byrd to the mound tomorrow night according to John Tomase of The Boston Herald.
  • Sheldon Ocker of The Akron Beacon Journal takes an early look at some of the players that could help get the Indians back on track in 2010.
  • The Marlins officially introduced first round pick Chad James to the masses this afternoon, writes MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.

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.

Odds & Ends: Yankees, Kazmir, Torres

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My momma always said, "Odds & Ends posts are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get…"

  • Joel Sherman of The NY Post says that the Yankees negotiated with then-free agent Paul Byrd earlier in the summer, but refused to meet his request of a guaranteed September call-up. Once the Red Sox signed Byrd, Yanks' brass assumed that they had agreed to Byrd's demand, and then claimed Chris Carter off waivers in hopes of creating some 40-man roster havoc for their main rival.
  • SI.com's Tom Verducci provides some insight into why the Rays traded (or will trade, since we're still waiting on an official announcement) Scott Kazmir. He notes that while he is still very young, Kazmir's velocity has been dropping and his strikeout rate is declining.
  • Alex Torres, one of the players involved in the Kazmir trade, was named one of this week's hottest prospects in Baseball America's Prospect Hot Sheet.

Odds And Ends: Zaun, D’Backs, Byrd

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A few more links to read as we try to figure out who claimed Alex Rios…

Odds And Ends: Byrd, Timlin, Giambi

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Some links to look through…

  • Bobby Abreu tells Yahoo's Tim Brown that it was frustrating to see other players sign big contracts last offseason.  Abreu waited and finally settled for a $5MM deal, but now he loves LA.
  • The Jason Giambi signing didn't work out nearly as well for the A's. When MLB.com's Mychael Urban asked manager Bob Geren if Giambi will be back next year, Geren avoided the question. Presumably the A's would rather buy the slugger out for $1.25MM than pay him $6MM next year.
  • Paul Byrd told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that he's in Boston to win a World Series ring.
  • Mike Timlin is rehabbing in the Rockies' minor league system to prove he can still pitch, according to Jack Etkin of Inside the Rockies. 
  • Justin Smoak, Martin Perez and Julio Borbon top Jamey Newberg's updated list of top Rangers prospects at MLB.com.  

Red Sox Sign Paul Byrd

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According to Ken Rosenthal at FOX Sports, the Red Sox have signed RHP Paul Byrd to a minor-league deal. Rosenthal says Byrd could be ready to pitch for the team by Sept. 1.

Byrd, 38, was acquired by the Sox from the Indians last year and altogether put up 4.60 ERA and 82/34 K/BB ratio in 180 innings. It was somewhat of a surprise no one had picked him up until now.

Phillies Discussed Paul Byrd

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As David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News reports, the Phillies have discussed adding free agent right-hander Paul Byrd, but aren't sure he'll present an upgrade.

"The question is whether Paul Byrd is going to be any better than any of the guys that we have — Rodrigo Lopez, or [Carlos] Carrasco, or [Andrew] Carpenter or [Kyle] Kendrick," GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said Thursday.  "Why would he be any better than those guys?  We've brought up the name, we've talked about it.  We've talked about almost every guy that might be available, whether it is free agency or what."

It's safe to say the Phillies probably aren't too serious about adding the 38-year-old.  He was 11-12 with a 4.60 ERA last year between the Indians and Red Sox.

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