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Wily Mo Pena

Red Sox Must Make Room For Buchholz

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Pitching phenom Clay Buchholz remains on track to start a game of Boston’s doubleheader against the Angels on Friday.  However, the Red Sox will first need to make room on the 40-man roster.  Active roster as well, as far as I can tell.  I am no roster expert, so correct me if I am wrong.  But it seems that moving Brendan Donnelly to the 60-day DL would open up room on the 40-man. Coco Crisp and David Ortiz’s injuries don’t seem to merit the 15-day DL, so they’d still need to find room on the active roster.

One option, according to both the Boston Globe and Hartford Courant, is to trade or DFA Wily Mo Pena.  DFAs are a good way to clear up roster space while buying time to make a decision on a player.  Pena has already cleared waivers and can be traded to any team.  I haven’t heard any recent rumors on interested teams though. 

There hasn’t been much talk of cutting Eric Hinske, though he’s a free agent after the season.  I suppose the reason the Sox want him over Wily Mo is that they want to promote Bobby Kielty but don’t need five active outfielders.

Random Rumors: Erstad, Gagne, Podsednik

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Here’s a smattering of random rumors.

  • The Twins have tried and failed to acquire Mike Piazza, Jermaine Dye, and Kevin Mench.  Instead of Dye, the White Sox offered up 33 year-old outfielder Darin Erstad, he of the .671 OPS. The Twins passed.
  • Eric Gagne will apparently earn Type A status as a free agent, despite pitching only two innings in 2006.  Rob Bradford has the details.  This was apparently a big factor for the Red Sox in making the deal.
  • The Chicago Sun-Times debunks a rumor that the Cubs are trying to trade for Scott Podsednik.  How come I wasn’t told about this rumor previously?  Who started it?  I feel left out. 
  • The Pirates and Tigers are still talking about Jack Wilson.  Apparently the deadline version of the deal died when the Bucs asked for Craig Monroe.  Really?  The deal died over that guy?
  • Gordon Edes has a Major League source indicating that the Orioles are "the kind of team that might have interest" in Wily Mo Pena.  That’s not the same as saying that they do have interest, however.

Wily Mo Pena Clears Waivers

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According to Rob Bradford of the Boston Herald, Wily Mo Pena has cleared waivers without a claim.  It seems no team was willing to risk taking on the $580K owed to Pena this year.  Pena can now be freely traded to any team in baseball, though the players received would have to clear waivers too if on the 40-man roster.  The way around it would be to make them players to be named later.

I’m surprised no one put in a claim on Pena.  It can’t really be his salary, can it?  Teams waste more than that on players with no upside constantly.  Abraham Nunez makes almost $2MM this year.  Is it possible that Theo Epstein somehow convinced the 29 other GMs not to put in a claim?  That doesn’t seem possible either.  Why wouldn’t Jim Bowden put in a claim?  He loves Pena.  Why wouldn’t the White Sox put in a claim?  Even if a GM figured he couldn’t hammer out a deal with Epstein for Pena, why not put in a claim anyway just in case? 

Failed Trades

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Let’s take a look at some deals that almost happened yesterday.

Kyle Farnsworth for Bob Wickman.  This would’ve been fun, reunions with former teams for both players.  However, the Braves wanted the Yankees to pick up all of Farnsworth’s salary, apparently.  Brian Cashman didn’t want to make him go away that badly, and Wickman would probably be a nonfactor back in the AL.

Mariners acquire Mark Loretta.  Eh.  Let’s not overstate the abilities of Loretta.  It sounds like Tim Purpura wanted some kind of legitimate prospect for him.

Rockies send Jeff Baker and others to Tampa Bay for Dan Wheeler.  We can’t really evaluate this one without knowing who else would’ve been involved.  And the Rays don’t really have a place to play Baker; they’re already squeezed finding playing time for Jonny Gomes.  If Rocco Baldelli ever gets healthy they’ll really have a pickle.  I mentioned in a recent interview at D-Rays Bay – Wheeler would probably be one of the ten best relievers available if he was a free agent after the season.  The Rays can pump up his value and get a promising young pitcher next year, as the Royals did with Octavio Dotel.    

Brewers send Tony Gwynn Jr., Zach Jackson, and another minor league for Eric Gagne.  This could’ve been the difference-maker that Scott Linebrink ain’t in a tight NL Central race.  But it doesn’t seem like Doug Melvin got a chance to counter the Red Sox offer, so you can’t really fault him.

Red Sox send Wily Mo Pena and Craig Hansen to White Sox for Jermaine Dye.  Well, there has to be some statistical way to evaluate whether this pair beats two draft picks.  You’d have to know the attrition rates of first/second rounders, and get some scouts on Pena and Hansen to see if they can ever reach their potential.  If I was the Kenny Williams I probably would’ve made the deal.  I think Pena gets docked in value from where he was two years ago, but still has pretty much the same upside if you manage him right.  Who knows, maybe Williams will go after Pena again this winter.

Mets Offer Humber For Cordero

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UPDATE: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Mets have offered Philip Humber to the Nationals for Cordero, but are holding fast with their bigger name prospects.  He also confirms that the Diamondbacks are in on Cordero and could offer Carlos Quentin.

According to Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post, the fates of Chad Cordero and Jon Rauch might be tied to Eric Gagne.  Gagne has the lower asking price and limited no-trade protection, and Jim Bowden may wait until that situation is resolved.

Some possible names on the Nats’ radar include Wily Mo Pena, Carlos Quentin, and Philip Humber.  Humber is one prospect the Mets are willing to trade, according to Jayson Stark.  Those names don’t exactly gel with the previous demands were hearing from Jim Bowden.  Will Bowden back down?  Will a desperate team offer a top flight prospect like an Adam Jones?  Or will Cordero and Rauch just stay put like last year?

Tim Brown’s Latest: Cordero, Quentin

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UPDATE: You can throw Conor Jackson into the mix along with Quentin.

Yahoo’s Tim Brown has some new rumors and info:

  • Plan B if the Red Sox can’t get Eric Gagne: Washington’s Chad Cordero.  It seems Wily Mo Pena would be a part of that, but I imagine Jim Bowden would want a top prospect as well.
  • The Diamondbacks are shopping Carlos Quentin for a starting pitcher; the Indians and Nationals have interest.  Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Indians are willing to deal Cliff Lee, so maybe there’s a match there.  And keep in mind that former Diamondbacks Director of Scouting Mike Rizzo now works as the Nationals’ Assistant GM and VP of Baseball Operations.  Rizzo still has a lot of Arizona connections, and he definitely loves Quentin.
  • Interestingly, Will Carroll indicates that Justin Upton may be on the verge of a callup. 

“Pretty Good” Chance Of Red Sox Getting Dye?

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UPDATE: Edes says it would be Manny Delcarmen or Justin Masterson as the pitcher.

UPDATE 2: Now Edes is saying that the Red Sox are not close to a deal for Dye.  They are currently refusing to give up Delcarmen or Masterson.

Things are heating up…Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe has a Major League source indicating that the Red Sox have a "pretty good" chance of completing a trade for Jermaine Dye.

The White Sox would apparently receive Wily Mo Pena and a pitching prospect other than Jon Lester or Clay Buccholz.  That could still leave Michael Bowden, Daniel Bard, Bryce Cox, or Craig Hansen.  All four have struggled this year but still have plenty of promise.  Justin Masterson is another intriguing name, but he’s pitched well in four starts at Double A.

Red Sox Sign Brady Clark

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The Red Sox just signed outfielder Brady Clark, per WEEI.  That probably puts them out of the Bobby Kielty sweepstakes.  Excitement!  Clark, a righthanded hitter, might be able to draw a few walks and play all three outfield positions.

Slightly more interesting is that this may portend a trade of Wily Mo Pena soon.  Pirates, White Sox, somewhere else?

Latest On Octavio Dotel

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You know what I love about the Kansas City Star?  The enormous, extreme close-up pixellated player photo that seems to accompany every article.  It’s bizarre in a good way.

Anyway, Bob Dutton gives us the latest on hot commodity Octavio Dotel.  According to Dutton, the Dodgers and Indians are at the forefront, with the Red Sox, Mets, and some other teams monitoring the situation.

As before, Dutton indicates that the Dodgers are the best possibility.  They refuse to part with Tony Abreu, however.  Abreu is seen as Jeff Kent’s replacement at second base, though Kent is still going strong and his 2008 option becomes guaranteed with 550 plate appearances this year.  Barring injury, he’ll reach that.

This seems parallel to the shortstop situation, where Rafael Furcal is signed through 2008 and Chin-Lung Hu is knocking on the door.  For some reason Dutton seems to view Hu as more available than Abreu.

The Indians won’t give up outfielders Franklin Gutierrez or Ben Francisco, at least not yet.  Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer confirms the info.  Is Francisco really anything more than a fourth outfielder? 

The Red Sox could go after Dotel and Reggie Sanders in a package deal, perhaps with Wily Mo Pena going to KC.

If Dayton Moore gets anything close to his asking price, the Dotel rental will end up a fantastic move. 

Graziano’s Latest: Livan, Wily Mo

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Dan Graziano at the Newark Star-Ledger has really stepped up in recent days with a lot of insider trade talk.  Let’s see what he has in store for us this morning.

  • Apparently Josh Byrnes is calling around, actively shopping Livan Hernandez.  According to Graziano, the Mets, Braves, and Mariners have expressed interest.  To the contrary, Ken Rosenthal wrote last night that the Mets and Braves are not interested.  Who to believe?  Hopefully the Mariners do better than Livan if they make a move for a starter.  To hear Nick Piecoro tell it, the Diamondbacks are more likely to just opt for the draft picks they’ll get if they let Hernandez leave via free agency.
  • The Yankees are in a quandary when it comes to dealing Scott Proctor or Kyle Farnsworth.  For Proctor, they want more than just a role player like Ty Wigginton.  They want a reliever back, which begs the question – why not just keep Proctor?  With Farnsy, the Yanks are reluctant to pay a big chunk of his $5.5 salary for ’08.  They should toss in $2MM and see if that’s enough to get Wiggy.
  • If the Red Sox can snag Bobby Kielty, they might turn around and trade Wily Mo Pena to the White Sox.  Wily Mo in that ballpark with 600 plate appearances?  40 home runs.  Might make Theo look bad.  Dejan Kovacevic mentions that Epstein is "actively shopping" Pena, and seems to like the idea of the Bucs sending Salomon Torres to Boston for him. 
  • The Brewers, Phillies, and Dodgers are looking at Oakland lefty and impending free agent Joe Kennedy.  Kennedy is only 28 and he has had National League success as a starter.
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