I know it's really not feasible especially with needs that still have to be addressed, but can you imagine an outfield of Castillo, Betts and Meyers all at slightly more than what Castillo makes?
Assorted Sox Rumors
- Thread starter MakMan44
- Start date
Not Allen Craig for the Mariners
Carrie Muskat @CarrieMuskat 1m1 minute ago
#Cubs acquire Minor League RHP Matt Brazis from Mariners for @justinruggiano
Carrie Muskat @CarrieMuskat 1m1 minute ago
#Cubs acquire Minor League RHP Matt Brazis from Mariners for @justinruggiano
@jonmorosi: #RedSox in "active" trade talks on Allen Craig with at least 1 team, sources say. He's said to be fully recovered from foot injury.
Jason Mastrodonato @JMastrodonato 1m1 minute ago
Remember, Craig had three promising seasons before 2014, though Cardinals GM told me in Nov., “There were concerns." http://www.masslive.com/redsox/index.ssf/2014/11/other_side_of_the_john_lackey.html …
Remember, Craig had three promising seasons before 2014, though Cardinals GM told me in Nov., “There were concerns." http://www.masslive.com/redsox/index.ssf/2014/11/other_side_of_the_john_lackey.html …
Or the potential/ perceived return in the market overwhelms the risk they were willing to take. That they liked him for a gamble to rebound doesnt mean they also cant be proactive about using him to get something a bit more useful/ lower risk.MakMan44 said:
MakMan44 said:
Could also be that even if they think a bounce back is likely, they don't really have a place to play him with any regularity. Seems the most likely spot right now is RF, where they also have Victorino, Betts and even Nava in the mix for playing time. If they can get some interest generated on him, especially enough that two teams start bidding on him, maybe they get a more useful piece anlong with further alleviating their outfield log-jam. At this point, I think they'd take a reasonably viable reliever to get him and his contract out of town.
What if he shows up for ST and still can't hit a lick? Craig was Leonard Pinth Garnell level bad last year, so I suppose what the Red Sox might be reasoning is that there's a significant enough chance that he is utterly finished as an effective player and they're currently on the hook for $26.5 million dollars for the guy, and since he topped out at 2.6 bWAR in his best year, not exactly star territory at his best, you'd have to think they will very tempted to ship him quickly, and to anybody who will have him.
The other clear positional trade bait from the team's major league surplus, in addition to Craig/Napoli, are Victorino and Middlebrooks. All, even Napoli because of his injury risk, are sell low candidates. IMO the only realistic return for any of them will be reciprocal change of scenery needy players or minor league lottery tickets.
If I am right, who can we conjure up as trade partners and targets? The Padres seriously need a third baseman. They have a full rotation, barring a trade, and some minor league depth. Could the Sox swap Middlebrooks (who has absolutely no role in Boston but could be attractive to smaller market teams) for former Sox hopeful Casey Kelly who has shown glimpses of who he was projected to be when uninjured and doesn't project to pitch much as a starter in San Diego? Does anyone have other ideas? Some of the Sox surplus must go and, if so, what can they get for them?
If I am right, who can we conjure up as trade partners and targets? The Padres seriously need a third baseman. They have a full rotation, barring a trade, and some minor league depth. Could the Sox swap Middlebrooks (who has absolutely no role in Boston but could be attractive to smaller market teams) for former Sox hopeful Casey Kelly who has shown glimpses of who he was projected to be when uninjured and doesn't project to pitch much as a starter in San Diego? Does anyone have other ideas? Some of the Sox surplus must go and, if so, what can they get for them?
I'm not sure Craig to SF is such a great fit. Seems to me that the Giants should want a LHH in that role, but maybe they're targeting a LHH 3B (or see things differently).
Pagan SH
Panik LHH
Posey RHH
Belt LHH
Pence RHH
LF LHH
3B RHH
Crawford RHH
Pagan SH
Panik LHH
Posey RHH
Belt LHH
Pence RHH
LF LHH
3B RHH
Crawford RHH
According to Steamer, the biggest remaining holes on teams' outfields are the Reds, Cubs, and Rangers. The Phillies have the biggest hole at first, but that's not really an option. The Cubs are probably also a non-starter, since I'd imagine they want to keep a spot open for someone like Bryant who might have to move. The Reds are possibly rebuilding, so I'm not sure if a guy like Craig fits there, either.
So what would a reasonable deal with Texas look like?
I think he'd be perfect for Baltimore, but I wouldn't expect to trade him there.
So what would a reasonable deal with Texas look like?
I think he'd be perfect for Baltimore, but I wouldn't expect to trade him there.
Ahh, that's right.Hee Sox Choi said:
bosockboy said:
Yes, but they have lost a primarily-LHH 3B in Sandoval. I guess an unstated assumption was that with Headley and Panda and Lowrie off the market, it would be easier to find a LH outfielder than 3B, but not necessarily.
Padres just obtained Derek Norris and are about to sign Josh Johnson again. That gives them 3 Catchers and 6/7 starters depending on how they use Morrow.
Could a Ross / Hannigan for one of WmB/Cecchini, Craig plus another, deal make sense?
Could a Ross / Hannigan for one of WmB/Cecchini, Craig plus another, deal make sense?
67WasBest said:
Ross alone is worth more than Craig and WMB/Cecchini combined. The "plus another" would have to be fairly significant.
Yeah, that seems like a really bad fantasy baseball trade offer ("three guys on my bench for one of your stars?").Hank Scorpio said:
True if you exclude years of control.Hank Scorpio said:
I was prepared to ask in what world is Hanigan a star, then checked his Steamer (2.1) and had to re-evaluate my view of him. Ross has a WAR of Steamer projection of 1.9, that's 59th ranked, which makes him a solid 3. So yes, the package as constructed would be woefully inadequate without the other prospect were top 7 and that's not happening. I just researched further and learned Norris may be targeted to 1B anyway so it's all moot.Morgan's Magic Snowplow said:
I think he means David Ross, who could sign with SD as a free agent.
Yes, your deal makes sense in that scenario.
:buddy:
Jeff Passan @JeffPassan 1m1 minute ago
Source: Padres nearing a deal that would send Ryan Hanigan to Boston for Will Middlebrooks.
Source: Padres nearing a deal that would send Ryan Hanigan to Boston for Will Middlebrooks.
Cafardo's mailbag today:
What are three moves you see the Sox making before the start of spring training? If Craig and Shane Victorino have great springs, and Rusney Castillo doesn’t, could Castillo start in Triple A?
Sean, Southington, Conn.
NC: I see them acquiring an ace pitcher whether it be Shields or Scherzer or trading for Hamels and Zimmermann. I do see another bullpen piece. They signed Mitchell Boggs and hope there’s a revival there, but they could really use a power lefty in the pen. I also see one more outfielder being weeded out between Victorino, Craig, and Nava. I don’t see Castillo going back to Triple-A because he has a big major league contract and he’s made good progress. Things could change if he starts out slowly.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/01/08/ask-nick-should-red-sox-get-young-ace-veteran/wENOypqQvWXt4KTbkNTX2H/story.html?event=event25
What are three moves you see the Sox making before the start of spring training? If Craig and Shane Victorino have great springs, and Rusney Castillo doesn’t, could Castillo start in Triple A?
Sean, Southington, Conn.
NC: I see them acquiring an ace pitcher whether it be Shields or Scherzer or trading for Hamels and Zimmermann. I do see another bullpen piece. They signed Mitchell Boggs and hope there’s a revival there, but they could really use a power lefty in the pen. I also see one more outfielder being weeded out between Victorino, Craig, and Nava. I don’t see Castillo going back to Triple-A because he has a big major league contract and he’s made good progress. Things could change if he starts out slowly.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/01/08/ask-nick-should-red-sox-get-young-ace-veteran/wENOypqQvWXt4KTbkNTX2H/story.html?event=event25
http://m.angels.mlb.com/news/article/105905298/angels-target-trade-for-third-base-prospect
Not sure if there is a match for Cecchini, but thought I'd share.
I know Zimmermann is a FA soon, but is it really at all likely that Washington deals him before the deadline, if at all? He's the top starter for a top WS contender. The Nats don't have a ton of needs. Makes no sense to build a contender only to cut loose a key piece at just the wrong time.BeantownIdaho said:
Minneapolis Millers said:
I have wondered this too but Washington has Zimmermann, Fister, Desmond and Span all hitting free agency after this season. I could see them trying to replace one of those guys this offseason to shorten their shopping list next winter. I think the idea is if they can sign Scherzer that makes one of Zimm/Fister tradable.
Devizier said:
The Sox depth chart at 3B is kind of deceiving, however. Obviously in addition to Sandoval, both Bogaerts and Hanley Ramirez can play 3B. They've also got Brock Holt as an option. But in practice, what would really happen if Sandoval were to go on the DL for a month or two? I am not sure the Sox would want to shift Bogaerts from SS temporarily. Similarly, if they just moved Ramirez to a new position in LF, would they slide him back to 3B? In reality, wouldn't the bulk of the playing time in the event of an extended Sandoval absence have to fall to either Holt or Cecchini, if only to keep from disrupting Bogaert's development and Ramirez' adjustment to LF?
I don't mean to overstate the case. Obviously, they could survive trading Cecchini, but in terms of roster management for 2015, it may be a little more nuanced than it seems on the surface.
Puffy said:
I think you've got to see how the OF glut works itself out before we can even guess how they'd handle a Sandoval injury. I would guess if they've got Victorino and/or Craig around on the bench, they'd slide Ramirez up and play one of those guys every day. But if that starting-level OF depth is traded away then keeping Ramirez in LF and using Holt/Cecchini makes a lot more sense. I don't see any way they shift Bogaerts over and not only mess with him again, but create another hole at SS.
Puffy said:
To add to that, three points:
1) Cecchini is coming off a disappointing season, but with a promising finish. He could easily improve his value quite a lot in a short time by picking up where he left off last year. So the Sox have little to gain and potentially much to lose by shopping him right now.
2) Now that they've dealt WMB, there's no longer a AAA 3B logjam--Cecchini can go back to playing third full-time and working on his defense there, again increasing his value.
3) The major league lineup is overwhelmingly righthanded, so LHH depth is particularly useful to keep around this year.
I think they'll try to hold onto Cecchini at least until the trade deadline unless somebody blows their doors off.
BeantownIdaho said:
Why does Carfardo keep saying there's a potential for us signing Scherzer or Shields? Scherzer is likely to cost more than Lester; if we didn't go there for Lester, does it make sense we would for Scherzer? Reports are that Shields is asking for five years and more than $100 million -- unless he doesn't get that or his market collapses, is there any remotely realistic scenario where we're playing at that level for Shields? Zimmerman by all accounts is going to free agency no matter what, so while he's desirable it limits what you'd trade for him because we might have him for only a year. Hamels only becomes a potential if Ruben lowers his ask dramatically to a deal centered around Henry Owens and not Betts or Swihart. These are all pretty well-established facts, right?
Even though Carfardo is kind of a knucklehead, I assume because of his access that his speculation is at least reasonably informed. But he's just throwing shit out there like ... us.
I suspect that they are done acquiring staring pitching unless, as Ipswich said, Ruben lowers his asking price for Hamels and they can move Craig or Victorino to clear salary. I don't think it is imperative that they clear salary since Vic is only on a one year deal at this point but I believe they would prefer to do it that way.
ALiveH said:
I just don't see Scherzer coming down enough for the Sox to bid. His initial offer in spring training of last year was 6 years and $144mil which already beats the max offer they made for Lester. No way the Sox are going to be in on him.
Yazdog8 said:
Well, the question is what exactly IS his market. He may be expecting a 6/180 deal but that doesn't mean he's going to get it. If his market does come down then I think the Sox will be back in.
I find the Moncada rumor to be far more interesting than more talk on Scherzer or Shields. If the Red Sox are going hard after him, that's a great thing to hear. They are already past the international spending limit so adding on to it isn't going to have a huge impact on their ability to sign guys next year anyway and Moncada has a chance to be a monster player. These kinds of opportunities just don't come up very often. Even if the infield is full for the forseeable future, acquiring a valuable asset fits with what Ben has been doing over the last 7 months or so and if they end up with more players worthy of significant playing time than they can actually fit on the field, that's a good problem to have.
Realistically, Moncada would probably need to spend all of 2015 in the minors anyway. If all goes exceedingly well for him, he'll be knocking on the door for the stretch run, but more than likely it's a roster issue for 2016 and Ben would have some more flexibility to work with at that point. Give the kid what it takes and add another impact talent to the farm.
Realistically, Moncada would probably need to spend all of 2015 in the minors anyway. If all goes exceedingly well for him, he'll be knocking on the door for the stretch run, but more than likely it's a roster issue for 2016 and Ben would have some more flexibility to work with at that point. Give the kid what it takes and add another impact talent to the farm.
If he was covered by the draft, would he be drafted first overall? Is he considered to have skills that make him a likely first division starter after some development time?
If he is going to get double the previous record amateur signing bonus, he better be an elite talent.
If he is going to get double the previous record amateur signing bonus, he better be an elite talent.
The first reports on him being available pegged him getting more than Castillo, with some indicating $100M+. That was not rational reporting. The latest reports indicate a deal between $30M and $40M, which makes a lot more sense..
I'd agree, all reports indicate 5 strong tools and he plays SS. He might not have been the #1 in any given year, and depending on who was in that draft, but I think it a safe bet he would have been top 5 in any draft.Rasputin said:
Niastri said:
I believe Badler and Mcdaniels on Fangraphs have tweeted out/written on occasion that if he were in the draft he would be the number one pick no questions asked. As Snodgrass mentioned upthread they are over the international spending limit and won't be in the market for another couple of years anyway. I'd expect the yankees to try and overpay a bit in their bid so I'd imagine the bidding ends up in the 60 range rather than the more palatable 40-50 range. Regardless elite hitting talent is extremely hard to acquire and would really like to see it get done.