332 replies to this topic

[SoxScout]

The Red Sox have discussed Lester for Wil Myers

http://www.kansascit...land-front.html

[RedOctober3829]

The Red Sox have discussed Lester for Wil Myers

http://www.kansascit...land-front.html

I'd do that deal in a second. Myers is a future 4
30 HR middle of the order bat who would be cost controlled.

[Red(s)HawksFan]

The Red Sox have discussed Lester for Wil Myers

http://www.kansascit...land-front.html

If the "discussion" went beyond Cherington or one of his designates answering Moore's call, listening to his offer, and then politely hanging up, I'd be shocked. Not that Lester is untouchable, but trading him now for a prospect, even one as good as Myers, screams punt on 2013 and likely 2014. There is no way the Red Sox do that so blatantly.

[SoxScout]

And then when our rebuild is over we give 31-year old Lester $100M+?

Edited by SoxScout, 26 November 2012 - 08:54 PM.

[Rudy Pemberton]

I don't understand why the Royals would do it. Why not just sign a free agent starter, and keep Myers? Or, at the very least, trade Myers for a pitcher who is younger and more cost controlled than Lester.

[RedOctober3829]

If the "discussion" went beyond Cherington or one of his designates answering Moore's call, listening to his offer, and then politely hanging up, I'd be shocked. Not that Lester is untouchable, but trading him now for a prospect, even one as good as Myers, screams punt on 2013 and likely 2014. There is no way the Red Sox do that so blatantly.

Why does that signify punting? Cherington can still go sign quality free agent starters to replenish the rotation.

[JakeRae]

I'd do that deal in a second. Myers is a future 4
30 HR middle of the order bat who would be cost controlled.

I'd pay the rest of Lester's contract too.

Myers plus Greinke is as good as Lester and any of the FA outfielders available and would be better for 2015+.

[Yaz4Ever]

The Red Sox have discussed Lester for Wil Myers

http://www.kansascit...land-front.html

I would absolutely LOVE to see this happen. Myers is a local kid. I've met him and he's a huge Sox fan besides being an outstanding prospect.

I'd pay the rest of Lester's contract too.

Myers plus Greinke is as good as Lester and any of the FA outfielders available and would be better for 2015+.

I agree

[Cellar-Door]

I'd pay the rest of Lester's contract too.

Myers plus Greinke is as good as Lester and any of the FA outfielders available and would be better for 2015+.

I would make the trade. I wouldn't sign Greinke, 6 years $150MM would make me think twice even without his anxiety issues.
I'd rather a guy like McCarthy or even Haren on a 2 year deal.

[bosockboy]

I'd pay the rest of Lester's contract too.

Myers plus Greinke is as good as Lester and any of the FA outfielders available and would be better for 2015+.

Or I'd take something undesirable back like Bruce Chen. You do this without blinking, particularly with Lester coming off a stinker. Myers should net more than Lester, which probably means its a pipe dream.

If TB is the other option, you use financial muscle to keep Myers from being a Ray.

[941827]

In the perfect world, Lester and Buchholz pitch well leading up to the trading deadline and the Sox move them both for heaps of young pitching. One would hope that Lester is currently at the nadir of his value. But if the Sox brass thinks Lester isn't going to improve on last year, trading him for Myers makes sense.

[SoxLegacy]

I think I would make this deal if I were GM, though I do have reservations. I believe Lester will regain his form for a variety of reasons and turn his career around and back on track. That being said, everything I have read about Myers (not a ton, but enough to get a good idea of his potential) makes me think he would be a great fit and player for the Sox.

[SoxLegacy]

In the perfect world, Lester and Buchholz pitch well leading up to the trading deadline and the Sox move them both for heaps of young pitching. One would hope that Lester is currently at the nadir of his value. But if the Sox brass thinks Lester isn't going to improve on last year, trading him for Myers makes sense.

Doesn't Buchholz qualify as a young pitcher?

[Bleedred]

I'm just reporting a link on Rotoworld. http://www.rotoworld.../5992/wil-myers

[Yaz4Ever]

This is being discussed in the Rebuilding thread, but I for one would make this trade in a heartbeat if KC is willing. Myers is going to be a superstar.

[SoxLegacy]

edit: Tie goes to Yaz4Ever

Edited by SoxLegacy, 26 November 2012 - 08:39 PM.

[Eddie Jurak]

Makes no sense whatsoever for KC.

[absintheofmalaise]

Which is being discussed at length here.

[OttoC]

The Red Sox have discussed Lester for Wil Myers

http://www.kansascit...land-front.html

I was going to suggest that trade when I read KC was really looking for starters. I see the Red Sox are apparently ahead of me on this.

[bohous]

I can't figure out why KC would make a GFIN move like this. Does anybody think they are a John Lester away from being contenders 1 year removed from a 90 loss season?

[SoxScout]

I was going to suggest that trade when I read KC was really looking for starters. I see the Red Sox are apparently ahead of me on this.

In the middle of July Gammons went on 98.5 and suggested Lester to KC for Myers +. Of course he said Lester was disgruntled at the time, but that's the first thing I thought of.

The Red Sox seems to be very intrigued by Hosmer and Myers, and rightfully so.

It would never happen, but I'd be super intrigued by dealing Lester, Buch and Doubront for as many impact, controlled, bats as possible, and giving huge 1 year deals for Haren, Marcum, Liriano, Villanueva, McCarthy, ect. Then trying to find long term starters over the next two years.

Edited by SoxScout, 26 November 2012 - 09:07 PM.

[David Laurila]

Hard to say if this rumor has any legs, but it's definitely interesting. It would be a ballsy move for Cherington. Pitching is obviously an invaluable commodity, but so is a middle-of-the-order masher, which is what Myers projects to be.

Frankly, given the impact a trade like this would have -- philosophically and from a roster perspective -- it's probably worthy of its own thread.

[Paradigm]

You do this deal in a heartbeat. Lester is only signed for two more years, and he'll be on the wrong side of 30 when he's looking for that next deal. Pitching is abundant around baseball right now. The Red Sox, for one, have two prospects that could be rotation contributors in 2014 (Webster and Barnes) to go along with De La Rosa, Buchholz, Doubront, and dozens of other potential contributors around the league.

What the Red Sox do not have, and what most major league teams do not have, is a hitter on the farm that could hit 30 home runs, possibly hit .300, and anchor a lineup. Look at Baseball Prospectus' midseason top 50 prospects. Myers is right there with Oscar Taveras as an elite bat. There are good position players, but nobody that profiles like Myers does, and none this close to the bigs.

You have to take this kind of gamble. Offense is becoming harder and harder to find in baseball; pitching is everywhere. I think Lester will remain a very good pitcher for the rest of his career -- he has great mechanics, a great arsenal, and is physically decent -- but I'd trade him for Myers.

[Rudy Pemberton]

In the perfect world, Lester and Buchholz pitch well leading up to the trading deadline and the Sox move them both for heaps of young pitching. One would hope that Lester is currently at the nadir of his value. But if the Sox brass thinks Lester isn't going to improve on last year, trading him for Myers makes sense.

If Lester and Buchholz are pitching well, the Sox will be contenders, though.

[Edelpeddle]

I would trade Lester for Myers in a heartbeat. Myers is 21 years old and is coming off a season during which he hit .314/.387/.600 between AA and AAA. He's a .303/.395/.522 hitter overall in the minors. He's got almost identical splits against leties and righties. He's a hard worker and a gamer. The largest criticism of him is that he's not aggressive enough as a hitter. Lester on the other hand is only under team control for two more years. His velocity and consistency has steadily declined the last two seasons. He's either going to turn things around and require a huge contract in two years or he's going to continue to slide downhill and be a liability. We could easily absorb the loss of Lester with Anibal Sanchez and Shaun Marcum. If we were building for the longterm, this would be the types of deals we would make. I fear we will instead commit to gambles in free agency to try to be competitive immediately.

Edited by Edelpeddle, 26 November 2012 - 09:49 PM.

[Cellar-Door]

I can't figure out why KC would make a GFIN move like this. Does anybody think they are a John Lester away from being contenders 1 year removed from a 90 loss season?

Perhaps given their difficulties attracting FA arms they hope to trade for one and extend him almost immediately as an alternative to swimming in the FA market.

[AlNipper49]

re-opening and moving over from the unwieldy megathread

[koufax32]

Bradley
Pedroia
Hamilton
Myers
Ortiz
Middlebrooks
Bogaerts
Lavarnway
Iglesias


In 2014? Where do we sign up?
Really though, going forward with JBJ, Wombat, X, and Myers even makes Tampa jealous. I would love to see this happen especially since I'm not sold on Lester returning to the 3.20 era guy we knew for so long.

[Papelbon's Poutine]

Uggggghhhh. If I felt better about Lester returning to form I'd say no way. But who knows, it's been a long time since we've seen that guy. I disagree that "pitching is abundant" as some are asserting, but slightly above average pitching probably could be classified as such and that's what Lester has been for over a full season now. If this were coupled with a couple SP signings then I'm on board. I guess we can't count on Lester being any better than a marcum or Sanchez and they cost only money.

F it. Make it happen Ben.

Edited by Papelbon's Poutine, 26 November 2012 - 10:06 PM.

[Savin Hillbilly]

According to Bradford, the deal that has been discussed includes a (presumably lesser) OF-for-P swap going the other way:

According to a major league source, the Red Sox have discussed a deal that would include sending Jon Lester to Kansas City, with the Royals' top prospect, outfielder Wil Myers, potentially going to Boston. Also discussed was the possibility of sending outfield help to the Royals, with pitching going back to the Sox.

http://www.weei.com/...sed-lester-deal

Any thoughts who those extra pieces might be? Something like Nava for Chen? That would help KC with the salary end of the deal.

[4-6-3]

According to Bradford, the deal that has been discussed includes a (presumably lesser) OF-for-P swap going the other way:



http://www.weei.com/...sed-lester-deal

Any thoughts who those extra pieces might be? Something like Nava for Chen? That would help KC with the salary end of the deal.

Aside from Lester, the Royals could also pickup some depth in the deal. They only have 2 backup catchers on their 40-man roster. Salty could help as well as a Sweeney or Nava off the bench. I'm sure the Royals would want some salary help with Lester's contract in the form of taking something like Ho-shaver's contract. Just a thought.

[SoxScout]

It sounds like that is a separate discussion? Hochevar is a possible non-tender guy for them, but I should as hell would take the chance on his arm for a year.

[SoxLegacy]

I would trade Lester for Myers in a heartbeat. Myers is 21 years old and is coming off a season during which he hit .314/.387/.600 between AA and AAA. He's a .303/.395/.522 hitter overall in the minors. He's got almost identical splits against leties and righties. He's a hard worker and a gamer. The largest criticism of him is that he's not aggressive enough as a hitter. Lester on the other hand is only under team control for two more years. His velocity and consistency has steadily declined the last two seasons. He's either going to turn things around and require a huge contract in two years or he's going to continue to slide downhill and be a liability. We could easily absorb the loss of Lester with Anibal Sanchez and Shaun Marcum. If we were building for the longterm, this would be the types of deals we would make. I fear we will instead commit to gambles in free agency to try to be competitive immediately.

I am on board with this--some terrific reasoning by a number of folks here. This makes a lot of sense in that while both Lester and Sanchez are 28, if Lester turns around and regains his form, he'll be looking for a big payout in both $$ and years in 2015, while if we have Sanchez, he will probably 2 years into a 5/75 million deal and gets cut loose as a FA in 2018. Assuming the Mayans aren't right about the whole 12/21 thing.....

[MyDaughterLovesTomGordon]

They're talking about this on Comcast right now. Maybe the funniest thing is that Buckley just posited the Sox will average 24k a night in attendance next year.

These guys are idiots: "Sox havent done diddly squat." Other than the Jays, who's done more?

[Jordu]

Why would a team that played Jarrod Dyson & Lorenzo Cain in CF and Jeff Franceur in RF trade away a OF stud middle of the order hitter with no MLB service time for two years of a high-salary starter?

Makes no sense.

[FelixMantilla]

Makes no sense from the Royals side. And too good to be true from the Sox side.

[gammoseditor]

Yeah, this is a no brainer if you can do it. There are pitchers out there you can sign. I don't see how this makes sense for KC, but if it's true it would be great. 2 years of Lester who you can replace with money for 6 years of Myers. Even if you have to include Kalish and take back a pitcher that isn't any good you do it.

[SoxScout]

Why would a team that played Jarrod Dyson & Lorenzo Cain in CF and Jeff Franceur in RF trade away a OF stud middle of the order hitter with no MLB service time for two years of a high-salary starter?

Makes no sense.

They (and a lot of other people) think Cain is going to be a superstar.

[curly2]

Why would a team that played Jarrod Dyson & Lorenzo Cain in CF and Jeff Franceur in RF trade away a OF stud middle of the order hitter with no MLB service time for two years of a high-salary starter?

Makes no sense.

It makes no sense, but it's not like GMs (in all sports) don't make boneheaded moves from time to time.

I see Lester bouncing back – although probably not ALL the way back – under Farrell, but if this is legit, I think the Sox have to jump on it. Trading for Myers now might be like trading for Dwight Evans in 1972. You can just plug him in and not worry about right field for a long time.

[Jed Zeppelin]

Makes no sense from the Royals side. And too good to be true from the Sox side.

I would have thought the same pre-Punto Trade. Unfortunately, now I can't conceive of something too good to be true.

Who knows, KC hasn't exactly been a model franchise.

[4-6-3]

Makes no sense from the Royals side. And too good to be true from the Sox side.

The other thing is that the Royals have been talking to the Rays about Shields for Myers. The Rays have talent to trade in addition to Shields. It should be interesting to see what the Royals do with Myers.

Edited by 4-6-3, 26 November 2012 - 10:33 PM.

[dylanmarsh]

They (and a lot of other people) think Cain is going to be a superstar.

They also have Bubba Starling who could be in KC by 2014.

[Edelpeddle]

It wouldn't be an insignificant gamble, Myers has yet to play a game in the majors. He could turn out to be the next Rick Ankiel.

[BoSox Rule]

It does sound too good to be true. I think in the end for a Lester/Myers deal to work the Sox would have to throw in Bogaerts. I don't think I'd hesitate since he's not especially close and Myers looks like a stud and someone the Sox should kill to get for 2014 and beyond.

[SoxScout]

It does sound too good to be true. I think in the end for a Lester/Myers deal to work the Sox would have to throw in Bogaerts. I don't think I'd hesitate since he's not especially close and Myers looks like a stud and someone the Sox should kill to get for 2014 and beyond.

Ok, now this is getting a bit ridiculous? "Just throw in" our top prospect as a sweetener? ... and you wouldn't hesitate?

Edited by SoxScout, 26 November 2012 - 10:35 PM.

[curly2]

Yeah, Bogaerts isn't a throw-in. Brentz could be a reasonable throw-in. You figure Myers and Bradley could be two-thirds of your outfield for a number of years, and you can part with Brentz.

[StuckOnYouk]

So it's probable that KC approached Boston since they're the ones searching for the pitcher, right? what's the consensus here, that they asked for Lester plus or a straight-up?

I find it hard to believe with Lucchino lurking in the background, this type of deal would be allowed unless it was with the understanding they would go get Anibel or Greinke, although with the two LA teams going after him, his contract could hit the moon.

[Savin Hillbilly]

Yeah, Bogaerts isn't a throw-in. Brentz could be a reasonable throw-in. You figure Myers and Bradley could be two-thirds of your outfield for a number of years, and you can part with Brentz.

OTOH, I'm not sure I want to give up Lester just to upgrade Brentz to Myers.

Then again, I'm not sure I don't.

[BoSox Rule]

I obviously didn't mean that Bogaerts was the type of prospect you just throw in to sweeten the deal. If I said the the Sox would probably have to "offer" him instead of throw him in, then the sentence would have read a lot differently.

What I meant was that he would probably have to be considered in the deal for the Royals to even entertain the thought of Myers for Lester, a pitcher that in August 2011 would be considered untouchable. Now he looks like an out of shape declining pitcher who has two years left of team control, and pitching for a team that needs to make these kinds of trades. Why would the Royals do that straight up trade? Maybe I'm way off, wouldn't be the first time.

[sodenj5]

OTOH, I'm not sure I want to give up Lester just to upgrade Brentz to Myers.

Then again, I'm not sure I don't.

There is literally no way Brentz holds a deal for Myers up. Myers is projected to be the type of middle of the order stud that Brentz could only hope to be in a best possible case scenario. The talent gap between Brentz and Myers is a canyon sized gap.

Again, as many have said, a Lester for Myers swap is almost too good to be true.