The Red Sox offered reliever Ramon Ramirez to the Mets for Rod Barajas before the catcher went on the disabled list, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). A source confirmed to Alex Speier of WEEI.com that the Red Sox and Mets discussed several trade possibilities involving Ramirez, including one that involved Barajas. However, Speier's source says the Red Sox aren't likely to trade Ramirez to the Mets.
The failed trade tells us two things about Boston's intentions for the coming week. First, it tells us that the Red Sox are willing to part with Ramirez, as Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston reported on Twitter earlier today. It's not a surprise, since Ramirez, who makes $1.55MM this year, will get raises in 2011 and 2012 before hitting free agency. He's not super-cheap, and he's effective (4.69 ERA, 6.2 K/9, 3.3 BB/9), but far from dominant.
Secondly, we are reminded that the Red Sox want to add a catcher, even though Victor Martinez is returning from the DL tonight. They have been connected to Chris Snyder and Chris Iannetta for months, and could pursue John Buck if they're interested in a short-term fix behind the plate. The list of potentially available catchers isn't a long one, so the Red Sox have limited ways of upgrading over Dusty Brown or Kevin Cash.
I would have taken it if I were the Mets. Barajas’ hitting has completely vanished and it’d allow Thole to get more playing time.
Absolutley. And despite Ramon Ramirez’s bad season, he could use a change of scenery and a BIGGER BALLPARK! He’s been giving up a lot of Home Runs but is a tremendous reliever when on.
completely agreed. This should be a no-brainer for the Mets.
From what i understand they want a catcher that can actually catch the ball, block wild pitches, with a decent throw to the bases and manages the pitchers, something they loose everytime they have Victor Martínez (the sole reason they keep Varitek: he know how to manage pitchers and does a fair job at catching balls in the ground).
While Barajas doesn’t has a strong arm, still is better than Varitek and Victor combined, a good deal for the Bosox, a so-so deal for the Mets.
It’s only a good deal for Boston because they desperately need a catcher. Barajas really isn’t much more than a back-up with the way he’s been hitting recently.
I fully agree =)
LOL don’t know why Firefox sometimes logs me in as MikhelB and sometimes logs me in with my full name LOL
Oh I’m SO glad we kept Barajas. We totally need him for his .266 OBP, his inability to throw out baserunners, and the fact that he’s hit 1 homer since the end of May.
I mean I know he’s our 3rd best catching option, but we needed him for…. sigh, this team is so dumb.
ummm…i dont think u can trade people on the DL….I might be wrong…but before u got ape-sht on Omar and the mets again….just think about that lil tid-bit…
and just the fact that thole would be getting more playing time would make this a win-win for both clubs
if people take a step back and look at the general direction of the club…the entire infield is about to be home-grown and 29-under…
1B – Davis
SS- Reyes
3B- Wright
C- Thole
2B- may be occupied by Tejada/Havens in the near future
not bad…
Reddick for Buck would be a reasonable scenario.
Blue Jays do it, I don’t know about the Sox though. Even though I think Reddick is nothing more than a 4th outfielder.
Reddick still has legitimate upside, he needs uninterrupted time to develop though. The Red Sox rushed him up from AA to the Majors and keep preventing him from settling down. He never projected as a great contact hitter though the power potential is there.
Sounds fair to me. The Blue Jays don’t need Buck anymore since they aren’t going to contend this year and the Sox need a catcher. I don’t know the Blue Jays farm system very well but I think they could use some outfield help, but I may be wrong.
The Jays have great depth up the middle in their farm. Specifically, catcher and shortstop, I am not sure about their outfield depth.
The Jays probably have the best pitching prospects in the majors along with Brett Wallace and several blue-chip catching prospects, but the outfield depth is incredibly weak at almost all levels. Reddick would fit in nicely and if Buck isn’t enough for him, I suspect the Jays could add another prospect like in the Escobar deal.
not really.
not really what? There’s a fairly open spot at the major league level and the Jays best outfield prospect could actually be Adam Loewen, which is sad.
Would make sense if V-Mart didn’t just come off the DL. We know V-Tek isn’t moving anywhere, and V-Mart is one of the best catchers in baseball (offensively at least) when he’s playing, so there is no point in grabbing a third catcher as basically a rental. In the offseason, if Martinez is not coming back, then sure. But it doesn’t make sense to me as a mid-season move…
The trade didnt happen because the Barajas doesnt have a V in his name, Chris Snider was an option but he didnt want to be called V-Snider
haha….yeah, I overdo that a bit. It’s mostly just because its faster to type 😛
I am a fan of this trade coming from a Red Sox point of view. RH catcher with power (even though his recent slide suggests otherwise), and I think this would have been good for both sides.
The Mets can’t carry three catchers forever.
How about reds catcher corky miller for either ramon ramirez or delcarmen. The reds could throw in a lower level prospect too. It would help both sides since the reds need another bullpen arm.
That would never happen.
Corky Miller isn’t even an upgrade from Dusty Brown or Kevin Cash
But is he better than Victor catching, throwing, blocking wild pitches and managing pitchers? Victor as a catcher is a good first baseman.
Come on, anyone is an upgrade over Kevin “passed ball” Cash, especially when he posts an OPS about .500
The Red Sox had Corky Miller…he isn’t an upgrade over the guys they have now. I realize Delcarmen and Ramirez don’t have tremendous value, but no matter how inconsistent I think its a joke to even consider trading two power arms for a 34 year old AAAA catcher.
Also, MikhelB, what does it matter if Corky Miller is a better defensive catcher than Victor Martinez? Victor is the far superior overall player obviously, I don’t understand the concept of trading for a guy with different skill sets just to sit on the bench? Like, will Corky Miller’s defensive prowess somehow help Victor Martinez while he sits on the bench? Or are you suggesting he should take some playing time away from Victor? Varitek will be back at some point in September, so how many at bats will the backup catcher even get…20-25? Corky Miller types can be had for nothing, and he provides no upgrade over Dusty Brown or Kevin Cash.
I’d throw in a prospect or two just for Corky Miller’s mustache.
Although I’m sure it’s because Ramirez is really the only of the 3 underachievers in the Sox bullpen (Ramirez, Okajima, Delcarmen) that has any value, I wish Theo would be trying to dump off Okajima and Delcarmen. Ramirez’s HR/FB percentages are way up from career norms and he’s been rather unlucky this season, and frankly I think he’d benefit from more consistent work. And whether the other two get traded or just straight DFA’d, I’d rather see Bowden and Cuello/Manuel the rest of the year than ever see Delcarmen or Okajima throw another pitch for the Red Sox in relief this season.
I whole-heartedly agree with ArmchairGM. Dump/jettison the three stooges (Del Carmen, Ramirez, and Okajima [as much as I’ve loved him the past few seasons, he has now convinced me that I want to purchase a voodoo doll in his likeness and image with a bunch of long needles]) anyway we can. See how many “available” relievers we can acquire with out selling out the “Farm,” bring up a couple of the wonder-kinds from Pawtucket, and talk Wakefield into retiring and taking a coaching job somewhere in the system (or jettison him, too). I get a kick out of his not being happy going to the BP. Talk about needing a reality check! The season isn’t lost. Yet. But, if Theo doesn’t make some great (or near-great) moves soon, it just might be a lost season. Blame the injuries, sure, but, we can still salvage the year if we make some moves. C’mon, Theo!
Okajima’s peripherals actually haven’t declined as much as one would imagine, given his lack of success, however ever since he for some unknown reason replaced the incredibly effective splitter in his repertoire with a 2-seam fastball, he has be slaughtered. So yes, barring him learning to pitch again, jettison.
I was going to just comment on that, I have no idea why Okajima doesnt throw his splitter and another pitcher doesnt throw his….im talking about you Jonathon Papelbon!!!! seriously why dont they throw it anymore? do they not like all-star berths?
Why would the red sox give up a reliever when they are rumoured to want bullpen help?
Because to bring in another arm they need to get rid of one…
Why would we want Barajas? his hitting is “cash like” with a career OBP under .300 and his 2010 number is under .270. He has thrown out 15% of runners as compared to 19% v-mart, 21% v-tek, 19% Cash. Barajas has power, but his numbers even part time are not as strong as V-tek. Whats the attraction, he’s not on the DL?, scratch that, he is.
The Sox I believe like Ramirez and would rather unload DelCarmen, but they waited 2 years too long to make a meaningful trade, and teams are more willing to take Ramirez who in any other ball park would be a tremendous pickup. I could see the Dbacks offer Chris Snider for Ramirez and I bet Ramirez would do great in Arizona, shoot Delcarmen would do great there just doubt the Dbacks would take the chance on him
Barajas for Ramirez should have been a no-brainer for the Mets. Oh well.
cant trade someone on the DL