The Red Sox and Royals discussed outfielder David DeJesus about ten days ago and agreed to stay in contact, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. They add, "The Royals are scouting the Red Sox’s minor-league system, but the teams have yet to exchange names." Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald first reported the Red Sox' interest in DeJesus on June 26th. The Padres and Giants seem like good fits for the Royals outfielder as well, though their level of interest is not known.
The Red Sox are not likely to deal for DeJesus unless his price drops, a source tells Alex Speier of WEEI.com. The Royals are currently asking for a lot in return for their right fielder.
As Rosenthal and Morosi note, the Red Sox have dealt with injuries to Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Cameron this season and could use the versatile DeJesus. Given his $6MM club option, the Sox would have DeJesus, Ellsbury, Cameron, and J.D. Drew under control for 2011. Such depth could prompt a trade of Ellsbury, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. This year, DeJesus is owed an additional $2.12MM.
DeJesus is having a career year so far at age 30, with a .326/.395/.460 line in 370 plate appearances. He's also playing above-average defense. The Royals will wait until closer to the July 31st deadline to decide whether to trade DeJesus, reported ESPN's Buster Olney three days ago.
If I see Jose Iglesias come up one time, your argument will be invalid.
if they make the trade, it better be worth our best hitter. (royals fan here)
I just don’t think this is happening…the Red Sox have dealt with outfield injuries the entire season, and now they make a deal with Ellsbury and Hermida coming back, along with Cameron playing the best baseball he’s played all year (even if he’s battling through injuries). I just think the Red Sox have more pressing needs, mainly to the bullpen. I think the Red Sox need to expect Jacoby to come back, and then Hermida to fill in for Cameron when he needs a blow. As long as Pedroia and Martinez come back healthy, their offense is fine.
That’s all true but beside what they’ve been going through in the OF NOW they have to deal with the loss of Pedroia, Martinez & Varitek. It’s not just about a body in the OF now…thay also need bats. If their only problem was what was going on in the OF you’d have a point but with what has happened to them over the past 2 weeks and how their standing in the rankings have suffered this is not that far fetched. Especially considering they’d control him next season too.
I agree they can use him, and with the state of the offense they absolutely need an upgrade. I understand why they would be talking, I wouldn’t be shocked if it gets done, I’m just saying it’s more likely that he doesn’t get dealt to Boston. I just don’t think the Red Sox are going to commit the cost in prospects that it will take to get Dejesus, and then go out and spend more to aquire legit bullpen help. Even if they plan on bringing Bowden up to help in the pen, that is a serious unknown. At this point, imo, you have to gamble on Nava and McDonald to continue playing over their head for another two weeks or so until they start to get more healthy. By all accounts Pedroia, Martinez, Hermida, and Jacoby (although who knows with his situation) are all fairly close on coming back. I’d prefer for Theo to weather the storm of injuries for two weeks and reinforce the pen. The Red Sox have the means within the organization to eventually stabilize the lineup…the same cannot be said for the bullpen.
I totally agree with you. I also think it’s unlikely BUT would not rule it out if only for the fact that he wouldn’t be a rental player and they would be able to retain him next season a’ la Jason Bay in 2008 & V-Mart in 2009. Cameron is hurt and frankly could be shut down for the season at any time. A Nava/McDonald/Hermida (depending on who stays when Ellsbury comes back) OF is not what the RED SOX should be fielding and bullpen help will be so much more expensive in terms of prospects this season…I just don’t know which type of trade would hurt less or cost more at this point!
I think they’d like to use Cameron sparingly down the stretch. He’s a big risk with that injury for the next few months. You can tell it’s still bothering him in CF (not so much at the plate).
I really hope this deal happens. The sox could really use him in LF/CF through the second half. I could see the Royals holding onto him and then declining his option next year to offer arb in hopes of a first rounder/supplemental next year – draft is supposedly very stacked. But I think it’d be smarter of them to get 2-3 good prospects now for him.
I think this is more likely than the Werth deal, but I still don’t think it’s very likely. Dejesus would have to be in the team’s plans for next year leaving Cameron the odd man out. Although, it might not be a bad idea to have him replace Cameron and have either Ellsbury or Dejesus in LF/CF. I just don’t see the Sox giving up anybody good for a half year rental.
I think what you are not seeing is that Ellsbury may be tradded…
This is from CBS for what its worth…
“The report notes that Ellsbury made the comments to reporters with a torn-out notebook pages scribbled with the chronology of the incidents. Ellsbury explained that were several discrepancies in the statements of the team’s medical staff and his own account. Given this outright show of disdain and recent comments made by teammate Kevin Youkilis questioning his distance from the team, Ellsbury and the Red Sox are clearly at ends.”
0% chance Theo trades Ellsbury with his value at its lowest. He could definitely be shopped in the offseason, but there is no way he gets dealt at this point.
He’s on the DL, so I don’t think they can trade him anyway.
I dont think he would either…
But as a Royals fan and an Ellsbury fan; here is my pipe dream….
DeJesus, Farnsworth and maybe another prospect for Ellsbury…
I know I am dreaming but damn let this poor Royals fan have a moment… LOL
Ellsbury and a propect for Dejesus and Soria.
lol
Here is what ther Sox need…..
two healthy starting pitchers… Beckett and Bucholz
one healthy relief pitcher…….. Delcarmon
two healthy catchers…………. Martinez and Veritek
A healthy 2nd baseman………. Pedroia
add…a second relief pitcher capable of getting people out, consistently, in the 7 & 8th inning….I do not care what his name is.
add…a right handed SP, who recently signed an $85M contract, who is capable of holding the opposition to 3.5 runs or less per 9 innings . Jettison the guy with a 4.9 ERA
who pretends to be worth $85M…
add a Japanese, righthanded SP, who sometimes shows up at the ballpark, and who sometimes does not… on days when scheduled to pitch.
subtract… a 37-year old center fielder who is injured more often than not
subtract… a utility inf/of’er who has trouble maintaining a BA above .220
subtract .. a left fielder who, when healthy, hits about .230 and cannot play left field at
Fenway Park worth a tinker’s damn.
Satisfy these needs and the Red Sox make the playoffs…
Fail to do so…. hello 4th place in the AL east..
I’d rather see Kalish get a cup of coffee for the next few weeks until Ellsbury and Hermida are back with the kind of year he’s having between Portland and Pawtucket than give up anything of value for DeJesus.
KC fans are right to expect something good. So as a RS fan I’m not particularly interested in doing the deal (and giving up young P). Unless of course there’s stuff we don’t know (Ellsbury isn’t coming back untill Sept., Cameron can’t do this much longer) and you absolutely have to get a CF He’s better than MCDonald, Nava ,Hermida but is he going to make a difference?. They can probably get Fukudome for nothing and he’s a better OF than DeJesus, at least in RF with a plus-arm. I like DeJesus but if you’re really going to give up prospects, I think you can do better. I’d see what Indians want for Choo (currently inj.)
For Choo ( who will be back shortly ) I don’t see a fit there for a Indians and Red Sox deal The Indians would ask for Casey Kelly + to start then the Red Sox would offer a bunch of guys that they are not interested in like Kalish, Reddick and Anderson they would pass on all because they are Left Handed.
The Indians are looking for a Right Handed power bat for 3rd or Corner Outfield or 1st base then they would move LaPorta back to the outfield.
We need bullpen help! Can we be sure Dejesus will hit as effectively in the AL East? I think Nava, McDonald, Hermida (back soon) and possibly Kalish (although not on 40 man) are enough to to cover the OF until Elsbury comes back. The OF hasn’t been the problem. The Sox would have the best record in baseball if their bullpen was more effective. Lets see what Dubront and Bowden can do in the pen before trading away prospects. Still a few more weeks to evaluate needs before deadline.
There is absolutely zero evidence to suggest that a hitters numbers will decline because they come into the AL East, that is just nonsense. In fact, there nothing that suggests that switching from the NL to the AL has any effect on a hitters performance, and I am slightly annoyed that people continue to come up with that idea.
Yeah, no pressures in hitting/pitching/fielding in the AL East, you’re absolutely right.
Not like the best 3 teams in baseball reside there. Not like they all see each other 18 times a year. Not like NY and Boston are playoff atmospheres every home game. So you don’t think that there is an effect on hitters or pitchers when they face a higher concentration of good pitching or good hitters?
So when they say that the AL East is the toughest division in baseball, that’s just nonsense? Not like one of these team could win 95 games and miss out on the playoffs. Ok, gotcha…go smoke another one 420…
“Yeah, no pressures in hitting/pitching/fielding in the AL East, you’re absolutely right.”
Please tell me where in my comment I said that there was no pressure, go ahead, I’ll wait.
“Not like the best 3 teams in baseball reside there. Not like they all see each other 18 times a year. Not like NY and Boston are playoff atmospheres every home game”
Again, nowhere in my comment did I say anything that suggests that I think otherwise, and that 2nd sentence is just a fact that no one could debate, so I don’t understand why you brought that up.
“So you don’t think that there is an effect on hitters or pitchers when they face a higher concentration of good pitching or good hitters?”
So now you’re bringing an entirely new element into the argument by including pitchers, hmm, interesting. (FWIW, I do believe that it is harder to be a pitcher in the AL East, and the AL in general, so yeah….) As for there being a higher concentration of good pitchers in our division, I don’t think that is necessarily true, there are excellent pitchers in every division, and as far as I’m concerned the AL East isn’t even home to any of the top 5 pitchers in baseball.
“So when they say that the AL East is the toughest division in baseball, that’s just nonsense? Not like one of these team could win 95 games and miss out on the playoffs”
You continue to make assumptions about my argument that are nonsense, as yet again I haven’t said anything contrary to this.
“Ok, gotcha…go smoke another one 420…”
Ah, yes, you’ve run out of things to say in your straw man argument, so you must resort to attempting to insult me based on 3 numbers in my handle, very very mature.
It seems to me that 95% of your response is nothing but a straw man argument, so I stick by what I said, there is no evidence that a HITTERS numbers will decrease just because they move into the AL East, in fact Fenway, NYS, and Camden Yards are all hitter friendly, so it might actually be easier to hit in than other divisions.
“Yeah, no pressures in hitting/pitching/fielding in the AL East, you’re absolutely right.”
Please tell me where in my comment I said that there was no pressure, go ahead, I’ll wait.
“Not like the best 3 teams in baseball reside there. Not like they all see each other 18 times a year. Not like NY and Boston are playoff atmospheres every home game”
Again, nowhere in my comment did I say anything that suggests that I think otherwise, and that 2nd sentence is just a fact that no one could debate, so I don’t understand why you brought that up.
“So you don’t think that there is an effect on hitters or pitchers when they face a higher concentration of good pitching or good hitters?”
So now you’re bringing an entirely new element into the argument by including pitchers, hmm, interesting. (FWIW, I do believe that it is harder to be a pitcher in the AL East, and the AL in general, so yeah….) As for there being a higher concentration of good pitchers in our division, I don’t think that is necessarily true, there are excellent pitchers in every division, and as far as I’m concerned the AL East isn’t even home to any of the top 5 pitchers in baseball.
“So when they say that the AL East is the toughest division in baseball, that’s just nonsense? Not like one of these team could win 95 games and miss out on the playoffs”
You continue to make assumptions about my argument that are nonsense, as yet again I haven’t said anything contrary to this.
“Ok, gotcha…go smoke another one 420…”
Ah, yes, you’ve run out of things to say in your straw man argument, so you must resort to attempting to insult me based on 3 numbers in my handle, very very mature.
It seems to me that 95% of your response is nothing but a straw man argument, so I stick by what I said, there is no evidence that a HITTERS numbers will decrease just because they move into the AL East, in fact Fenway, NYS, and Camden Yards are all hitter friendly, so it might actually be easier to hit in than other divisions.
There is absolutely zero evidence to suggest that a hitters numbers will decline because they come into the AL East, that is just nonsense. In fact, there nothing that suggests that switching from the NL to the AL has any effect on a hitters performance, and I am slightly annoyed that people continue to come up with that idea.
We need bullpen help! Can we be sure Dejesus will hit as effectively in the AL East? I think Nava, McDonald, Hermida (back soon) and possibly Kalish (although not on 40 man) are enough to to cover the OF until Elsbury comes back. The OF hasn’t been the problem. The Sox would have the best record in baseball if their bullpen was more effective. Lets see what Dubront and Bowden can do in the pen before trading away prospects. Still a few more weeks to evaluate needs before deadline.
As a BoSox fan I’d hate to see them trade any of their top-of-the-line prospects for Dejesus. Kalish is a prospect that has a very bright future and with Dejesus being 30 years old and under contract for considerably less time than any Red Sox prospect, I wouldnt trade for him unless they didnt have to give up much. I’d rather see the Red Sox give their prospects a chance to play at the major league level. And besides there is no guarantee that Dejesus would do well in Fenway Park playing in a pressure division, so for me its too much to give up for him. I’d rather see those prospects going to Philly for Werth or to Milwaukee for Hart.
Keep in mind Werth is a FA at the end of the year.
True, but let me ask you this. If the Red Sox have a chance to win the world series this year, and they do since they’ve played so well with injuries, who do you think would give the Sox a better chance at winning a championship, Dejesus or Werth? And it did cross my mind that Werth would be a free agent after this year but so is Carl Crawford and the Red Sox are bound to end up with one or the other.
I’d rather have Dejesus right now, but I’d rather have Werth in the future. I’m not sure the Red Sox will end up with Crawford or Werth at all. Werth is the better bet, though.
I’d rather have Dejesus right now, but I’d rather have Werth in the future. I’m not sure the Red Sox will end up with Crawford or Werth at all. Werth is the better bet, though.
True, but let me ask you this. If the Red Sox have a chance to win the world series this year, and they do since they’ve played so well with injuries, who do you think would give the Sox a better chance at winning a championship, Dejesus or Werth? And it did cross my mind that Werth would be a free agent after this year but so is Carl Crawford and the Red Sox are bound to end up with one or the other.
As a BoSox fan I’d hate to see them trade any of their top-of-the-line prospects for Dejesus. Kalish is a prospect that has a very bright future and with Dejesus being 30 years old and under contract for considerably less time than any Red Sox prospect, I wouldnt trade for him unless they didnt have to give up much. I’d rather see the Red Sox give their prospects a chance to play at the major league level. And besides there is no guarantee that Dejesus would do well in Fenway Park playing in a pressure division, so for me its too much to give up for him. I’d rather see those prospects going to Philly for Werth or to Milwaukee for Hart.
Here is the deal:
The Royals cannot let DeJesus go for less than a few really solid prospects (1 high, 2 mid-range). The reasons are plenty: 1) he will qualify as a type A either this year or next (his great year this year will also count in the 2011 Elias rankings); 2) he is providing value well over his contract; 3) you can get another year of him for cheap (6 mil.) on a club option — making him very attractive for a team that wants to make a run for 2 years; 4) he plays really solid (read average CF and above average corner OF) defense at all 3 outfield positions, making him really useful to a lot of teams — it expands the market for him; 5) the guy is as steady as they come — no major splits against different types of pitchers, takes walks, gets on base, has consistent gap power (good double and triple #s), and has a really stable career batting average. People can only put two knocks on DDJ that keeps him from being an elite player — he does not hit 20+ HR per season and does not steal bases. That’s it. He also gets super high marks for being a good clubhouse guy, whatever that is worth.
The Royals, if they never trade him, will get good draft compensation when he leaves in free agency. If you want to rent a player that will qualify as a Type A and will produce for 1.5 years on a club-friendly contract, then you have to pay MORE than what the Royals would get by keeping him and just taking the picks. This is NOT a salary dump deal; the Royals can easily fit him in the budget, as they have a reasonable payroll limit for their market.
So BoSox fans, it is OK if you do not want him, but someone will. This is not 10 years ago; the Royals will not just give up a player to keep from paying league minimum prices. Sucks for you, but you have to pay market value. When you make these types of trades, you are giving up the future to be competitive in the present. Often, If you don’t think your team ought to take a shot at the division and should plan for the future, then no way should Boston trade for DDJ. But if you want to make a run for it, then you have to make it worth it for the Royals.
As a Royals fan, it is a nice situation for your team to be in…
“Often, If you don’t think your team ought to take a shot at the division and should plan for the future, then no way should Boston trade for DDJ.”
Are you implying that the Red Sox can’t win the division without Dejesus??? Because they have proven that they are capable of doing it without another just above average player, and the Red Sox would be running away with it right now if everyone had been healthy all year long and they will get almost everyone or everyone pretty soon so why trade for a player that isn’t necessary. If they traded for a Werth or a Hart they would be upgrading by a lot not just by the little upgrade that they would get with who would be the fourth outfielder for the Sox when everyone is healthy in Dejesus.
**forgot to add if they have to overpay for him.
**forgot to add if they have to overpay for him.
Here is the deal:
The Royals cannot let DeJesus go for less than a few really solid prospects (1 high, 2 mid-range). The reasons are plenty: 1) he will qualify as a type A either this year or next (his great year this year will also count in the 2011 Elias rankings); 2) he is providing value well over his contract; 3) you can get another year of him for cheap (6 mil.) on a club option — making him very attractive for a team that wants to make a run for 2 years; 4) he plays really solid (read average CF and above average corner OF) defense at all 3 outfield positions, making him really useful to a lot of teams — it expands the market for him; 5) the guy is as steady as they come — no major splits against different types of pitchers, takes walks, gets on base, has consistent gap power (good double and triple #s), and has a really stable career batting average. People can only put two knocks on DDJ that keeps him from being an elite player — he does not hit 20+ HR per season and does not steal bases. That’s it. He also gets super high marks for being a good clubhouse guy, whatever that is worth.
The Royals, if they never trade him, will get good draft compensation when he leaves in free agency. If you want to rent a player that will qualify as a Type A and will produce for 1.5 years on a club-friendly contract, then you have to pay MORE than what the Royals would get by keeping him and just taking the picks. This is NOT a salary dump deal; the Royals can easily fit him in the budget, as they have a reasonable payroll limit for their market.
So BoSox fans, it is OK if you do not want him, but someone will. This is not 10 years ago; the Royals will not just give up a player to keep from paying league minimum prices. Sucks for you, but you have to pay market value. When you make these types of trades, you are giving up the future to be competitive in the present. Often, If you don’t think your team ought to take a shot at the division and should plan for the future, then no way should Boston trade for DDJ. But if you want to make a run for it, then you have to make it worth it for the Royals.
As a Royals fan, it is a nice situation for your team to be in…
What about something like Reddick/Anderson/Doubront
as much as reddick isn’t doing anything and I think Lar’s ship has sailed i don’t know if you give that all up for a 1.5 year rental.
Doubrount alone brings back more than a Dejesus type ball player. LH 22 YO that throws 94-95, 2 other pitches and is that talented for a player that is having a career year? Got a feeling Doubront may figure into the Sox plans as a 5th starter next year and Matsuzaka moved to a NL team if he will waive his no-trade clause, or Doubrant moved as a piece in a trade for a big bat over the off season if he continues to improve like he has. The guy is one of the 10 youngest in the International league, yet has dominated in his sting so far and done an admirable job in his 2 big league starts, you don’t move him for a 4th OF type like Dejesus having a career season.
You know much more about Doubront than me, I was really just trying to come up with a pitching prospect that the Royals would like but who doesn’t neccesarily figure in to our long term plans. What about replacing Doubront with Weiland or Fife? Perhaps we could also interest the Royals in taking Navarro instead of Anderson since them seem to want a SS..
Besides DDJ’s numbers, versatility and reasonable salary, the Royals are asking for a lot because he projects as a Type A free agent after this year. If his team declines the 2011 option and offers arbitration, they would receive two high draft picks if he signs elsewhere. The same would be true after next season if the option was picked up and he has another good year. Even big spenders like the Red Sox value draft picks, so this is more than a this player for that player comparison.