The venerable Peter Gammons appeared on WEEI's The Big Show to discuss a few Red Sox-related hot stove topics. WEEI.com's Sam Dykstra has the transcript of some of the interview's highlights…
- The Red Sox will have a hard time finding takers for Jonathan Papelbon this winter if the club decides to install Daniel Bard as its full-time closer. Gammons predicts Papelbon will get around $12MM for his final year of arbitration, and doubts that Boston would be able to move Papelbon's entire salary plus get a quality return in a trade.
- Manny Ramirez in Tampa Bay is Boston's "worst nightmare," according to Gammons. He says that should Ramirez return from the disabled list and be placed on waivers by Los Angeles, Boston would then be faced with the difficult decision of whether or not to risk putting in a claim on their former slugger just to keep him from ending up as a Ray. The Red Sox could end up being stuck with the approximately $5.5MM remaining on Ramirez's $20MM salary, not to mention the added baggage that Ramirez could bring back to the Boston clubhouse. Then again, as Gammons describes it, "it may be that Manny doesn’t realize that he has to play and perform to get another contract. We have no indication that he’s understood that after three trips to the disabled list this year."
- Lyle Overbay is cited as a backup option at first base if the newly-acquired Carlos Delgado can't find his stroke in the minors. Overbay has cleared waivers and is free to be dealt to any team, though the Toronto first baseman does have a no-trade clause in his contract.
