The Red Sox finally received compensation earlier today for Theo Epstein's defection to the Cubs, adding reliever Chris Carpenter and a player to be named. Here's more on Boston and a couple other stray items of note out of MLB's East divisions:
- The Red Sox added left-hander Rich Hill to their 40-man roster and placed starter John Lackey on the 60-day DL in a corresponding move, tweets Tim Britton of the Providence Journal. The move is a show of faith in Hill's recovery from 2011 Tommy John surgery, according to Britton, and Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe tweets that Hill had an opt-out clause that he could have exercised early in Spring Training were he not on the 40-man. So, it appears the Sox didn't want to lose the lefty.
- Marlins slugger Hanley Ramirez said he has no problem moving to third base to accomodate the arrival of newly signed shortstop Jose Reyes, according to Tom D'Angelo of the Palm Beach Post. “I never said I’m not going to do it,” he said.
- Mets manager Terry Collins is under contract through 2013, though Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal wonders whether the skipper will be retained beyond then if the Mets are ready to move past their current transitional phase.
Interesting that Hill was already added to the 40 man when they could have “played” with that roster spot a little longer and he is still just at the point of BP sessions. Read on WEEI think it was yesterday that he still wasn’t ready for games and wouldn’t be until later this spring..
Yeah, that move surprised me a little. I wonder if he might actually be ready by opening day. I’m holding no delusions about him but his stuff looked great last season. I’m hoping he could be an average reliever.
Don’t quote me on this… But his curve ball ratio was like 70% before he blew his arm out, then consider he totally changed his angle of delivery as well.. We have to wonder how long he can hold up with that nearly side arm angle he comes from and the new, wicked curve he seemed to have developed.
He has a different curve? A wicked curve was always his bread and butter. It’s one of the reasons he was hard to get a handle on as a Cub prospect. You don’t see a lot of high-K guys who do it primarily with a curve.
The issue was that was pretty much ALL he had. Your curve can be as wicked as the witch of the west, but if you don’t have anything else to throw out there, your out pitch isn’t really that effective. That’s probably why hill had so many control issues.
I read somewhere that he had a clause in his contract that said he had to be added to the 40 man roster by a certain point or be released. I don’t know if that is the case (and I don’t remember where I read it), but if that is the case then this makes perfect sense.
Yeah, 12 innings logged in the past 2 seasons. Very iffy.
Adding hill to the 40 man is a smart move. While rich is an injury-prone, his 2011 season from the bullpen has been nothing but awesome.
Let’s hope he’s going to be healthy on opening day and then we will probably have a dominant lefty.
hanley’s opinion of playing third changes every week
Wonder how long it will take before Ramirez and Guillen get into it over some nonsense? Ramirez and his ‘dew, or wearing that huge hunk of gold chain during games that loria bought him.. Ramirez sometimes seems to seek out trouble, or go out of his way at least looking for it.
It seemed like he was the most settled in the last 2/3 of 2011 when Trader Jack was the manager, cause EVERYONE knew who was in charge.
No it doesn’t dude. He’s always said he has no problem with it. It’s the “anonymous sources” that always say he has a problem with it man, but Hanley always says he’s good with it. Bro, his opinion doesn’t change every week, it’s just something that sports bloggers keep alive for pageviews.
Guillen said a week ago that Hanley wasn’t 100% on board. The fact that Hanley was so quiet about this whole thing leads me to think that he initially had a problem with it and eventually learned that it’s his only option. I’ve seen WAY more reports of him not liking the change than I have of him saying he has no problem with it.
He should’ve come out of the gate and accepted the role with grace, and since he didn’t do that people tend to think that he had an issue with it. And I personally think he did, but if he says he’s fine with it now I have no reason to not believe the guy.
I don’t really see why Hanley would object. From what I’ve read, he’s a pretty lazy dude. 3rd base should be way easier for him. I’m sure ego has something to do with it though.
Ego, yes, but also money. The exact same bat is far less impressive as a third baseman than a shortstop.
He has never been a good fielder, but spending the next three years off the position all but guarantees nobody would consider him there anymore when they might have otherwise, and that has a real dollar cost.
Oh snap, forgot to factor the value of a SS who can actually hit vs. 3rd basemen who does. Well said.
or teams could, you know, just sign him as a shortstop
They can, but “let’s sign a bad shortstop” is easier to stomach than “hey, let’s see if a guy who hasn’t played shortstop for three years can get back to being bad at it.”
Besides which, whether they want him to PLAY shortstop or not they will do everything in their power to avoid PAYING him as a shortstop. You can guarantee if he reaches free agency as a third baseman, teams are going to enter discussions with comps of other third basemen. He might force the price up anyway; that depends on how many suitors he has — but it’s something he suddenly has to work for just to get back to where he was.
After the signing of Reyes.. Hanley- Trade me! Please
After seeing Reyes hit… Hanley- Those trade talks were just a rumor! Haha please!
Can you show me where he actually asked for a trade? I mean coming directly from him, not Buster Olney, Heyman or anyone else not named Hanley Ramirez.
Buster Olney’s offseason has just been a disaster. The man keeps grasping at straws to preserve any scrap of credibility he still has.
Honestly, I don’t think that Hanley finishes the season with Miami. I think that he will be traded and then they will go after another third baseman.
they’ll trade for a-rod and by the end of the season only one of Z, a-rod, lomo, or ozzie will come out alive
Rich Hill looked un-hittable last year until the injury. Hopefully he’s close to 100% when he returns.
Even if Reyes hadnt signed Ramirez was going to have to eventually move to 3rd because he is getting way to big for SS
Hanley @ 3B – The Story That Refuses To Die
I dont blame Hanley as he is just responding to questions, so the blame is on you reporters! I mean come on! Lets continuously ask him 100 times a day how he feels about his position change. Seriously just leave the guy alone.
The Marlins went 72-90 last year. Their best pitcher from last year retired. This team is not likely to win anything this year unless everything breaks right for them. I like the Braves, Phils and Nats better and that is just their division. I think Hanley wants off this team. The Marlins are putting him at third hoping he regains his stroke so they can trade him for value.
accommodate
If the Sox can get 50 quality innings out of Hill it will be another Massachusetts Miracle…
I know Hanley struggled with the leather last year and has never been a great SS but its not like Reyes is a gold glover. Reyes is below average by any metrics I have seen. People see Reyes as a SS just because he fits the mold better….smaller, quick, not a power hitter. But, I don’t see a huge difference. Reyes is a little better. Ramirez is bigger and has big bat potential. I put this on the Marlins, instead of throwing out money and then figuring out what to do with with everybody. Maybe should have addressed this first. If Ramirez or Reyes struggle then there could be problems especially with Hanley’s rep. If he catches an attitude then they’ll never get close to equal trade value.