We hear a lot of talk about buyers and sellers this time of year, but as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports points out in his latest column, some teams will do neither this summer and other teams will do both. Here are Rosenthal’s latest notes with less than four weeks to go before July 31st:
- The Red Sox could be positioned to trade an outfielder this month if their rehabbing players return as expected. Boston figures to pursue starting depth in trades; the Red Sox aren’t considering trades involving Josh Beckett.
- The Yankees will probably not sign Josh Hamilton or Cole Hamels this offseason, since they aim to avoid the MLB luxury tax by 2014 and that means cutting back on extravagant free agent signings.
- Under GM Frank Wren the Braves won more games while spending less money than every team but the Rays from 2009-11, Rosenthal notes.
- If the Blue Jays trade players on the brink of free agency such as Edwin Encarnacion and Kelly Johnson, they’d look to acquire players who can help them win next year. And if the Blue Jays don’t like what other teams are offering, they’ll keep their potential free agents. Toronto’s not likely to overpay in a “go for it” trade, Rosenthal writes.
- The Blue Jays aren’t trading Colby Rasmus, who has become more driven, according to a team official.
- Rosenthal suggests the Athletics could look to acquire players midseason if they stay in the playoff mix. Bartolo Colon is the player the A’s are most likely to trade, Rosenthal writes.
- The Mets are actively seeking relief help, but it’s highly doubtful they’d trade for Huston Street, who publicly criticized Mets bench coach Bob Geren last year. The Mets, who insist they won’t trade top prospects, are likely to wait until the end of the month before making any trades.
- The Cardinals wouldn’t be willing to meet the Brewers’ asking price for Zack Greinke, Rosenthal notes. St. Louis is more likely to pursue a mid-rotation starter.
- The Diamondbacks believe they need a third baseman more than a starting pitcher.
I’d bet a decent amount that the Sox would consider a trade w/ Beckett — they need to shed salary & he’s one of their many bad contracts. Plus, he’s always hurt & a clubhouse cancer.
Beckett has been their best pitcher, has averaged just over 29 starts per year in Boston, and there’s absolutely nothing whatsoever to base calling him a clubhouse cancer on.
Stop listening to “Mazz.”
They are supposed to trade a solid pitcher, pay his salary and let the Aaron Cook’s and Matsuzaka’s of the world take his place according to some of the “enlightened ones” at the Globe and a few other media outlets in the new England area. That way they will have another item to gripe about when Beckett is given away.
Sometimes it will be a blessing when the NYT and it’s satellite group just comes crashing down altogether and it won’t be long. They are operating so much in the Red anyway and have been for years. loss of readership, can’t get digital subscribers willing to pay.. Print media a bust.. One way to say adios to poor sports writing in that area (NE).
If they never printed another article it would be fine by me.
a 4.09 ERA is average, but with this lineup they should be scoring more runs than 4
to support him
His 3.75 FIP is quite a bit better than average, as is his 3.00 strikeout to walk ratio.
do you have to use the word cancer
There’s really not a better word to encapsulate the notion he’s trying to express.
It’s okay, none of the other 29 teams are considering a trade involving Josh Beckett either
Trading Beckett now, while he has marketability, makes sense, if his entire salary goes away when he moves on.
Beckett doesn’t have the kind of value they would want him to have. He is having a very mediocre season. They would be selling low.
If a team is willing to take on Beckett’s entire salary, I think it would be worth it to trade him and deal with a hole in the rotation now for a chance to sign a real stud like Hamels or Greinke. Beckett is very good, but seems a little inconsistent for his high salary and I’d prefer my ace to make all his starts and not have annual DL trips.
trading for a rental would be a terrible idea for the a’s. there’s plenty of improvement with the young guys and a healthy Cespedes and mccarthy and anderson should be back after the ASB, but there’s also plenty of potential for backwards regression.
I’ll make an exception for any cheap reliever pickup, especially of the RHP variety because the A’s pen is bad.
Backwards regression? Sounds like a SABR term that doesn’t have a basis in reality. Agree, though, this team is playing about as well as it possibly can and that’s a testament to Bob Melvin. Practically every move he makes is the right one and the young starters are incredible.
Anderson isn’t going to be a factor this year. Hopefully he makes it back by September, which is usual for ACL injuries (14-months minimum.)
The A’s pen isn’t “bad.” Balfour is still one of the best set-up men in the business, Blevins has been solid and Cook is holding down the closer role fairly well. Another arm or two wouldn’t hurt.