The Dodgers are investigating every top available starter, including Red Sox veteran John Lackey, sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).  Of course, the Dodgers are also looking into the likes of Cole Hamels, David Price, and Lackey’s teammate, Jon Lester.
Lackey’s Tommy John surgery in 2012 triggered a $500K option for the 2015 season due to an injury clause in his contract, so he could provide a boost for the Dodgers beyond this season.  In 21 starts this season, Lackey owns a 3.60 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9.  Meanwhile, Lackey’s xFIP of 3.35 also suggests that he’s throwing the ball well.
Rosenthal reported earlier today that Boston is getting “hit hard” on both Lester and Lackey.  Lester would likely require a hefty trade package including a top prospect but Lackey represents a more affordable option for teams chatting with the Red Sox.
Hey Zach – seems like Lackey could command more than first meets the eye considering his 2015 salary of $500,000. Lester is a 2 month rental. Lackey helps this year and next.
IMO Lackey’s 500k option for next season makes him worth more on the trade market than a rental like Lester.
I agree – having Lackey available at the minimum next year makes him as valuable as Shark IMO.
John Lackey is not fetching a top 10 prospect in all of baseball. I don’t care what his cost is. He’s old, relatively speaking. It’s just not going to happen. That’s not to say he isn’t valuable. He is. Especially at 500K next season.
Lackey is also not the difference maker Lester is, Lackey is more of a quality innings eater whereas Lester is a front of the rotation starter.
Yep. Although I think Lackey’s postseason career (3.03 ERA in 104 IP) adds to his value a bit.
Probably not that valuable considering that 1) Shark is better pitcher. 2) Lackey has his ring and money so he could retire rather than playing for 500K. 3) Shark will be receiving a qualifying offer whereas a team would be foolish to offer a qualifying offer to Lacky after next season.
Lackey is probably worth about what Bud Noris was worth last year. Some low level guys with some upside and some AAA guys who need a change of scenery.
Except the fact he said he’ll consider retiring unless he gets an extension makes him a rental without the same success as a Lester. Basically if he goes to the dodgers, you aren’t getting pederson/urias/seager. The dodgers could get similar production from someone else for a much cheaper price
No, in fact, he didn’t say that. It’s been speculated he would do that. He’s never said that.
I’m sure we will only trade Lackey if we get really good return because of that cheap salary.
Lester and Lackey for Pederson and Urias
As a Dodger fan hell no. While we would get rid of our rotation woes, we would be getting rid of our future as well.
Rotation woes?
I think he must mean in the number 4 & 5 slots. Solving that problem is worth the future, isn’t it?
Beckett is a solid #4.
The issue there is that Beckett is now pitching with a partially torn hip labrum and there are also cysts there. He may not be able to give the Dodgers much for the rest of the season. His start tomorrow is going to be crucial.
Not lately. His last two starts were awful, and Beckett himself says that he doesn’t feel like he’s the kind of pitcher who can go more than six innings. I hope he can make a recovery tonight (especially since I will be at the game) but I don’t think we know yet.
Same here. Regardless of the performance at least we will be walking away with that sweet sweet Scully Microphone.
Don’t even go there!!
Why would you even consider such a bad move.
eric what are you thinking. It should be more like lester lackey and bogaerts for urias and pederson
jokes right?
Still no
lester , lackey & middlebrooks , and boagerts for kemp, urias & perderson.
middlebrooks is wrose than uribe. Urias and pederson can fetch giancarlo stanton alone
middlebrooks he’s actually pretty good , he just been on the DL for a while. but giancarlo is only hitting for power he strikes out way too much. but he is the right handed bat we need. but urias and pederson would need to include other prospects aswell .
of course. maybe pederson,urias,lee,holmes
i wouldn’t trade holmes he’s gonna probably be a number #2 starter one day i prefer giving some other prospects dominguez lee reed ect .
Holmes isn’t even tradable until next june.
Urias alone cannot fetch Stanton… swing and a miss
How about… Lester and Uehara to NY for Brett Gardner, Derek Jeter, and a PTBNL?
Trading Lackey feels like a mistake, unless we’re pre-emptively conceding 2015? No Lackey and questionable Lester would mean a 2015 rotation of, what? Workman, Webster, De La Rosa, Renaudo, Buchholz? That’s a good way to have back-to-back losing seasons. (Or based on how Clay’s been faring… idk, Owens?) A lot of talent there but hardly a playoff team’s rotation.
Agreed. Buchholz would open the season as the veteran & opening day starter. yuck
Agreed. Unless the Sox have their….. sox blown off…. they should probably think about retaining Lackey for 2015. Unless of course the Sox FO thinks they can make multiple huge SP splashes in free agency, which is not a gamble I’d be comfortable with.
You do realize that the Red Sox are rebuilding and will not be a competitive team for at least 2 or 3 years.
wrong. they are in a good position to be competitive now. what they need to do is trade everyone who is gone next year. trade lester (because he isn’t going to give a huge home town discount) and then sign him at a good number, say 5/$115). pick up lackey’s option and then offer him a $19.5 mil one year extension (making it 2/$20).
then decide who you see long term as ss, 3b, starters and trade a boatload of what you have left to get a big righthanded bat. it would be worthwhile to get stanton for 6 top prospects after making the trades because they will have a huge 40 man roster crunch.
instant contender.
Is this sarcasm? That’s a lot of moves.
trading useful pieces that you aren’t going to have beyond this year just makes sense. if lester wants closer to market value get what you can for him.
they have a ton of pitching prospects and hitters who can hit for average. they don’t have power.
rotation of lester, lackey, bucholz, and two of de la rosa, webster, ranaudo, workman or owens with dubront long relief.
starters- napoli, pedroia, boagarts, victerino, jbj, vasquez, ortiz… middlebrooks or marrero…
bench- holt, nava, herrera, swihart or a backup catcher.
trade-
stanton to boston for:
two of de la rosa, webster, ranaudo, workman or owens
betts, lavarnway, cechini, brentz
“trade- stanton to boston for:
two of de la rosa, webster, ranaudo, workman or owens
betts, lavarnway, cechini, brentz”
No way FLA does that deal. They’d want at least four of those for Stanton. More realistically they will want de la rosa, owens, and boggarts.
i think you missed that it was two of the pitchers and all 4 of the others.
Again, that’s an insane amount of variables and also, I’m not sure I’m understanding the Stanton trade. Is it two guys from the first group and all of the guys from the second (ie five total guys)?
…no?
Was that the case after 2012, too?
Haven’t they had him once already? Oh wait, that other one was referred to as “Aaron Harrang”
Red Sox front office content with up to 3 years of no playoffs. They really want to dismantle the whole team
Nah, they are just out to get feelers. Never hurts.
Not even one year after winning the series, Boston fans figure mangement is about to sell them down the river. That’s one tough baseball town.
i’m a long time Red Sox and I don’t mind it I’d rather make a 3 year adjustment then patch up a broken team. We already have one of the best farm systems if we can add more and keep some of them and then deal some others for cornerstone established players.
They aren’t dismantling the team. It only seems that way because they have A LOT of very tradeable players right now in a seller’s market so lots of chatter. What will be interesting is who will actually go,they just have a ton of options. As a Sox fan, this is surprisingly exciting/fascinating actually. Even if they just hoard prospects for now they can always flip them to another team in the off-season.
Someone who gets it thank you
Lackey makes PERFECT sense for the Pirates. A contender for 2014-2015 that can’t afford a whole lot and need a pitcher with Cole’s injury. A play-off rotation of Cole,Lackey,Burnett,Tallion, and (insert mediocre 5th starter).
They would never get both Burnett and Lackey. Also no way can you could think Taillon would recovery so well from TJ and be in the rotation. You are missing both Morton and Locke who are clearly cogs of the rotation for the foreseeable future.
My “serious” guess is Dodgers make a play for Bartolo Colon; shouldn’t cost as much as the Rodeo Drive set but give them some quality starts just the same.
I think so too. Colon won’t cost very much in terms of prospects and I don’t see his $11 million price tag killing them next season even if he fell off the map.
Koji Lester Ranouldo for KEmp and pederson?
kemp is not coming to boston
Good ol’ Ranouldo
He didn’t look too good in the World Cup this year. I’d rather trade for Messi.
Tim Howard should be the catcher of the future.
put michael bradley as closer
no. Dodgers aren’t trading both Kemp and Pederson.
Lackey will command more
Sox cannot trade both, it’s not gonna happen.
Red Sox need starters. Trading either Lester, or Lackey makes no sense. Those two are the only reliable starters in the rotation.
are they even going somewhere this year lol
no exactly why there trading pieces off
yup the dodgers farm system is pretty strong as it sits they can pretty much get any player they want but the future seems brighter than the present
This year is lost, but a rotation of rookies will go nowhere next year.
Have you seen their farm system? They don’t “need” starters. Soon enough, its going to be getting really crowded. Of course it doesn’t mean they should just trade off lester and lackey for nothing (i’m skeptical in trading lackey)
@Jim: Call me naive, but I think the Red Sox are going to sign Lester in the off-season even if they trade him. In fact, that might be exactly why they haven’t worked out an extension. If he had signed one they couldn’t even think about what they could receive from a team who is willing to deal a lot for 3 months of him. I really think when all is said and done the Red Sox are going to pay him. Hope they pull it off.
You can’t get enough pitching. And if you’re rich and stupid, you can always throw money away, and if that fails, you can talk up your prospects.
Why do people expect Lackey to play for a league minimum 500k next year? He’s just not going to play next year.
You know that seems plausible, but I have a really hard time thinking Lackey is that big of a ____. I mean seriously I just can’t fathom a guy retiring all because of something like that when he signed the contract. The owners would have a cow and it just wouldn’t be a pretty situation. I would imagine the Red Sox could have a legitimate legal case against him if he were to retire.
Also I think he has stated before he won’t retire. Though I’m sure any team will quickly sign him to a 2/16mil contract and feel it is just as good as the league minimum for 2015.(that extension scenario is what is commonly thrown out there)
Do the Dodgers really want to create the most toxic clubhouse in all of baseball? You got Puig fighting Gonzalez while Gonzo texts the owner, Lackey/Lester & Beckett eating Fried Chicken and playing video games, you got Hanley Ramirez kicking balls into left field and jogging after them, you got Matt Kemp complaining about not playing center field when he’s an atrocious defensive fielder. Am I missing anyone?
Kershaw and a.j playing pingpong lol
I think I missed Eithier fighting Mattingly.
huh
Not sure what fantasy world you’re referring to, but that’s quite a fairy tale you’re telling there.
Just say no to drugs.
You forgot Dee Brown taking night classes in Medieval Philosphy, Carl Crawford thinking Bel Biv Devoe was the pinnacle of New Jack Swing while Juan Uribe swears it’s Boyz II Men, and Zack Grienke being embroiled in a hot race with JP Howell for head of the Los Angeles County Model Train Association Board of Directors. That clubhouse is just nuts.
Hilarious, why don’t people look up these events I described and see they’ve actually happened? The Dodgers don’t have a very good clubhouse.
I think everyone’s point is that no one cares if Josh Beckett is eating fried chicken. They’re non-issues. The Dodgers have the best record in the NL.
Also, half of your examples are from years ago when the players were on other teams.
So suddenly people in their 30’s change their personality? I don’t think so, the only thing that keeps a clubhouse together is winning, and mark my word if and when the Dodgers fail to make the playoffs with these said players you’re going to have a mess on your hands because the clubhouse cancers always come out when a team is out of contention.
Ahhh, the Dodgers… trying to become the Red Sox West!
Now, that the Red Sox might be out of it, do they get to do another Salary purge?
I just SMH at all this. Dodger ownership giving financial relief to those in need.
Wait, what?
I thought they were the Yankees West already?
Is there anyone the Dodgers are Not interested in?
Lackey has made noise about wanting an extension to override the cheap option year. Hes hinted at ” retiring”. Very unhappy at it, it being the deal he agreed to.
Anyway Dodgers would be inheriting that which could relegate him to a rental
I wouldn’t want to see them trade Lackey. It’s almost throwing in the towel for next season too unless they have big plans in the offseason.
As cheap as the Red Six have been I doubt they do much on the free agent market. They have enough prospects to make trades so maybe they go that route.
The Sox would really need to be blown away to trade Lackey. He’s worth top prospects by token of his salary. He might not be an ace, but a free number 2 starter has a ton of value.
He’s not really a number 2 anymore either. More of a 3/4. Plus there has been rumors he wants an extension or he’ll retire and he doesn’t have quite the same recent success of a Lester/Price/Hammels. Boston could get a nice return for him, but you aren’t getting a Pederson/Urias/Seager for him. The option is nice, but not if he retires after this yr or requires a 15 mil extension.
Lackey isn’t having a bad year and he’s a battle tested playoff performer. For 500k, an offer would have to be pretty good for the Red Sox to pass up. It’s not like they’re going to take 2015 off.
I too have concerns about Lackey’s option, but a 2/16 type deal would still be a bargain with the way he’s been performing.
I honestly see Lackey as very comparable to Bud Norris last year… You would think he has more value than he really does.
Then they’re not going to trade him.
They probably won’t he’s worth more to them than probably any team that would trade from him. Might as well extend him for 2 years and have him stabilize the rotation as the Sox rebuild.
I’m assuming Ned is hoping he turns out like Ricky Nolasco did for us last season?