The Red Sox are looking to acquire an infielder who can play multiple positions, MassLive.com’s Sean McAdam writes, with a focus on the middle infield. McAdam notes that Aledmys Diaz’s name has “been linked to the Red Sox,” though it isn’t clear how deep talks might be between the Sox and Athletics. Diaz is struggling through a tough season (.208/.266/.264 over 173 plate appearances) but he is also an experienced player who could help a Boston infield that is still trying to figure itself out, particularly at shortstop until Trevor Story is healthy. That said, Diaz’s contract is hefty enough that he would be more than a stopgap, as Diaz is owed roughly $4.1MM for the rest of this season and then $8MM in 2024. The A’s are naturally looking to unload salary and might eat some of that money, but one would imagine the Sox might explore cheaper options if they truly only want a short-term option.
The Sox could possibly also be dangling an infielder in trade talks as the deadline approaches, if the team wants to move on from Bobby Dalbec. The former top prospect was already the subject of trade speculation over the winter, and Triston Casas seems to have supplanted Dalbec as Boston’s next first baseman of the future. Back at Triple-A for much of this season, Dalbec is posting big numbers, and a scout told McAdam that “I thought he looked much more confident at the plate, with more of a plan.” That said, the scout has a modest view of Dalbec’s trade value, saying “my guess is, he’s only a second piece in a (larger) deal, or the only piece for an average bullpen arm or some infield depth.’”
Some more from around the AL East…
- Alek Manoah threw 75 pitches during a simulated game on Friday, and is slated for another sim game later this week. Blue Jays manager John Schneider told Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi and other reporters on Friday that “everything that we were talking about in terms of delivery and stuff [for Manoah] was good, so making some good strides in the right direction.” A proper minor league rehab game could follow the next simulating outing, meaning that Manoah could be back with the Jays by July 1 if all goes well, though the plan is still quite fluid given the unusual nature of Manoah’s situation. The third-place finisher in AL Cy Young voting in 2022, Manoah posted a 6.36 ERA over his first 58 innings this season, pitching so poorly that the Blue Jays optioned him to their Florida complex in order to fully explore what has gone awry.
- Harrison Bader is slated to be activated from the 10-day injured list on Tuesday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone told The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty and other reporters. The initial aim was for Bader to return this weekend, but the outfielder requested a couple of extra minor league rehab games in order to better test his injured hamstring. Bader gave Boone a positive report via text message last night, so everything seems lined up for Tuesday when the Yankees host the Mariners. Between an oblique strain and his hamstring strain, Bader has been limited to 26 games this season, and his return will be a huge boost to a New York outfield that is still missing Aaron Judge.
- Rays manager Kevin Cash updated reporters (including Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times) on some injured player, including Josh Fleming and Andrew Kittredge. Fleming is on the 60-day IL due to elbow soreness, but the good news is that it doesn’t appear surgery will be required, as Cash said that the left-hander will continue to rehab without going under the knife. Kittredge had a Tommy John surgery just over a year ago, but he will throw a live batting practice this week in the latest phase of his rehab. Kittredge is expected to return to the Rays sometime in August, while Fleming’s 60-day IL placement means that August 3 would be the earliest date for a possible return.
Dalbec to the Cubs for Nick Madrigal
That would actually be an excellent trade
I wanted Madrigal to be part of the Betts trade way back when. But he’s shown -0- power. If you can’t occasionally turn on the ball for a HR, then the pitcher can do anything he wants.
Rooting for Alek. One of my favorite MLB players to watch when he’s dealing. A true throwback. Really hope he finds it again.
He’s a complete disappointment. He got utterly dismantled in rookie ball, today and it’s safe to say that he won’t be able to bounce back from such a dismal performance. It seems his arrogance got the best of him. Why did he have a gig as a weekly commentator on the MLB Networ? Why did he became too fixated on monetary gains and showed no interest in committing to a long-term contract at the price the Jays were willing to offer? As if that wasn’t enough, Sportsnet even dedicated a six-part series to this individual. Absurd, isn’t it?
To make matters worse, he was given the privilege of being the opening day starter, despite the fact that it should have undoubtedly been Guasman’s role. And let’s not forget his lackluster performance in last year’s playoffs, where he failed to rise to the occasion. It’s crystal clear that he’s simply incapable of handling pressure.
Thankfully, the Jays had the sense not to grant him any contract extensions, as it would have been a complete disaster in the making. This player is undeniably a bust, and it’s for the best that they didn’t get further entangled in an ill-fated deal.”
Trade Dalbec to the Cubs for Nick Madrigal
Bader gave Boone a positive report via text message last night, so everything seems lined up for Tuesday when the Yankees host the Mariners.
This is such an impressive organization.
They are probably employing the medical consultant from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
or Police Academy….oh that it didn’t hurt!
Unless the Red Sox go on a crazy hot streak from now until the deadline they should be selling every single rental piece they have and opening spots for AAA guys to audition in August and September.
The guys they should move include:
Paxton (he could fetch a solid prospect if he stays healthy )
Kike (please please please)
Turner
Jansen
Chris Martin
Duvall
I might be missing 1 or 2 guys but all of these guys would have value to other teams.
My biggest fear is we are .500 or just below at the deadline and they do the same stupid s**t they did last deadline where they should’ve moved JD and Eovaldi. And Bogaerts too if you weren’t going to make a competitive offer at all. I just can’t wait for Bloom and co. to hopefully be out after this season. PLEASE
Gonna need you to calm down a bit bud. Just need to calm down.
Good boy.
I mean nothing I said is wrong though?
You speak truth, but the truth isn’t entirely in style these days. You gotta mix in a dash of pure delusion to make it digestible for all parties.
Very few of those players will fetch anything at the deadline. At best the Sox would get a so-so prospect in A+ or AA ball.
JAMES PAXTON IS A COMMUNIST
Turner, Jansen, and Martin are all signed for next season so they aren’t rentals
JT gets a $6.7m buyout for declining his player option.
This means if he thinks he can get more than 1yr, and the other 6.7m on the open market, he will opt out, making him lean towards being a rental at this point. By Aug he should have firmed up a performance one way or another.
Martin is locked in with $9m owed for 2024, 1.5 being signing bonus and 7.5 salary. It will be his age 38 season.
Jansen is slated to earn another $16m in 2024. It will be his age 37 season. His ERA is nearly 33% higher than his career average, and his FIP is 3.17 basically matching his 3.18 ERA. In other words, you can’t blame the regression on the poor defense of Boston. His K/9 is tied for lowest of his career, and his WHIP is a career high by a WIDE margin, over .300 per inning to the next closest season. In other words, it may be wise to sell while you can, given he is owed $16m next year.
If JT opts out, but you traded all 3, that’s $31.7m to spend next offseason for giving up a single year of Martin and Jansen each. Think what you could buy with that.
Rsox – Agreed! And with the Sox supposedly wanting to contend next season, they’d be wise to hold onto them instead of signing others to multi year contracts.
one of the best posts I have read in a long time. signing a .208 hitter owed over 4 million still is just the type of move Bloom is likely to pull off to show RSN that the Sox are not worried about payroll
Don’t count on it. The Ray’s pawned off their red headed step child on the Sox. Henry is in loooove with slashing Sox payroll so bafoon Bloom ain’t going anywhere.
Only way Bloom and company are gone after this season is if Henry sells the team….
Eovaldi spent over a month on the IL from early June to mid July and then put up an ERA over 11 in his 3 starts in July. He didn’t have much trade value at the deadline which is why no deal was looked into. Similarly JD was hitting horribly leading up to the deadline. For June and July he combined for a .222 avg, .662 OPS with only 4 HRs. The only way either was gonna get moved would have been of Boston picked up most or all of their contracts, which would have defeated the purpose of trading them.
There is just no debating with the Bloom fans. I concede. He’s the best GM the Sox have EVER had.
you got it the other way around hahahaha
acello–meaning?
meaning it’s basically impossible to have a rational discussion with people who hate bloom especially for those who fall somewhere in the middle.
He didn’t have much trade value at the deadline which is why no deal was looked into.
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Some fans are delusional. He missed 5 weeks, then we rushed him back to showcase him. He could barely make it out to the mound. With the 11.08 July ERA, no one would touch him. And then he missed another 7 weeks after that. He was obviously hurt. There were dozen articles about his fastball being down 2 mph+. Other teams don’t miss that.
What’s the over/under on how many games Bader plays before he’s back on the IL?
In a league where injuries determine who falls out of a pennant race, teams are better off with young players that are a bit below average than with older players that are above average but any day an injury can strike.
honestly, each player is just a cog in a whole team’s system. obviously every player has different levels of importance, but at the end of the season it should be one team that prevails. all the guys who fill in for injuries absolutely should be capable, as it takes every part of the machine to make it work. there is something beautiful about that fact of baseball, and the season lasting 162 games, and how it means a team needs to be either really lucky or really well prepared
honestly, each player is just a cog in a whole team’s system. obviously every player has different levels of importance, but at the end of the season it should be one team that prevails. all the guys who fill in for injuries absolutely should be capable, as it takes every part of the machine to make it work. there is something beautiful about that fact of baseball, and the season lasting 162 games, and how it means a team needs to be either really lucky or really well prepared to win a WS.
I’m gonna say he’ll gut out 11 games before the next IL placement. No matter what it is, Doc Boone already has statements prepared to downplay it and assure fans he’ll be back as soon as he possibly can.
Back by July 1st? Good luck with that!
Why does anyone want him back so quick? He is a mess! Get him right even if it takes the rest of the year.
You want him back just to get rocked and kill the bullpen more?
Schneider talks about his delivery? He hasn’t pitched in a couple of weeks and he still leads the league in walks.
I would respect this team more if any of their management showed even the slightest bit of backbone.
David Fletcher reclamation project.
Today’s game was the perfect example of the art of Boonedoggling. While the Red Sox toss Ort, Murphy and Pivetta, with Martin to finish, the Yankee Skipper can’t resist to bring in his most overused reliever, the bullpen King, who is on pace to pitch 87 innings, a substantial career high for his majesty. Just like an overused pair of running shoes, the King man was flat and lost the game. Fried egg he couldn’t resist bringing in Prince Albert Abreu in a blow out game, putting him on pace for 75 innings, double what he’s ever pitched. The Royal Family of the bullpen will be out of sorts as the Jester Boonedoggle forces them to entertain him. What a hoot, owl say.
whyhayzee;
Mr. Boone seems like a nice guy. The problem I have with him is that I don’t know what moves he’s making on his own, and what moves he’s making at the instruction of Hal Cashman and the Yankees analytic department.
Nevertheless, the Yankees are a team built around their pitching, and they’re unquestionably wasting the efforts of Matt Blake and his staff.
Blake would be perfect for the Cardinals, but the exact same problem would exist there.
Samuel, I agree on not knowing who is making the decisions. I can tell you, as a pitcher, I could tell you whether putting me in a game was a good idea or not. Trouble is, I didn’t get to choose. But I know I could have easily given someone a rating on a scale of how I felt. That drove two things, current performance and future performance. If this isn’t part of the process, and the pitchers aren’t honest about it, then it’s just as much on them. Everyone seems hell bent on performance. Everyone also seems to ignore breaking point. Listen to your body at all times, it’s the best feedback.
They still only scored 2 runs. That’s a very pedestrian lineup without Judge. Torres and Stanton can hit, but aren’t great hitters. Rizzo has a handful of single this month, and I am guessing he is still hurt. I’m not sure how good they are even with Judge, but without him, they look weak.
Let’s just say that, imho, we picked a very good time to host them.
So after months of complaining about Devers not batting third Cora the moron moves him to third but forgets to bat Yoshida first or second maximizing potential runs and what happens? Boston beats the crap out of the Yankees and then comes back and in the first game of the double header beats them again.
Naturally, Cora being the moron that he is then changes the order for the second game and moves Devers to fourth where he has wasted his talent for months.
FIre Cora if they lose the second game today!! The Yanks look so bad I can’t picture them winning against any average team so even Cora may not be able to screw this one up but I have faith in him and his lack of abilities. He’ll find a way if possible!!!
The Yankees look just horrible. Does one not think that Steinbrenner would do whatever he could to rid themselves of ALL of the Rizzo, Stanton, Donaldson contracts?? They make the Sale contract look good. I expect the Yankees to take the basement in the AL East this year. THEY STINK !!!
Randy – This year?? Not a chance. Even if Rodon misses the entire season, Judge will be back probably sometime in July and he makes a world of difference to their lineup. ESPN showed the with and without numbers, the difference is staggering.
Randy – I understand and have rooted against the Yankees my whole life but as an impartial arbitrator of talent, the Yankees have way more than the Red Sox.
If Devers went down for a month or more this team would fall apart just like the Yankees have without Judge. Without Judge, they are comparable to Boston but I like the Red Sox pitchers more. Without Devers and Judge playing for the Yankees the Red Sox would get killed far worse than they have killed the Yankees.
The Stanton contract like the Devers contract was a loser from the moment it was signed. Donaldson can field at 3B and got $10MM a year less than Devers who can’t field. Which is the worse contract? Rizzo is a streak hitter like Duvall, Verdugo and so many others. He’s ice cold right now so Boston had some luck on their side this time. Later in the year, he’s likely to torch them if he hot. The Rizzo contract is a fair price if he plays to his stat norms.
The Sale contracts have been team discounts but Cora messed with Sale and Boston lost out in the end on the Sale deal thanks to Cora. He should have been fired when he screwed up ST in 2019, when he caused Sale’s need for TJ in 2019 and pretty much any day he manages since he’s so bad at it.
Cora isn’t responsible for Sale needing tommy john surgery. That’s ludicrous even by the exceptionally low standards that you’ve set for yourself with your posts.
Acell –
I won’t say Cora is, or isn’t, responsible for the TJ. Here’s why: sale was pitching hurt. Anyone who watched the games in 2019 saw it. Had sale been shut down early on, could TJ have been avoided?
I don’t know. I haven’t seen the medical records, and, lack enough expertise to say one way on something that specialized or another if I did.
But it’s a fair point to argue on. Cora could’ve shut him down after talking to medical staff. He could’ve said I’m not starting him, either send him to the IL or we play shorthanded, but he’s hurt. And they would’ve shut him down.
Other teams have shut down firey ace-level starters against their will, and, Sale was old school enough to try to gut it out.
There HAVE been players shut down before a tear got to the point it needed TJ and went on never having it.
IMVHO, if it is a wear-and-tear issue, the pitchers will go down. I’d venture to say that arm surgery is probably more common than not at this point. The bigger issue, imho, is the timing of the surgery. I know it is not an exact science, but having surgery in March is about a worst-case scenario.
if the answer is I don’t know to shutting his down early etc. then it’s really pointless to blame the manager or anyone else for that matter.. Your argument loses its validity once you went there.
Bottom line it’s almost impossible to pin something like this on a manager.
Not true acell – you can arrive at ‘I don’t know’ due to lack of information available to us. That leaves the question open for both sides to push their opinion, and, the argument is still valid.
Again, if the player was known to be *somehow* hurt (true) and the manager knowingly ran him out there over and over (true) then depending what tests were run, the frequency, the watching for further deterioration, and what the medical staff had to TRUELY say about it (unknown) then there is the chance that shutting down or getting other conservative treatments earlier may have limited damage or had a restorative effect (unknown, but precedent for other injured players exists)…
The manager can bear responsibility. If you’ve ever engaged in athletic activities you would know how a minor injury can get worse, and, sometimes you later need a more invasive or intensive treatment program because you kept up the activity when first hurt instead of stopping. On part of the managers’ jobs is to notice these things and stop players from hurting themselves worse.
No it isn’t true. all you’ve done is speculate.We can go back and forth all we want on this but the bottom line is you’re still speculating. I don’t know isn’t conclusive so blaming anyone is impossible in this situation. I don’t need to condescend regarding athletics to point this out again.
Coming on a trade *rumors* web board, then complaining about speculation… hmm…
speculating about trades signings is one thing. speculating about mangers causing injuries is another. I guess it’s my turn now to condescend but perhaps I was giving you too much credit when I figured you’d be able to the tell difference.
Manoah is a complete bust and will never pitch in the majors at a competitive level ever again. Thank god the Jays did not sign him to an extension of any kind.