In a move that may be the clearest yet that the Red Sox are moving towards having Justin Masterson and Clay Buchholz battle it out for the No. 5 spot in the rotation, the Red Sox have acquired reliever Wes Littleton from the Texas Rangers in exchange for two players to be named later or cash.
Littleton, 26, has a career 3.69 ERA in 102.1 career innings. A sidearmer, his current claim to fame is notching the save in the Rangers’ 30-3 drubbing of the Baltimore Orioles in 2007, pitching three innings to close out the game.
Littleton spent most of the season in Triple-A, where he had a 4.01 ERA in 44 relief appearances.
Among active pitchers with at least 100 innings in the bigs, he ranks 14th with a career groundball percentage of 71.5.The Sox now have 38 pitchers on the 40 man roster. It is possible that
the players to be named later will be predicated on if Littleton makes
the Opening Day roster or not as he is out of options. Rangers GM Jon
Daniels says he doesn’t expect the players to be named until close to Opening Day.
|
Wes Littleton – Career with Texas
|
|||||||
| Year | G | IP | ERA | G/F | K | BB | |
| 2006 | 33 | 36.1 | 1.73 | 3.75 | 17 | 13 | |
| 2007 | 35 | 48.0 | 4.31 | 2.09 | 24 | 16 | |
| 2008 | 12 | 18.0 | 6.00 | 2.07 | 14 | 8 | |
Not to stir the pot or anything here, but I find it pretty interesting that Littleton, an African-American, was acquired shortly after the Red Sox traded their only African-American player in Coco Crisp. There were a bit of rumblings about that fact during the Coco trade. Littleton is a quality reliever and I expect him to throw quality innings with us, but was his ethnicity a motivating factor? Something to think about.
The Red Sox organizational depth chart for pitching now looks as such:
STARTERS (7)
Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield, Clay Buchholz, Justin Masterson, Michael Bowden
RELIEVERS (7)
Jonathan Papelbon, Hideki Okajima, Ramon Ramirez, Manny Delcarmen, Javier Lopez, David Aardsma, Wes Littleton
Assuming
Masterson becomes a starter, the team could field a full pitching staff
by optioning Buchholz and Bowden to Triple A along with either
retaining Aardsma or designating him for assignment.
This may be a precursor to the Sox investing all their money into Mark Teixeira.
What a racist comment!!! Wes Littleton an African American. What difference does it make, and for the record he’s half Samoan. Did they also need a Samoan player?
Jeez, relax. It’s a valid question. The Boston Globe seems to think so.
link
I have to say…the race issue is a total non-starter for me and most likely shouldn’t have even been a part of the story.
To each’s own in how to respond to news and I understand you’re just pointing it out. BUT…I don’t think there was a need.
All that said…I think this is an important move for the organization in that it provides a certain amount of flexibility for them in regard to Justin Masterson’s role moving forward. This may be flexibility they need depending on how the rest of the dominoes fall.
I’ve noticed in the past that this team has been getting progressively whiter, but I think the fact that the Red Sox have only one African American player is more of an indictment of baseball’s limited efforts to build its brand with African Americans than racism on the part of the Red Sox. The simple fact is that whereas African Americans were once as widely represented in baseball as football or basketball, the number of African American players today is really at a historical low since they were first allowed into the league, which is a travesty.
FWIW…I don’t mean to dismiss the race issue that faces baseball.
But I don’t think it’s really relevant to this story. The Red Sox would have traded for a White, Asian, Latin, etc player if they were better or for less.
This was a move about getting an asset on the field. No other motives are in play.
Tim,
I’m completely with you there that they made the move strictly for getting an asset on the field.
But you have to wonder if race does factor in somewhat. Did losing Crisp perhaps spur the Sox to make this deal, which they may otherwise have held out to give less?
Is it an accident that the most ethnically diverse teams are helmed by GMs who are minorities? The White Sox and Mets spring to mind.
I don’t know if this precludes masterson from a bullpen spot, Littleton has nice major league numbers but very little experience
Depending on the player to be named later, this seems like another excellent move by Theo & co. to beef up a Pen in need. I begged for Street and got Littleton and RRamirez, both young & potential stars. This Pen could become a major force. I would be pleased if Masterson starts in the Rotation rather than an overpriced FA.
Re: the race thing, Boston has endured a bad rap because of intransigent behavior many decades ago. The Celtics, for example, were the first to be fully integrated with roomates, and the first all-black team. Only in Boston could “minority” and “African-American” be used interchangeably. It just ain’t so. Crisp, Ortiz, Lowell, Pedroia, Colon, Matsuzaka, Okajima, Cora, Ramirez, Hansack, Littleton, Hale are all minorities in the USA. The Race Card just has to go away. It has not been fair or accurate for nearly half a century.
This was a good move to acquire a potential reliever who appears to have an ability to induce groundballs at very little cost.
But it seems to be motivated more by Littleton’s lack of options, than any other factors.
“Posted by steemer, November 28, 2008 7:08 PM
What a racist comment!!! Wes Littleton an African American. What difference does it make, and for the record he’s half Samoan. Did they also need a Samoan player?”
Racist? Pray tell, how? Evan was speculating that Red Sox management may have acquired Littleton in an effort to appease a particular segment of their fan base. He wasn’t condoning it and I think he’d agree with the sentiment you expressed – that it shouldn’t matter. Unfortunately, it does because there are those out there who operate under the delusion that if 12% of the team are African-American, racial harmony exists. Which is absolute horseshit, but that’s another matter.
Just a question: why this move is a precursor of the Sox investing all their money in Teixeira? The way I see it, if we secure the bullpen and open the possibility of Masterson as a starter, then we have more flexibility, and that makes a trade of Buchholz or Bowden more probable.
Of course, a trade of Delcarmen could be another possibility. In any case, I think this moves could be setting up a move for our next catcher.
Looks like a surprisingly nice under the radar pickup. Does anyone think the Sox would be interested in this kid out of Arizona who is a FA. Is it Juan Cruz? We would have a significanlt upgraded BP with someone like that.
MAG, I don’t think we will trade away these young pitchers. If the Sox primary need is pitching, and it stiill is, there is no benefit to trading highly rated pitching prospects only to turn around and buy the contract of another pitcher or two to replace them.
Besides, neither are immediately ready. They are, effectively, prospects. Buchholz, will surely spend a couple of months in Pawtucket because he last pitched in AA and Arizona and AAA is part of his rehab. They won’t rush him again no matter how he looks in ST, and a team that needs pitching now can’t use him yet. Bowden just got to AAA, and they won’t rush him either, which depth allows. With all the 2008 injuries, though, it wouldn’t surprise if both were needed by June or July.
Our other great need is a catcher, and Theo has a dozen scenarios for that, hopefully not including these young pitchers, and there is no doubt this will be resolved well. The Littleton trade may appear to be favoring a Texas catcher, but I still favor Kelly Shoppach, who was just made available.
Certainly Theo has shown reluctancy of letting go Buchholz. So, maybe the FO is thinking in another kind of package. Arizona and Cleveland need an infielder and bullpen arms. And, with the acquisition of Ramirez and now Littleton, Delcarmen looks much more tradeable (as Masterson, by the way). In any case, we are stocking the bullpen, and that could be a sign.
The thing is, acquiring the catcher we need is going to hurt a little. Saltalamacchia, Montero, Shoppach, are not going to be cheap. So, the question is what kind of package we can put toghether to land one of those guys? I like to hear some suggestions.
I think Lowrie could be a very nice chip to go after Shoppach, but, of course, that leaves us with a hole in SS. Maybe we could offer Cleveland some kind of mega-trade to acquire Shoppach and Peralta.
Craig,
Couldn’t have said it any better. Thanks for putting into words what I couldn’t.
MAG,
My theory was that the Sox could then put Masterson as a starter, thereby stopping them from dropping dollars on a Lowe, Burnett, etc. and instead use that for Tex
I don’t think they’d have any interest in Cruz because of the dollars he would command and his volatility. He has average/fringe average command and is a liability to regress.
Nah, Peralta is too much of a liability on defense. The Indians have an eye towards moving him to third if they can sign their top position player target — Orlando Hudson.
I’d be much more inclined to acquire J.J. Hardy from the Brewers. I really like the kid. The only reason I haven’t discussed Hardy with you is because I don’t see Melvin moving him.
Well, Evan, I like JJ Hardy too. But I actually think the defense of Peralta is underrated. He is certainly not a gold glover, but his numbers shows he is an average defender. Comparing his numers with Hardy’s:
Peralta:
FPCT: .979 RF: 4.56 ZR: .808
Hardy:
FPCT: .977 RF: 4.49 ZR: .813
I’ve been on the JJ Hardy band wagon for a while now…while his zone rating is low the fielding bible has him as the third best short stop with a plus 19. Lowrie makes sense to Milwaukee because he is cheaper and can hold down short to Escobar is ready (late 2009 or early 2010) and then move to second to replace Weeks who is not very good defensively. I always wanted to get Gamel as well and proposed Lowrie/Bowden/MDC for Gamel/Hardy….but with Milwaukee’s terrible pen I wonder if Lowrie/MDC and a lesser prospect could net Hardy since they are probably less inclined to trade Gamel then Hardy. I’m absolutely fine with Lowrie but Hardy is just entering his prime and I could see him putting up an .850 ops in Fenway for a few years.
Hardy, Furcal, Peralta, Cruz, Greene, Cabrera. The list is unending, and each player would offer a missing element. We all saw what Lowrie can do, and know he is a keeper who should flourish in 2009, with solid D, range increasing with experience, and a good bat. The Sox have their SS. Let him enjoy his offseason without worrying about fans trying to trade him off.
Additional power will come from a new catcher, and healthy Papi, JD, and Mike . . . or maybe Teix.
Theo’s first 2 transactions show he understands the urgent need for pitchiing, and is still smarting from early inconsistencies in the Pen. We theorized that Masterson was being freed up for the rotation, which is still possible. But what if Theo is actually building an impenetrable, lights-out Pen?
If the Sox keep Masterson in the Pen (Papelbon, RRam, Masterson, Oki, MDC, Littleton, Lopez . . . plus Aardsma, Gronk, Hansack, Jones, Bard), it would never tire and seldom lose a game or blow a save. This great RP depth would also give us a trade chip or two for Shoppach, whomever.
This means a rotation of Beckett, Daisuke, Lester, Wake, and would require the signing of a lower cost/shorter term FA like
Penny, Sheets or Kawakami, with depth provided by Buchholz and Bowden as planned.
Result? Powerful team, great rotation, lights out pen, and true depth to accomodate injury and fatigue.
Like I said in the “No AJ” community post, I like the idea of going after Sheets. Apparently, he is gonna be cheaper than Burnett, and the other big names, so he could be a very good option.
But, Gerry, we still have to adress the catching problem. We need to trade for a quality catcher, and that means we have to let go someone of value. The signing of pitching gives us depth to part with at least one of the young arms.
Another way is using Lowrie as trade bait, because he can be a valuable chip to offer to teams like Arizona or Cleveland, and then upgrading the shortstop position as well. Don’t get me wrong, I like Lowrie, and I think he is a perfectly solid SS. But, on the other hand, acquiring a guy like Hardy or Peralta, would be an undeniable upgrade for the team.
In any case, we are not gonna acquire the quality catcher we need in exchange for nothing. We need to pay the price.
I was thinking in a trade like this: Shoppach and Peralta for Lowrie/Bowden/MDC/Bard. Two major upgrades to the lineup without losing anyone irreplaceable.
I would like to see the Sox make a move in the rule V draft to acquire Eduardo Morlan from Tampa. He was the reliever added to the Young/Garza trade and throws in the mid 90’s with a very good slider in the high 80’s. Two years ago he struck out 92 in 65 innings in high a ball. Last year he had nagging injuries and still put up a 3.63 era in double-a with a 45k/15bb ratio in 47 innings. He reportedly was not at full velocity or health in 2008 but word is he is back in the mid 90’s in the winter league. I would love to see the Sox work a deal with a team like Seattle to take him and trade him to us for a Chris Carter or Aaron Bates type. If we carry 12 pitchers you can keep him in low leverage situations and see if he can cut it over Littleton/Aardsma types…if not you offer him back to Tampa for 25k (with Tampa maybe who knows if they can pony up that type of cash). Bates/Carter really have no future with the Sox and but may have value to a team like Seattle with their terrible offense…a low risk, high reward type…if he works out you have another young power arm in the pen who ultimately could be a great asset or trading chip.
brilliant. few follow MiLB like you do, but I still think Carter could be someone’s DH, now. I enjoyed watching his extreme nervousness at the plate, when he first came up, dissipate and become confidence as showed his consistence at Fenway. His next cup of coffee will show his power.
Got to love this move, always nice to add bullpen depth. Hopefully your right about the Tex thing, and I’d love to see a move for a catcher soon too :)
“This may be a precursor to the Sox investing all their money into Mark Teixeira.”
I don’t follow. Manny’s $20mm/yr is off the books, which can now be earmarked for Teixeira. Or am I missing something?