H/T to MLBTR, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe is reporting that Rocco Baldelli and the Boston Red Sox are close to agreeing on terms for the Rhode Island native to become the fourth outfielder for 2009. The St. Petersburg Times reported earlier this evening that Baldelli was likely to sign soon, and Peter Gammons later reported that Rocco and the Red Sox “close.”
it seems the biggest competition for Boston was the Pittsburgh Pirates, who were also interested in the 27 year old Baldelli. Click here tor read the Fire Brand profile we did on Rocoo last week. Although i haven’t been able to find any concrete reports of likely terms for a deal, Dejan Kovacevic of the Post-Gazette noted his agent is looking for a short-term, heavy bonus variety contract.
Speaking of incentive-laden contracts, Cafardo is also reporting the team is likely to announce a deal with 42-year old veteran John Smoltz. Sources involved with negotiations indicate Smoltz with get a one year, $5.5 million deal with the potential to make $10 million in 2009. Smoltz is likely to return by early May and has a desire to be a starter. It is hard to imagine the Red Sox having a role or enough innings in the bullpen to keep him out of the rotation. Is this a sign of the end of the Tim Wakefield era?
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We’re sure as heck not lacking for options at the back end of the rotation.
As for Baldelli, I like the signing. Maybe our doctors can do better with him than Tampa’s did. Boston certainly has better med schools and hospitals than Tampa, right?
Huzzah for Baldelli !!!! Huzzah for Smoltz !!!! Huzzah for incentive laden contracts that reflect both reality and potential for player and team !!!! Would that Schill or Pedro or D.Lowe or Sheets were so inclined.
Huzzah for Wake, who isn’t going anywhere but in and out of the Pen or, if asked, to the DL for a while !!!! He is the ultimate Red Sox, and his era is far from over in Beantown. Though he pines for Florida pines, its pretty hot in the summer, and his work supports his local youth programs. Wake & Smoltz will have great fun together, and teach the kids alot.
The train is moving. Baldelli for Coco, Bard for Cash. Smoltz and Penny: potential Aces as bridges to the kids. RRammi, Gonzales, Littleton, maybe Saito, etc.- could solidify a dominant Pen, Tazawa, etc. for the future. So far so good. More to come.
both good moves, no doubts left about the bench or back of the rotation when/if these are finished. I still believe that another every-day bat is necessary.
Saito would be fantastic, I don’t care how much he’s been cut up.
…So, can we trade Beckett now? I have to assume the Rangers would take him for Salty, right?
trade Beckett??? here we go, lemme guess you want Josh Hamilton right? yea not happening. i’d rather dream of getting Pujols! hmmmm what would it take it get Albert Pujols to hit clean up in Boston? bleh
Now we’re talkin’ Gerry!
I personally preferred Smoltz to Penny. You can’t go wrong with both. And Baldelli is a long-time member of my wish list.
Now go trade for a young catcher with a bat Theo. And let’s have at the Yankees and Rays!
No, I just don’t want to see Beckett anymore.
I am familiar with both medical communities, so will try to answer correctly.
With Boston’s and New England’s historic emphasis on education, culture and medicine, with places like Harvard Medical School, Tufts, etc. and packed with dozens of highly regarded universities (think Dartmouth, Brandeis, Brown, Yale for starters), Boston & New England have attracted some of the world’s brightest students for centuries. Boston is a huge ‘college town’. Heck, all New England is a ‘college town’.
Because of this, medical centers like Mass General, Dana Farber, etc. are fairly common. Boston is one of America’s several world class medical hubs which attracts, trains and retains top docs and scientists from around the world. Few cities can claim this distinction, and most have MLB teams nearby.
Tampa Bay also has excellent medicine, and top facilities like Moffitt. Nearby University of Florida (Gators) have a century old medical school with campuses in nearby Gainesville, and Jacksonville. Jacksonville rightly presents itself as a major medical centers with about 30 facilities including Mayo, Nemours, Wolfson, U.F. Proton Center, Navy, etc. Florida State (Noles) and newer medical schools are also turning out fine docs and medical professionals, and innovative medical specialties and research are being developed throughout central and north Florida.
To answer your question, you are probably correct, and Boston is Boston, but like the Rays, the old days are gone and parity in many areas is real.
i love the signings. see i can keep it short AND clean
But Sean O, 2009 is an odd year which means we’ll see the Cy Young Beckett!
you just don’t wanna see Beckett under-perform, that’s all. He’ll be fine… sean-o the world doesn’t end for another few years anyways, just enjoy it while it lasts, yea!?
In all seriousness, I really like these signings too. You can never have too much pitching and both signings are low risk, high upside deals with the proper incentives to make this true.
Its good to finally see some visible movement from the FO. I’m sure they’ve been working hard all off season, but from a fan’s perspective its nice to finally some work get done.
“And a wave of optimism suddenly washed over the Nation.”
Both of these signings come with some question marks, but like Penny, both of these guys have great up side the contract are designed to push them to succeed.
Can’t ask for much more than that.
The Sox have made a clear decision to avoid over priced free agents (the opposite of the Yankee approach) and instead, take chances on guys by offering incentive filled contracts… it will be interesting to see which philosophy works best.
and “B” said it best… can we please get the catcher situation squared away now??
A+, damn good point. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the years where slappy tries, so we’ll have to deal with that.
Why do you not want to see Beckett with the Sox? just curious…
I just hate him, and think he’s a douchebag. I’d trade him for Josh Hamilton’s smack-addled tattoos.
According to Heyman, Damon isn’t on the block because he’s both their leadoff hitter (.354 career OBP) and more hilariously, their center fielder. The Yankees do realize that he hasn’t had the range for CF since he left Boston… right?
Let’s hope not. Anyway, they’re also trying to trade Swisher, that guy they got a few months back. Hell, I’ll take Swisher if they don’t want him.
Good god, I don’t think I’ve been thrilled by such news coming out of the Sox since… well, Brad Penny. But before that? It’s been a while.
Love it.
Love both these signings.
Smoltz is a pro’s pro. Tough as nails and clutch. He’ll be a great addition to the team on the mound and in the dugout.
A rotation of Beckett, Lester, Dice, Penny and Smoltz? Wow!! They all throw gas!
Imagine facing Beckett, Lester and Smoltz in a 7 game series?
Can’t go wrong taking a chance on Rocco Baldelli. He’s only 27 years old and has major skills. If (and it’s a big if) he can get his condition under control and regains his endurance this signing could be the biggest one the Sox make this off-season. If healthy this kid can play and with JuD Drew on ther roster you know there will be ample playing time available for Rocco.
Here we go again, patchwork moves on a team destined for 3rd or 4th place.Baldelli I can see but Smoltz? Give me a break. We need an everyday bat not a pitcher that may not be available till may.He is 42 years old!!!!!!!!!!As for Beckett, I have not heard about him being available until I read the previous comments. I would include him in a trade with Texas but not just for Salty or Teagarden and Byrd.Like I said before it’s going to be a long summer.
I’m even more psyched about the Smoltz signing after reading this from Bobby Cox before the winter meetings.
From Alex Speier at WEEI.com
..JOHN SMOLTZ: Reports late last night indicated that the future Hall of Famer is likely to land in Boston on a one-year deal with a guaranteed $5.5 million that could bump up to $10 million based on performance.
Smoltz has been a freak for much of his career, a pitcher who remained a dominating power pitcher (44-24, 3.22 ERA, 7.8 strikeouts per nine innings) from 2005-07, up through his age 40 season. Last year, however, it appeared that surgery to repair a damaged labrum might spell the end for the pitcher.
But the intensely competitive Smoltz has defined that prognosis. At the beginning of December, he threw his full arsenal of pitches off a mound in front of Braves manager Bobby Cox.
“I’ve never seen John so fired up about something in my life,” Cox said at the winter meetings. He loves challenges, and he’s got a big one ahead of him. But what I saw for the very first time out off the mound was incredibly good.
“I didn’t think there was anyway he could throw like he did. It kind of brought some bumps on my arm because he was throwing so well, and I wasn’t for sure if he was supposed to be that far ahead or not, but he is…He’s way ahead of schedule.”
Gerry, I was joking (for the most part). I’m sure Florida has excellent doctors too.
No, but seriously, Boston is Boston, and Baldelli keeps getting new diagnoses all the time, so if we can get it right anywhere, it’s in Boston.
And Sean, trading Beckett to Texas, now that’s an interesting idea. Not the sort of suggestion I generally expect from you, but I think I like it. It’s creative. It would get the job done.
Gotta love the banter here, lads. All good stuff.
I’ve been away for a while, but that’s not the point.
The point is action is being taken by the FO, and things are getting done. This is good news, and the opposite would be unacceptable.
Smoltz – he’s a throwback, a gamer. I’d take him on a raid anyday. A blood thirsty bastard he is. 42? Who gives a shit. He is a rarity in the fact that he knows how to pitch, not just throw. This could benefit Penny considerably.
Baldelli – Always loved the guy. He speaks softly and carries a bitch of a longsword. Sure he’s been sick a bit, but you know what, maybe the more optimistic diagnosis, the new scenery, the being close to home all blends together for a terrifingly potent elixir that could break him out, albeit slowly.
Nice chatting with you grizzled bastards!
Smoltz, Penny, Wake will all likely be gone next year. Beckett has his reasonable option year in 2010 and then will be gone or astronoically expensive.. Trading Clay does not make any more sense now with these moves then it did before Penny/Smoltz signing. I agree that moving Beckett and having Clay long-term, even unproven, is the better bet. Beckett for Salty and Elvis Andrus…we get a 19 year old short stop who played well in double-a and will be ready in a couple of years. Texas gets one of their own (which they love) who would likely be agreeable to a long-term extension (near his ranch) and a great mentor for Neftali Feliz and Derek Holland, two of the very best power arms in the minors, who have both made it to double-a and should be ready in 2010 if not by the end of 2009.
Great signings. I like Baldelli a lot. And another quality arm is always welcomed. Now we only need a quality catcher with a bat.
And I still like the idea of signing another everyday bat. Dunn in first, and Lowell as a part-time player would be my favorite option.
What he said. The only concern I’d have is that the Baldelli signing in some ways would eliminate our need for Dunn. We would need to decide whether Ellsbury’s terrible bat outweighs Lowell’s, because Dunn could either be slot in LF or at first depending on who gets replaced. An infield of Youk/Lowrie/Pony/Dunn is pretty fearsome, while Dunn would be well served by the monster were he to play there.
I really think it comes down to what Dunn’s price would be. He is the type of player Theo would seemingly be salivating over, and I think there is a decent chance we could see a 3/30-type deal for his services. Considering what Pat the Bat got from the Rays, I don’t think it’s out of the question. At 3/45 Dunn is a definite no, but 3/30… not too shabby.
Let me put it this way: if we start the season with Mike Lowell coming off the bench and Ellsbury/Rocco fighting for the CF spot, that’d be scaring the crap out of me if I were from NY.
The markett is actually working in our favor in the case of Dunn, so it looks possible to have him for a more than reasonable price. He makes our lineup very scary, and makes the team have lots of depth in the infield and in the outfield.
Because, as much as I like Rocco as a fourth outfielder, the truth is we still don’t know how much he can play, and that can be an issue if (when) Drew gets injured. So, even with Baldelli, Dunn can be a heck of an inssurance for us.
REally?? Did the Sox not notice that Baldelli has not played regularly for years? Even before his mystery disease, the dude was always hurt.
Did the Sox not notice that 41-year old Schmoltz had season-ending surgery? This is ridiculous.
The Yankees add CC, Tex, and Burnett (okay, Burnett sucks), and we add Baldelli, Schmoltz, and Penney.
Here’s the thing, no doubt the Yankees made bigger impact moves, but they needed to. The Sox made the necessary moves to shore up the rotation and bench. Penny has been basically healthy until last year and when he’s healthy he’s a top line starter. That allows the flexibility to have Smoltz who while a health risk has the potential to also be a front-line starter. If Smoltz and Penny are both healthy then you put Smoltz in the pen where he was excellent a few years ago. The Sox go into the season with 5 power pitchers (Beckett, Dice-K, Lester, Penny, Smoltz) one guy who may not have the best stuff but is effective (Wakefield) and 3 young guys with plus stuff who they can bring along at their own pace (Masterson, Buchholz, Bowden). you could maybe even throw Tazawa into the mix. That is unvelievable depth. The Sox can now rest their starters when they have minor injuries, and could concievably lose 2 guys for significant stretches and not miss a beat (unless its Lester).
If you don’t see the value in Baldelli then you’re blind. When you’re in a position like the Sox after losing Teixeira these are the type of moves you make.
But we’re adding our parts for completely different reasons than the Yankees. We needed to make moves to add depth and redundancy after redundancy because we had solid fixtures at nearly every position. The Yankees are adding because they had liabilities at a plurality of positions. So we were adding for 2nd choices, they added for primary actors.
We have average or above average players at 1st, 2nd, potentially at ss, LF and RF. But at RF, 3B, CF and a couple of our SPs, we have injury concerns. Going into last season, Theo’s cardinal sin (apart from not getting Santana, who I think is still a great bet) was not anticipating either regression or injury from a number of key aging players.
For once, I’m siding with the front office, as long as they keep smashing as much depth as possible into the 25 man. With a roster that size, and with our resources, and with this division, we can’t possibly afford to waste a slot.
I really can’t see moving Youk to 3b to accomodate Dunn. Then pay Lowell and Lugo over $20M to be utility infielders. I don’t think Lowell would be at all happy with it either. But that’s just my 2 cents.
But I thought we signed Lowell because he was a professional and just wanted to help the team?
Dude can’t hit, dude hits the bench. I’m sure the Phillies would still take him, as long as we pay $8m a year for his services.
Dude hits and fields better than Lugo. Send him to Philly and pay $9m. Either way you still spend $16-20M on the utility infielder position. Not gonna happen.
My idea of can’t hit is a steady streak of 150 whiffs a year. And my idea of a below average fielder is Adam Dunn.
But, we have the best OF position in baseball to hide a crap fielder. We managed to survive and win two rings with freakin’ Manny in LF, so I think it’d be ok.
$10m a year for a .250/.360/.520 and 35-40 homers line would be damn nice.
Dunn most definitely CAN hit career 130 ops + and he’s 28 and has hit at least 40 HR every year since 2004. The Ks come because he’s patient and doesn’t change his approach and they’re completely offset by how much he walks (career .381 OBP), this isn’t a Ryan Howard situation where he can’t recognize a breaking ball. If everyone wasn’t so focused on how much he strikes out (which isn’t a huge deal) they’d realize that by the time he retires Adam Dunn is potentially a hall-of-fame caliber hitter. I can live with the fielding because as Lowell ages he won’t be much better than Dunn. I personally would give Dunn a long-term deal and let Bay walk at the end of this season. Dunn can play 1st in 2009 then move to LF (we’ve dealt with sub-par fielders out there in Manny and Bay since 2001 anyways, I think we can live with Dunn) to accomodate Anderson. The lineup would be heavily left-handed but very powerful. Here’s what a preliminary 2010 lineup looks like
1. Ellsbury CF
2. Pedroia 2b
3. Ortiz DH
4. Youk 3b (breaking up R L)
5. Dunn LF
6. Anderson 1b
7. Mauer C (please please please)
8. Drew RF
9. Lowrie SS
That is an extremely balanced and powerful lineup the foundation of multiple rings.
Dunn is also cheap because most don’t recognize his true value. I’m all for it.
Oh and Dunn costs 0 draft picks, you lose nothing but money to get one of the best pure power hitters in the game DO IT.
If Lowell is healthy enough to play, he will play well, and is our everyday 3b. Stop already with the “Dude can hit”. Excluding last year, his average .280BA, .812ops, 20HR is plenty good enough. Plus, his above average defense (besides his GG, some stats list him among the best 3b to play the game), perfectly fits the “average to above average at each position” model.
His great 2007 season helped get to and win the WS. Even so, his average .812ops only went to .879. 2008 was a terrible year, missing 170AB, and playing in great pain on a hip that needed major surgery, would have allowed him to have a ‘disabled parking sticker’ for his car. Yet his BA only fell 6 points off average to .274, his OPS only fell 13 points to .799, and HR to 17. Not bad for a gimp. He is not a great hitter, but he is a consistently good hitter, a clutch hitter, and a great #7 protecting #6 Jason Bay.
Add the intangibles. gritty (hip, cancer), plays hurt, great clubhouse guy, a team leader, positive personality, experienced presence with Youk to bracket two talented near rookies. He defines “team”. We’re lucky to have him.
I like Lowell too, I just think with Adam Dunn that dude can hit more, farther. Sort of a semi-defense of Sean.
Look, all I’m saying is, Theo said we needed above average at every position. Lowell, if you look at the career numbers, is consistently a below average hitter. It’s pretty hard to argue with, when his OPS is below the 50% line in all recent years save 2007 (which was a high BABIP season).
I also have a hard time believing that the FO doesn’t pay at least some attention to the fielding bible studies, considering their man Bill James has such a stake in it. While it did show a rebound for Lowell in 07, remember that in ‘05 he was listed as definitely the worst 3B in baseball.
There’s gotta be something to that as well, yeah?
Like BOB said, Adam Dunn is one of the best pure power hitters in the game, and he is only 29 years old, so, we can sign him now for the prime years of his career. If we can sign him for something around 5/50, it will be an absolute bargain for us IMHO.
And I also like the idea of signing him long-term, because he can be even more valuable in the future, when we can hide his defensive shortcommings in LF, or, even better, let him replace Papi in the long run.
Besides, we have huge resources right now. With the departures of Manny and Coco this signing will practically not hurt our payroll at all. Again: paying 10MM a year for a 29 year old player who can hit 40 HR and .381 OBP is truly a bargain.
I think he can be the difference between a competitive team, and a champion team. Like I said before, I simply don’t see any downside to this deal.
You make a lot of sense, MAG and Sean, but I don’t see much chance of trading Mike or Lugo until they prove themselves in ST.
It might be prudent to give Dunn something on the order of 3/33-5/55 and assign him the 1b/OF roster spot for now, giving Theo a chance to develop a market for Mike &/or Julio. An overabundance of power wouldn’t hurt the team in April or May.
Depending on health issues, Dunn could get plenty of early time at 1b, DH, OF, PH, 4thOF, especially if Mike, Papi, JD or Rocco are still rehabbing. As you say, like Teix, he isn’t necessary now, but could be foundational offensively by 2010.
However, with a very solid IF and OF, his glove would cost us games. It is ironic that on this site, most resistance to Bailey or Carter’s big bats as BENCH players has been due to their gloves. Dunn would play full time in a sensitive position with a worse glove (think Giambi at 1b).
I would hardly call 1B or LF, especially at Fenway, as “sensitive positions” considering they’re the far left of the defensive spectrum. Plus, Bailey and Carter can’t hit Dunn’s MLB numbers in AAA, so we’re talking a dramatically better player.
I agree with Sean O. Besides, we will have Dunn in first for just one year, and then we will move him to LF or DH, where his defense will not be a factor at all. So, in the long run, the guy looks perfect for Boston.
So, Gerry, I think this is a great oportunity. Not every year you can sign a young, 40 HR guy.