Ken Rosenthal on Twitter reports that the Red Sox are trading Mike Lowell to the Texas Rangers. In exchange for eating most of Lowell’s $12 million salary, the Red Sox are receiving catcher Max Ramirez.
Ramirez, 25, has a .299/.398/.486 batting line overall in the minor leagues. As a 22-year old two years ago making his major league debut, Ramirez hit .217/.345/.370 in 46 at-bats. (Ramirez is 25 now, and will be 25 in baseball age this upcoming season.) Despite that showing, there was never a question he could hit until this last year. Ramirez spent part of the season hurt, which translated into a .234/.323/.366 line in 320 at-bats. Ouch.
All it is us up to the Red Sox owners, and I can see why this would be a tough decision for them. In the end, they’re going to okay it. Lowell will be shipped off, and then two options will emerge.
OPTION A: Sign Adrian Beltre. Personally, I would be fans of this move. I love his swing in Fenway Park, and he has impeccable defense. At a three-year deal worth about $32 million, I’d be more than happy having Beltre outfitted. That leaves things as the status quo, with Ramirez in Triple-A biding his time.
OPTION B: Give this option some thought, here. Whether or not you agree about Beltre as third base or some other superior option, we all can agree that Theo has blanched at the last moment for two years straight now. Assuming he blanchs to Option A, what’s the darkhorse option that I personally would be excited to see? Youkilis moving to third, which they keep trying to do. Victor Martinez — surprise — shifts to first base. That leaves Jason Varitek and Max Ramirez in a platoon. What we sacrifice on offense — remember, this might be a “bridge” year — the team would gain in having Varitek mentor Ramirez.
Why is this crucial? Because Ramirez has questionable pitch-calling and defensive set up. His bat is enough to play in the bigs, but he has a ways to go behind the plate — and we all know this is Jason Varitek’s last year. If the team wants to push along towards a contending window of 2011-2013, Ramirez is going to be a big part of that. Why not give him his shot now?
Will this happen? I don’t know. But don’t discount it.
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What 1B could we get to play part time that would be worth it? We don't want a bench player stretched into a starter.
For all of my dislike of Lowell, I simply cannot figure this move out as it stands. I can't stand him, but he'll at least give you average to below average 3b offense, and who knows what he'll do for defense. But he at least has the potential to be slightly above average at each, and we've already signed the idiotic contract to bring him in after '07.
Either we're going ultra-cheap this season and we'll get whatever schmuck we can to play 1b, we throw away stupid money on Beltre and repeat the same mistakes we made with Lowell, or we go big.
Still can't figure it out. After bitching about Lowell since the day he resigned, this certainly comes as a shock. I guess I expected something more dramatic than him being unceremoniously dumped for a bag of balls at 12:30 on a wed night.
Wait, wouldn't this turn Nick Johnson into a target? He's part time by virtue of always being injured.
And, yet again, this makes our inability to get Dunn last season moronic.
He's got 12 Hrs in 50 games playing winter league games.
Yes, but Eric Duncan went nuts on AFL pitching and he flamed out soon after. This is a strict salary dump, if Ramirez becomes an acceptable backup catcher for a year we should be thrilled.
It's not a salary dump if we pick up $8MM of his contract. An alternative would be platooning L/R with Papi, maximizing DH production, and keeping him as 3b backup and pinch hitter. Rather than paying $8M to not play, it would be equivalent of keeping him for $4M. We know Max is a poor defender.
..wow. I like this, as long as we don't turn around and sign Beltre. If we do that, then Theo has the learning capacity of a duck. You get another decent fielding, no-bat overpriced mediocrity, and we can't stand to have many more of those.
If we finagle some other option (Youk 3b, Victor switching between c and 1b, person X playing first otherwise), or god forbid *actually acquire a great player fro the long term for once*, then I'm much happier.
So the question is, if we get Beltre, why bother? Why would we pay $20m or so (10 for beltre + 10 for Lowell) for crappy production still and a throwaway catching prospect? I have to hope the team actually wants to make a big splash to get the 1B of the future, or they certainly believe Lars' .673 OPS is an outlier.
Being proven right is never as sweet as it should be, since you still have to deal with the problem itself. We never should've resigned Lowell, and it very well may have cost us a ring.
As for the purported price tag, let's keep in mind who his agent is. Boras may be suggesting that Beltre deserves $10 million per, but there is no reason to assume that he will get it. The market is looking leaner than years previous, and with the Phillies set at the third, the Angels having taken a pass on Figgins at $9 million a year, and the Twins pinching pennies to take a run at Mauer, it is hard to see who else might sign him. I think the Sox might get him for something more along the lines of 3 years/$25 million.
You are badly misrepresenting Beltre's virtues as a ballplayer. He is way more than "decent fielding"; he has consistently ranked among the best fielding third basemen in the league. His defense was so good, in fact, that it made up for an off year at the plate and a number of nagging injuries and he was worth nearly 2.5 wins. The three prior years Beltre averaged about 25 homers and hit for decent average while playing half his games in a ballpark that seriously undermined his offensive output. It is grossly inaccurate to label him a "no bat" player. The Red Sox would be fortunate to get Beltre as he hits enough for a third basemen and would help to improve their miserable defensive efficiency of last year.
You are correct, Beltre is an elite fielder. My concern is that his questionable bat will still not make up for any fielding he provides, especially if we idiotically sign him to a 3 or 4 year deal. If we can get him for 2 years tops, then I would be ok with it, but yet again we're looking for a bridge to nowhere instead of an actual solution.
I'm sick of paying $8-12m a year for bridges.
Who is this player's career in the minor leagues?
Age:19-20: Rookie: .315/.388/.508
Age 21: Single A: .292/.417/.454
Age 22: Single A+: 304/.419/.504
Age 23: Double A: .354/.450/.646
Age 24: Triple A: .235/.319/.347
That's Max Ramirez. He was hurt last year and the year before when he as in AAA which is why his AAA and ML numbers suck. Hopefully his wrists have healed!
Well, I prefer this Rangers catching prospect to trading for Teagarden or Saltalamacchia, like so many people wanted the Red Sox to do last year. This guy looks like he can actually swing a bat. If the Red Sox can sign Beltre, this is fine.
He also can't field worth a damn.
I like Max Ramirez bat. In fact, I think he could be a better hitter than Salty or Teagarden. But the question is: can he catch? Everything I read about his defense is not too encouraging.
In any case, I like this move. Because, even if Ramirez don’t play for us, he is a more valuable trading chip than Lowell. He could be part of a package for a big player.
And we need a big player.
If Mike's hip is, as reported, progressing well, IMO this is not a good move. Max is a very poor defender, who will block Wagner who is a good defender, and Expo and Fedex, who are reported to be studs. Max could become a star, but maybe not.
By signing Beltre for 3/36 or 4/45, we effectively kiss off AGon or MCab and Lars, as Youk will have nowhere to go, unless we kiss off Youk, which would cause riots on Yawkey Way in which I would absolutely participate. Beltre, playing hurt, had an awful 2009 in a 3 year offensive decline. Mike played hurt, but had a very good year offensively and retained his GG reflexes. With returned lateral movement, Mike would have a strong 2009. And he would cost $8MM less than Beltre (the amount the Sox will eat), allowing the Sox to sign Bay or Holliday.
Adrian Gonzalez.
For: Kelly, Bard, Hermida, Max Ramirez, Kotchman. (Only trade Hermida if we get Bay or Holliday.)
Not so excited about Beltre, even though we would be buying low, we need more power. And unless Beltre can return to 25 HR form, he will be a huge disappointment. His OBP is a low for Sox standards.
I really do hope this trade is a preemptive move to allow room for A-Gon. I am waiting to wake up one morning to a blockbuster response to what should barely be called a blockbuster (Curtis Granderson, REALLY? cashman should have just played austin jackson; and to think Dombrowski asked for BOTH Ells and Buch, I wouldn't give EITHER).
I'd be ecstatic if this was a setup for A-Gon coming, although it would be interesting to see what the package would be now- jhan i dont think that package would do it at all, sorry. I still think it more looks like,
Bucholz, Bard, Kalish, Anderson, Kotchman (IMO)