The Red Sox have informed all teams that they are willing to pay most of Lugo’s remaining salary, Ken Rosenthal reports. The team has publicly announced its intention of bringing Mike Lowell aboard Friday with Jed Lowrie to follow Saturday, so Lugo’s time is running short.
The Sox have realized Lugo’s sunk cost — one of the few teams to understand the idea of sunk cost — and are willing to receive a fringe prospect in return just to move him. The idea behind moving him instead of releasing him outright would be to get at least some talent into the system from a team that wants Lugo without having to fight for him in free agency.
I’m going to guess Lugo to the Pirates. The Pirates seem to be highly likely to trade second baseman Freddy Sanchez, and Jack Wilson may be on the way out as well. The Pirates need middle infield depth with these moves, and Lugo fits the bill.