Red Sox Looking To Deal For Erik Bedard

"The Red Sox, reports FOXSports.com, are "all over" M's lefty Erik Bedard and will scout his first start off the disabled list Friday. Boston is not alone, however, as the rival Yankees have interest, too (ESPN)."

Bedard would really help this team right now if he can stay healthy, but that always is a question with Bedard. If the Red Sox could eventually get Buchholz back to 100% and bring in Bedard they would have one filthy rotation heading into the playoffs.

Lester
Beckett
Buchholz
Bedard
Lackey

And since you don't need a 5th starter in the playoffs I would feel fantastic about their chances of winning it all. I agree with what DP said earlier, this might be the best Red Sox team I have ever seen, and they can get this rotation right they will be unstoppable.

Rangers/Giants In Lead For Beltran (2 UPDATES)

The New York Mets are making progress with both the Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants in trade talks involving outfielder Carlos Beltran. The Indians actually offered to take on Beltran's entire salary, but Beltran refused to go there using his no-trade clause.

As I stated earlier this week I think the Rangers make a lot of sense, and I would think Beltran would want to go there since they are most likely going to be in the playoffs. That being said, Beltran has stated his desire to play in the NL, unless it is the Red Sox so it will be interesting to see if he uses his no-trade clause again here.

I would still have the Rangers as the favorites, but we will have to wait and see. No matter what Beltran will be wearing a different jersey after the trade deadline.


***UPDATE***

Or not...

Beltran is not going to the Rangers, tweets Rosenthal. The Giants are his presumed frontrunner.

It is also being said that Boris wants Beltran to go to SF, because they have the money to resign him in the offseason.


***UPDATE 2***

The Mets have agreed to send Beltran to the Giants for Zach Wheeler. The Mets are said to be sending back a lot of money. Beltran has 24 hours to agree to the trade, which isn't expected to be an issue.

White Sox Considering "Blowing Up" Team?

The Chicago White Sox are 50-51 and sit 3 1/2 games off the pace in the American League Central, trailing both Cleveland and Detroit. But per ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney via Twitter, GM Kenny Williams is considering blowing up the team, which may mean they place just about everyone on the trade block this week (ESPN).

The White Sox are an interesting little scenario here. On the one hand they have underachieved all year, and they could go out and trade a lot of these "older" guys and revamp their roster. On the other hand, they are only 3 1/3 games back, meaning if they get hot at all down the stretch they could find themselves not only in the playoffs, but in the playoffs with a pretty damn good rotation.

I think they could go a little middle of the road here. They could easily trade a SP without having to give up on the AL Central race, and I think that's just what they will do.

What would you do?

Beltran An Option For Red Sox RF Woes?

Carlos Beltran has long been rumored as someone the Sox could go after at the deadline. The Mets will look to move him, because he is a free agent at the end of the year is still owed $6MM by the time the trade deadline rolls around. I keep going back and forth on this. For one the Mets would have to each some of that money for the Sox to even take a look, on top of that what would the Sox have to give up for a 1/2 season of service?

From a baseball standpoint Beltran could bring a lot. He is a good fielder, and gives you a much better option in the lineup then JD Drew. Beltran is having a nice year for himself (.285 13 HRs 57 RBIs). What is also interesting that he is a type A free agent, so if the Sox got him they could get a 1st round pick as compensation if they didn't resign him.

I still this Cuddyer is more likely, and the most likely scenario is that they will do nothing, but it's something to at least keep an eye on.

What Do The Sox Need?

With the deadline approaching their are a lot of questions surrounding the Boston Red Sox and what their needs actually are. Theo said that a position player is more of a need than pitching and I completely disagree with that. With Lester going down and probably going on a trip to the DL we know only have Beckett and Lackey as our original starters from the start of the year. Andrew Miller is pitching well, Wakefield has been surpassing expectations and whoever they bring up to replace Lester will have a lot of pressure on them too.

I don't see them doing anything bold and making a huge splash during the deadline and trying to trade for a Felix, Liriano or Wandy Rodriguez. But I wouldn't mind if they went after a decent rental like Derrek Lowe, Carl Pavano or Edwin Jackson type guy. The Sox are going to need strong pitching down the line and one of these guys could certainly help, especially if Theo does what he is supposed to do and DL's Lackey for the rest of the season.

As for position players, I would stand pat. What can guys like Jeff Francour, Cuddyer and whoever give you that Josh Reddick or whoever Triple A player can, nothing much more. Other than Jose Reyes, I don't want the Sox to make an offensive move.

Red Sox Trading For A Right Fielder?

As we all know by now Mike Cameron has been let loose. We also know that JD Drew sucks, and won't give us anything (except good fielding). That leaves Reddick in RF when the playoffs come around. One would wonder if the Sox would make a move to bring one in. There have been a couple names that have been popping up on the rumor mill around the league that would seem to fit the Sox (Jeff Francoeur, and Michael Cuddyer).

If we are picking between these two I will go with Cuddyer everytime. Sure is isn't as good of a fielder as Drew or Francoeur, but he tends to talk more then Francoeur and man play a ton of different positions (LF, RF, 1st, and 2nd). That's a great type of player to have on your bench and would give the Sox a lot of options depending on matchups, injuries, ect.

This is just a thought, but I do think he would be a very good fit here for the Sox.

Rangers Going After K-Rod/Beltran?

According to sources the Texas Rangers are interested in Mets veterans Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez. Beltran to me makes sense. He can play CF, and would add just another solid bat in an already potent lineup. K-Rod though is on borrowed time, and is only a couple more appearances from kicking in his 2012 option which is worth $17.5MM. Obviously, in a deal for either the Mets would need to eat a lot of money, but to me trading for Beltran just makes a lot more sense. He is having a decent year (.278 BA, 10 HRs, 49 RBIs), while K-Rod has an ERA over 11.00 through the month of June. We have been hearing for years that his velocity had been dropping, and that might finally be catching up to him.

Carlos Zambrano To Yankees?

Umm, yes please!

There are reports that top advisers to Yankees GM Brian Cashman have been at recent outings of Carlos Zambrano. Obviously, that starts rumors that the Yankees might try to bring him in. I couldn't root for this more to happen. I hate Zambrano so much, and would love to root against him. Plus, he sucks. You add that pressure of New York to this guy and he is going to snap, and I would love to sit back and watch that happen. If that wasn't good enough over $28MM remaining on his contract, and the Yankees are already bleeding money. Sure, they will never run out, but it has to get annoying.

Zambrano is a bum, and his 4.50 ERA in the NL will easily be over 5.00 if he comes to the AL East. I will pray each night, and will a goat for the baseball Gods if they let this happen.