IBC

The Reds have some excess in the area SP and will place it on the market to upgrade the offense.

Areas where an upgrade makes the most sense are 1B (Helton is solid but more power would be nice), 3B (Beltre is EX defender but the bat is a bit underwhelming), C (Pena/Towles/McKenry actually are about average), CF (Morgan EX defender, decent speed and OBP okay, could use some more pop though), SS (checked with the zip guy and Hardy is going to be a VG defender, but his bat is so-so... will not do with less than VG at this position so I may have to make do), 2B (Lopez will have good OBP and AV defense, not sure there is many upgrades out there).

A couple of quick notes... I value my D so players that are FR would need to be great offensively and I would not be interested in PR guys. Also, I can shift Bruce to CF so I can deal Morgan for a corner guy if the offense is worth it.

SP available are:

Justin Masterson
Bronson Arroyo
Aaron Cook
Jake Westbrook
Fausto Carmona
Bud Norris
Homer Bailey (he's on the verge and will not be cheap)
Travis Wood (good year last season, did project in zips)

Also, virtually any prospect is also available in the right deal including one of my favorites Todd Frazier.

I will be working today but will be on line frequently and have the mobile AIM and Gtalk on (just may take a bit to get a response). PM's also work well.

slight edit already.

Lots of interest in Morgan, must be his EX defensive rating in CF. I will move him for a more offensive OFr (CF or RF preferred).

Now concentrating on OF, 3B, or C. Any SP, RP, or prospect available.

any of these players are available to upgrade my offense.

viewtopic.php?t=2859

To answer the question of the day, Yes Adrian Beltre is available (as is Helton). One or the other can be had in an upgrade deal for a catcher.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.ph ... -to-boston

Gag me...

Padres wrote:Gag me...

I'm thinking that if that was possible someone in the league would already have done it.

Reds wrote:

Padres wrote:Gag me...

I'm thinking that if that was possible someone in the league would already have done it.

Boom, pow, and surprise. Very, very well done Ken.

Nationals wrote:

Reds wrote:

Padres wrote:Gag me...

I'm thinking that if that was possible someone in the league would already have done it.

Boom, pow, and surprise. Very, very well done Ken.

I have to agree there... but dammit I really hate the Beltre signing.

Padres wrote:

Nationals wrote:

Reds wrote: I'm thinking that if that was possible someone in the league would already have done it.

Boom, pow, and surprise. Very, very well done Ken.

I have to agree there... but dammit I really hate the Beltre signing.

Really? He has a very impressive glove and played pretty well in 2007 and 2008 in that righty-unfriendly of a park that's Safeco.

He's been a 101 OPS+ hitter in Safeco, and I bet he bounces back in 2010 to put up an .800 OPS while maintaining gold glove defense.

Last year he posted a 21.0 UZR/150 at 3b... WOW! Mike Lowell, on the other hand, was at -14.4 and is projected to dip a little below and OPS of .800 by Bill James.

Who said anything about Lowell? Not I... Lowell is done, but Beltre is not the answer.

Beltre has (or had) some pop, but his on-base skills can be described with one word... SUCK!

BTW, OPS+ is already a park adjusted stat, so saying he's been a 101OPS+ hitter in Safeco is kind of meaningless. He's a 101OPS+ hitter period. He'll look good in Fenway, but Fenway loves righties, it won't be because he's a good hitter.

Orioles wrote:

Padres wrote:

Nationals wrote: Boom, pow, and surprise. Very, very well done Ken.

I have to agree there... but dammit I really hate the Beltre signing.

Really? He has a very impressive glove and played pretty well in 2007 and 2008 in that righty-unfriendly of a park that's Safeco.

He's been a 101 OPS+ hitter in Safeco, and I bet he bounces back in 2010 to put up an .800 OPS while maintaining gold glove defense.

Last year he posted a 21.0 UZR/150 at 3b... WOW! Mike Lowell, on the other hand, was at -14.4 and is projected to dip a little below and OPS of .800 by Bill James.

I have to completely agree with Steven here. The BoSox just got a steal of a deal in Beltre. I don't think people understand just how tough Safeco Field is on right handed power hitters.

Now you may get a little frustrated with Beltre chasing outside sliders in the dirt and his odd habit of appealing his own check swings down to the first base ump, but he really should have an offensive resurgence in his raw numbers in Fenway and his defense at 3rd is spectacular.

I would have loved for the M's to re-sign Beltre to that same deal, despite how badly Safeco field hurts his offense. I still think it would have been a bargain.

You Boston fans are going to end up being really happy with that signing, IMO.

Padres wrote:Who said anything about Lowell? Not I... Lowell is done, but Beltre is not the answer.

Beltre has (or had) some pop, but his on-base skills can be described with one word... SUCK!

BTW, OPS+ is already a park adjusted stat, so saying he's been a 101OPS+ hitter in Safeco is kind of meaningless. He's a 101OPS+ hitter period. He'll look good in Fenway, but Fenway loves righties, it won't be because he's a good hitter.

Park effects also don't take into a account what side of the plate you bat from. Safeco is considerably bad for righties while Fenway is good for righties. He's capable of matching Lowell's production offensively while being 1 hell of a defender. I know most teams would give their right nut to have .800 OPS offense with a gold glove at 3b... granted most teams aren't the Red Sox.

I don't see Beltre putting up a park-neutral .800 OPS, and you can bet your butt whatever he puts up will be heavily SLG loaded, give me OBP any day and Beltre doesn't have that. He's on a down slide and the Sox are going to pay for it. The only plus here is that at least it's only a one year deal. They should have gone after Figgins instead.

I really dont like the Beltre signing, but at the same time I'd rather him at 1 /10m over Figgins at what he got.

Beltre had an OPS the past three years of over .800 on the road. With his glove, that's a pretty nice player.

Padres wrote:I don't see Beltre putting up a park-neutral .800 OPS, and you can bet your butt whatever he puts up will be heavily SLG loaded, give me OBP any day and Beltre doesn't have that. He's on a down slide and the Sox are going to pay for it. The only plus here is that at least it's only a one year deal. They should have gone after Figgins instead.

Yea, who needs worthless power?

For what it's worth, Bill James is projecting .741 OPS for Figgins next year and .760 for Beltre. Figgins is a very slick fielder at 3b, but not as good at Beltre.

The Red Sox are so much scarier now than they were a year ago. What a great job they've done of upgrading their defense. Should give them a legitimate shot at competing with NY this time, something they didn't really give themselves last year. They are going to win a lot of games with what they've done.

Does anyone else have the feeling that they're positioning themselves to make a big trade, either in the next month or before the deadline?

Orioles wrote:

Padres wrote:I don't see Beltre putting up a park-neutral .800 OPS, and you can bet your butt whatever he puts up will be heavily SLG loaded, give me OBP any day and Beltre doesn't have that. He's on a down slide and the Sox are going to pay for it. The only plus here is that at least it's only a one year deal. They should have gone after Figgins instead.

Yea, who needs worthless power?

For what it's worth, Bill James is projecting .741 OPS for Figgins next year and .760 for Beltre. Figgins is a very slick fielder at 3b, but not as good at Beltre.

And don't forget that Figgins is a guy who relies on his speed and is over 30, he could suddenly be very useless very quickly. The Red Sox have OBP guys, what they need is power, so Beltre's skill set should work fine. I agree with Pat, they do need to make a trade for another big bat, but I'm also wondering how much sense Adrian Gonzalez makes at this point if they are just trading for a DH. I do wish they'd give the commish and his luxury tax the finger and sign Holliday, but I think left field becomes now the place to upgrade.

Sorry, Holliday is staying in St. Louis. And as a result, staying in Pittsburgh

Athletics wrote:

Orioles wrote:

Padres wrote:I don't see Beltre putting up a park-neutral .800 OPS, and you can bet your butt whatever he puts up will be heavily SLG loaded, give me OBP any day and Beltre doesn't have that. He's on a down slide and the Sox are going to pay for it. The only plus here is that at least it's only a one year deal. They should have gone after Figgins instead.

Yea, who needs worthless power?

For what it's worth, Bill James is projecting .741 OPS for Figgins next year and .760 for Beltre. Figgins is a very slick fielder at 3b, but not as good at Beltre.

And don't forget that Figgins is a guy who relies on his speed and is over 30, he could suddenly be very useless very quickly. The Red Sox have OBP guys, what they need is power, so Beltre's skill set should work fine. I agree with Pat, they do need to make a trade for another big bat, but I'm also wondering how much sense Adrian Gonzalez makes at this point if they are just trading for a DH. I do wish they'd give the commish and his luxury tax the finger and sign Holliday, but I think left field becomes now the place to upgrade.

I don't think 1 year $10 is unreasonsable. However, I'd argue that almost every statistic you could use (bad splits yet higher babip, low iso, plummeting walk rate) would show last year's horrific offensive numbers might be the beginning of the end for Beltre. Also, if it was injury related, couldn't that mean he might be injury prone now? I guess I don't understand why the option could not have been worth more money, yet have been mutual. Is Beltre just admitting he's going to suck? Because I don't think $10 mill was remarkably higher than market value on him.

Game 7 of the ALCS, as a Yankee fan, I'd rather have Beltre at the plate than Lowell.

The Red Sox have had a GREAT off-season - I don't find this to be the cherry on the top of the "scary" cake.

RedSox wrote:Does anyone else have the feeling that they're positioning themselves to make a big trade, either in the next month or before the deadline?

Adrian Gonzalez for Buchholz, Ellsbury and Lars Anderson

I think they'll make another big run at Gonzalez but I don't see Hoyer moving him. I've also read that they've been knocking on Seattle's door about Hernandez on a pretty regular basis, which seems a little premature, but weirder things have happened.