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Only a year removed from missing the postseason by a one-game playoff with the Chicago Cubs, the Cincinnati Reds are prepared for a fire sale. After acquiring Ken Griffey Jr. in the offseason, Reds fans were getting serious about a possible trip to the World Series. But the Reds’ record stands at a mere 45-44, eight games behind the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals.
The Reds already traded Denny Neagle to the New York Yankees for prospects and are prepared to trade away a handful of other players. Barry Larkin, the player who has spent more years with the Reds than any other current player, has been discussed in trade talks. If trading Neagle -- the team’s former ace -- wasn’t enough to convince people that the Reds aren’t throwing the towel, then trading Larkin would certainly solidify the Reds’ conceding of the season.
But more likely to be traded are a couple of the Reds outfielders: Dmitri Young and Michael Tucker. The Reds are convinced that the Red Sox will inquire about Young. A switch-hitting outfielder/first baseman, he is hitting .279 with nine home runs and 46 runs batted in. However, Young hit .300 last year with 14 home runs in only 373 at-bats. Young, 26, came up with a strong second-half last year, which may intrigue Red Sox General Manager Dan Duquette. What won’t intrigue Duquette are Young’s defensive difficulties.
Dmitri Young has sparked some interest in Dan Duquette. |
Historically, Young has been a better fielding first baseman than outfielder, which disappoints Duquette. The Red Sox are more in the market for a quality outfielder than a first baseman, although if Bernard Gilkey can hit well, Trot Nixon comes back on schedule and Darren Lewis can produce, that may change a few things. But the most appealing thing about Young is his switch-hitting ability. Duquette has always showed an affection for switch hitters -- Jose Offerman, Morgan Burkhart, Carl Everett and Jason Varitek, to name a few -- and he wouldn’t mind adding a fifth switch hitter to the lineup. Young, who will make a little less than $2 million this season, could suit the Red Sox well.
However, Duquette will certainly explore other options before making a definitive move for Young. That could mean that if the Red Sox do acquire Young, it could be on the eve of the trading deadline.
Saberhagen due back
Brett Saberhagen will make his first rehab start in Lowell on Tuesday. He is expected to throw around 55 pitches for the Spinners, the short-season Class A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox.
The Red Sox hope Saberhagen can make a start in Boston before the July 31 trading deadline, which would give the team time to make a trade for another starting pitcher if necessary. High on the Red Sox priority list for starting pitchers is Pat Hentgen of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Hentgen, 31, has averaged five to six innings per start for the Cardinals this season. The Cardinals are comfortably in place to win the NL Central and have five bona fide starters, including Hentgen. However, the Cardinals fear that Darryl Kile doesn’t match up well against the other aces of the
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playoffs, such as Arizona’s Randy Johnson, Atlanta’s Greg Maddux, New York’s Mike Hampton and Boston’s Pedro Martinez. Cardinals’ GM Walt Jocketty fears that his pitching rotation of Kile, Andy Benes, Rick Ankiel, Garret Stephenson and Hentgen could be better if the team acquired an ace pitcher like Philadelphia’s Curt Schilling or Baltimore’s Mike Mussina. Since a team usually uses only four starting pitchers in the postseason -- as opposed to the five-man rotation used in the regular season -- the Cardinals could have a rotation of Mussina/Schilling, Kile, Benes and Ankiel. Stephenson would be sent to the bullpen, and the rotation would be superior or equal to most of the others in baseball.
The Cardinals are in the market for a left-handed reliever and a catcher. If the Red Sox were willing to part with Scott Hatteberg, a deal could be done with the Cardinals and Red Sox. However, with Jason Varitek having a worse-than-expected season, Hatteberg is more essential to the team than what was anticipated earlier in the year. The Cardinals would have certain interest in Double A Trenton Thunder catcher Steve Lomasney, however the Red Sox would be more inclined to showcase fellow Thunder catcher/first baseman Shea Hillenbrand for Hentgen, who will make $6 million this season with a $6 million option next season. A deal of Hillenbrand and left-handed reliever Tim Young for Hentgen could go down, if the Cardinals decide that they would rather trade for a catcher of the future than a catcher for the postseason.
But of course for any of this to happen, the Cardinals would have to acquire either Schilling or Mussina to solidify the front of their rotation. A three-way deal is not out of the question, especially with the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles could send Mussina and catcher Charles Johnson to the Cardinals, with the Cardinals sending Hentgen to the Red Sox and a prospect or two to the Orioles, while the Red Sox would also send a couple of prospects to the Orioles as well.
Interest in Helling
Rick Helling is also on the wish list of starting pitchers for Duquette.
While Darren Driefort, John Halama and Brett Tomko have been heavily mentioned in trade rumors, Helling has been ignored. Helling, 29, pitches for the Texas Rangers, who are 8 ½ games behind the Seattle Mariners in the American League West. The Rangers have already lost Ruben Mateo to injury for the rest of the season, and could trade for prospects and re-tool for some years to come. With the offseason acquisitions of prospects Gabe Kapler, Frank Catalanotto, Alan Webb, Justin Thompson and Francisco Cordero in exchange for superstar slugger Juan Gonzalez, the Rangers could trade Helling in an attempt to get younger and be-rid themselves of Helling’s $3.75 million salary.
Most teams -- the Red Sox included -- have more interest in Halama and Tomko than Abbot. The Red Sox focal interest is on Halama, a left-hander with an 8-4 record and a 4.86 ERA this season. Halama also has a complete game and has the durability to go deep into a ballgame, something the Red Sox desperately need out of their starters.
Helling has been superb this year for the Rangers, compiling a 10-7 record with a 3.88 ERA. But with the team clearly out of contention, and Helling in the prime of his career, the team could get a good package in exchange for Helling, the team’s ace.
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The Rangers would likely want a starting pitcher and a third baseman in exchange. The Red Sox have both in their farm system, but will likely not part with Triple A Pawtucket third baseman Wilton Veras. In that case, the Red Sox would have to throw in another young starting pitcher. Since the Sox already declined a deal for Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Scott Erickson that included Paxton Crawford, he is likely out of the picture. However, a deal that included Tomo Ohka, Brian Rose and a Class A prospect wouldn’t be out of the question.
Other pitchers of interest
The Red Sox are also in the market for Driefort and either Tomko or Halama.
Tomko and Halama pitch for the Mariners, who hold first place in the AL West. However, with the return of promising left-hander Freddy Garcia to the rotation, the Mariners have seven capable starters. They only need five starters, and four in the playoffs. Though trading either Jamie Moyer, Aaron Sele, Gil Meche or Garcia is out of the question, the team could still deal either Paul Abbot, Tomko or Halama.
The Mariners had shopped Halama prior to the season’s opening, and tried to pry away Troy O’Leary from the Red Sox in a package that included Halama. The Mariners are now looking for a possible 70 cents on the dollar package for Halama, who they recently sent to the bullpen because of their abundance of starters. As strange is this may sound Red Sox could send Manny Alexander and someone else to the Mariners for Halama. I know you think that Alexander doesn’t have any trade value, but the Mariners need a third baseman and someone to fill in at times at third base, and Alexander can do that. The Red Sox would have to send someone else along in the deal, but nobody of much interest. As for Halama’s salary, he is scheduled to make just $290K this year.
In regards to Dreifort, the Red Sox could acquire the right-handed pitcher from the Los Angeles Dodgers, but Dreifort becomes a free agent after the season. Dreifort’s free agency means that the Red Sox would also have to deal with Dreifort’s superego agent Scott Boras, whose clients almost always test the free agent waters before renegotiating with their former teams.
Dreifort, 4-7 this year and 13-13 in ’99, would be an excellent addition to the Red Sox as a third starter, but the baggage he carries is likely to be too much for the Red Sox to deal with.
Keep an eye on Blanco
Though Veras gets most of the attention as the Red Sox’ third baseman of the future, fellow Dominican-born third baseman Tony Blanco is drawing waves of attention for the Gulf Coast Red Sox. Blanco is hitting .487 with five home runs, a .547 on base percentage and an .842 slugging percentage in 75 at-bats for the GCL Sox. He also has nine walks, four stolen bases, seven doubles and 21 RBIs in his path towards the GCL MVP honor. Blanco, 18, has already been named player of the week for the league for two weeks in the league and, according to Duquette, “has all the tools to be a big-time player.”
One thing that separates Blanco from other Dominicans is his nutrition. Most Dominicans who come to the United States to play baseball suffer from malnutrition and have to adjust to the States. However, the 6’1”, 180-pound Blanco is one of the more healthy young Dominicans in the Sox’ farm system.
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