Hot Stove Report by Jared Carrabis
Lowell, Lugo, Tek, Dice-K, DP, and more!

First thing’s first, let’s discuss our own players before we get into the possibilities of some new names and faces on the club. The recovery process of Mike Lowell who had surgery on his hip to repair a torn labrum “seems to be going very well” in the eyes of the man behind the knife, surgeon Bryan Kelly. The Red Sox fully expect Lowell to be ready to go by the time position players are due to report to Spring Training. On an even lighter note, Lowell is up and walking around without the crutches that he was rendered to immediately following the procedure.

Now to the fun stuff of this past week…

A report stemming from the Boston Globe has reported that there have been some discussions between the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers concerning a trade in which the names may surprise you. Boston is trying to unload the underachieving shortstop, Julio Lugo to Detroit and the names that have been mentioned that Boston could potentially receive in return may open an eye or two. The deal reportedly would send one of two left-handed pitchers to Boston in exchange for Lugo. It would take either Nate Robertson or Dontrelle Willis to complete this trade.

Now, two years ago, this trade would seem like a steal for Boston, but both pitchers have struggled mightily in their past two seasons. Robertson’s ERA of 3.84 in 2006 has risen to 4.76 in 2007 and even higher last season when it was 6.35. Robertson was has also won less and less games in those three years (13 in ’06, 9 in ’07, 7 in ’08). As for Dontrelle Willis, the lefty started only 7 games for the Tigers last season going 0-2 with a 9.38 ERA with a horrendous strikeout-to-walk ratio (18/35). On the bright side, the Tigers are desperate for a shortstop in a slim market and both Willis and Robertson would be a fourth starter at best in Boston and are due for a rebound season, maybe a winning team could change their motivation.

Before a trade like this could be pulled off, there are some serious money issues that need to be considered due to the fact that going into 2009, none of the three players mentioned are worth what they are being paid. Julio Lugo is owed $18 million over the next two seasons while on the other hand, Robertson is due to be paid $17 million through 2009-2010 and Dontrelle Willis has $22 million coming his way through 2010. If a deal is to be made, there is going to have to be some serious cash-eating going on.

The situation of Jason Varitek has been an issue on the mind of Red Sox fans even before the season ended, am I correct? Well, now that “situation” is coming full circle here in the offseason due to the captain’s agent, Scott Boras, showing up and letting the baseball world know that in order to acquire the services of Jason Varitek that you’re going to have to cough up Jorge Posada money. News flash: not happening.

Following the 2007 season, Yankee backstop Jorge Posada inked a four-year deal worth $52.4 million. This deal according to super agent, Scott Boras, “will serve as a benchmark for any team looking to land” Jason Varitek. Now I love Jason Varitek just as much as the next guy, but any player coming off a season that hit .220 over 131 games with 43 RBI and a .313 OBP does not deserve the money that Scott Boras is asking for. We also have to take into consideration that this is just Boras being Boras in terms of money figures and that Varitek himself probably had little to do with this preposterous price tag.

Had Varitek been coming off the same season that Posada did before signing that multi-year/multi-million dollar deal then maybe there would be some sense behind the demands of Scott Boras. Before 2007, Posada never had a season that he finished at or above .300 but in that contract year he hit .338 for the Bombers with 20 home runs and 90 RBI to go along with a .426 OBP and .543 slugging percentage. The two contract seasons between the two catchers just don’t match up very well, thus leading me to believe that if Varitek signs any contract whether it’s here in Boston or elsewhere, it will not be Jorge Posada money.

In a perfect world, the Red Sox would bring Varitek back at a reasonable price (3-years, $30 million with an option for a fourth year) and pull the trigger on a trade for 23-year-old catcher, Jarrod Saltalamacchia. When Saltalamacchia first heard of the rumors that Boston had interest in acquiring his services, he was quoted as saying that a trade to Boston “would be a dream come true”. The best case scenario would be to have both Varitek and Saltalamacchia on the same staff so that the 23-year-old could learn and develop under the best “player/coach” in the game.

To no fan’s surprise, Coco Crisp is again drawing interest on the trading block this offseason just as he did a year ago. The Boston Herald has reported that 5-6 teams have shown interest in the Boston outfielder and why not? He’s coming off his best season with the Red Sox after hitting .283 with a .344 on base percentage while slugging .407. Crisp also stole 20 bases while starting 98 games for the Red Sox in center field.

The Red Sox have been a buzz during the Major League Baseball awards week with second baseman, Dustin Pedroia, taking home the honors for an American League Gold Glove award and picked up his very first Silver Slugger award after hitting .326 with 17 home runs in his sophomore season with Boston. Hopefully Pedroia frees up some more space in his trophy case by Tuesday when the American League Most Valuable Player is named.

Daisuke Matsuzaka was also in his sophomore season with Boston and like Pedroia, he was at his best. Matsuzaka went 18-3 in 2008 with a 2.90 ERA and 183 strikeouts while holding his opponents to a .211 batting average. The stellar season for Matsuzaka placed him fourth in the American League Cy Young voting behind first place Cliff Lee, followed by Roy Halladay and Francisco Rodriguez.

Matsuzaka is set to be paid $8 million in the 2009 season but had he placed just one place higher in the Cy Young award voting, his salary would have been bumped up to $10 million due to an escalator in his contract. Matsuzaka’s annual pay would have risen to $10 million in 2009 had he placed in the top 3 for the Cy Young award, won the Cy Young award, placed top 5 for the AL MVP or of course won the AL MVP.

Published on November 16, 2008

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