Contrary to some belief, the Sox have not taken any risks whatsoever. 5-10 mil (Smoltz) is like pocket change for a beggar when it comes to teams like the Sox and Yanks. The sox have only opened up more options with the recent signings of Penny, Smoltz, and Saito. Granted they are all "at risk" of getting injured or having a bad season (aren't all pitchers?), all of them have a good chance of turning out to be a positive and worthwhile signing. If Penny (who is a little younger), returns to his former self and works out, the sox will definitely have room to trade one or maybe even two young pitchers for a Catcher or maybe something else if the need arises. Speaking of which, might as well kill two birds with one stone and cover the brutal Red Sox Catching topic. Seems like Bucholz is staying put no matter what. The Sox seem to have made that pretty clear, which is good because a semi-desperate team like Texas will probably lower demands/negotiate with a team like the Sox that have a healthy farm system. Despite the more noted interests in Saltalamacchia (Texas) and Miguel Montero (D'Backs), I beleive the Sox should go after Taylor Teagarden (also Texas). He would cost a little bit more but is much better defensively and much more well rounded offensively. Also, Montero Flopped in his first call up, often a sign of future failure due to insecurities and lack of confidence.
I would say that the sox are about done with adding pitchers (and players) for the most part, but expect them to at least inquire on Dunn, maybe even if at the last minute to spice things up. Despite him being a lefty, id say Dunn could do all the same things offensively Texiera could do (if not more due to his HR's)
-Phil Cervelli
you meant clay, not taylor bucholz, in the labels, but other than that, the insight is mutual
ReplyDeleteThanks for pointing that out, i was tired when I published this lol
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