Deadline Drama III

Monday, 4:00 PM -- Kip Wells traded to Texas (Edes says Sox "ultimately passed because of [his] shaky medical history). ... WEEI says Loretta, Lowell, Crisp and Pena in the lineup tonight.

Shawn Chacon traded to the Pirates for Craig Wilson. Jesus.

Lugo traded to Dodgers.

Will Carroll, BP:

The Sox are also looking for cheap outfield help as a backup in case tests on Trot Nixon come up with a poor result. There are several names in play, including Craig Wilson, Geoff Jenkins, and Moises Alou. The question here will be price and fit. The Sox, even if Nixon is out for the year, could go with Gabe Kapler and Wily Mo Pena if the price is too high on an acquisition.

SoSHer says ESPN's Keith Law:

on Outside the Lines is claiming that Coco has fallen out of favor with the Red Sox. He claimed Coco's defense isn't as advertised, and that Coco has created problems in the clubhouse. WTF? Nobody's even whispered about him being a clubhouse problem, and everyone knew Coco has a Damonesque arm. Where do they come up with this crap?

Anyone else see that?

Monday, 3:00 PM -- From SoSH:

Three baseball sources [including Olney] say that Pirates RHP Kip Wells is on the verge of being traded to Boston, and that the two sides are ironing out details to get it done. A deal could be done at any minute, a baseball source says.

Wells (for Abe Alvarez, apparently) would be the #5 and Snyder would move to the pen (which would seem to be the best place for him). Theo better have landed him for free, though.

Monday, 2:50 PM -- Sean McAdam: "At some point today, the Sox were in contact with the agent for Julio Lugo, trying to hammer out an extention before completing a trade for him."

This would be tampering without approval from both the Devil Rays and the Commissioner's office, which would likely mean a deal is in place. So ... ???

Monday, 2:40 PM -- Updates from the Globe:

Gordon Edes:

I was told by a Pittsburgh source this afternoon that the Red Sox were talking to the Pirates about starting pitcher Kip Wells. Wells 1-5 with a 6.69 ERA in seven starts for the Pirates this season. In July, however, he has a much lower 3.16 ERA in four starts.

Edes also says that after the Red Sox said no to Atlanta about Lester, "that was it. No counterproposals, no further conversation." The Sox "might still be involved" with Alfonso Soriano and have talked to San Diego about reliever Scott Linebrink and starter Chris Young.

Nick Cafardo:

The Red Sox have been in the running for virtually every big name out there ... But the Sox are only hearing names like Jon Lester, Jonathan Papelbon, Craig Hansen, Manny DelCarmen, Dustin Pedroia and they're not liking those sounds. There's still a possibility the Sox could make a quick deal for the Phillies' Jon Lieber.

Monday, 2:00 PM -- Two hours to go!

Buster Olney (1:17 PM):

Boston and Atlanta have talked about sending Andruw Jones to Boston for Coco Crisp, Craig Hansen and a prospect. Atlanta asked for Jon Lester, but the Red Sox said no.

From SoSHer DJnVa (1:44 PM):

Olney on with Dan Patrick: Since Abreu trade Sox have moved from looking for a "good" player to looking for a "great" player. ... Sox are very aggressive today. ... Thinks there will be a lot of trades announced at deadline.

Jones is under contract for next year at $13.5 and he'd look damn good at #5 after God and Manny (and in center). Hansen is clearly the most "tradeable" of the young arms and if Papelbon stays in the pen, Hansen is way more valuable to another team than as a setup man here. I don't see why the Sox and Atlanta can't agree on some other pitcher to fill out the deal.

Monday, 1:30 PM -- From the papers:

Nick Cafardo, Globe (11:15 AM):

A source close to Clemens said today that Clemens would not ask to be traded even though his frustration level is through the roof following another rough day for the Astros, who blew a 5-1 lead and lost to the Diamondbacks 7-6 yesterday. ... The source indicated that Clemens, who has a no trade clause in his contract, would not veto a trade to the Red Sox or Yankees.

Sean McAdam, ProJo:

Friends of the Rocket insist he's sorry that he chose the Astros over the Red Sox. ... Clemens would love to be dealt to the Red Sox, but doesn't want to antagonize his hometown by asking for a trade. Similarly, owner Drayon McLane, having won the furious bidding war for Clemens two months ago, doesn't want to alienate Astros fans by dealing Clemens.

Gordon Edes, Globe:

[A]ccording to a major league executive who said he spoke directly with one of the three teams involved, the Red Sox are working on a three-way deal with Tampa Bay and San Diego in which they would end up with Devil Rays infielder Julio Lugo and Padres setup man Scott Linebrink, with Lowell going to the Padres. The Devil Rays presumably would end up with prospects from one or both clubs. ... Another major league executive confirmed the Padres' willingness to trade Linebrink, and it is well known that San Diego has been seeking a third baseman.

Michael Silverman, Herald:

The juiciest rumors: The Red Sox are attempting to strike a three-way deal with the Rockies and Padres, with third baseman Mike Lowell shipped out of town and first baseman Ryan Shealy arriving here from Colorado. The Sox also would presumably obtain a more-than-reputable starter. ... David Pauley also was mentioned as part of the Red Sox' package.

Cafardo, Globe:

According to major league sources the Sox were working on a three-way deal with Tampa Bay and San Diego.

Padres special assignment scout Ted Simmons was still in town checking out the Sox, but Boston has indicated it won't move Kevin Youkilis. Sources were indicating the deal, if consummated, would have the Sox getting Devil Rays shortstop Julio Lugo and Padres righty setup man Scott Linebrink, with Mike Lowell heading to San Diego and Tampa Bay receiving prospects from Boston.

Other news:

Curt Schilling: The Yankees "make a huge deal, they win a game, I pitch like crap, we lose a game, and everybody is at the extremes."

Trot Nixon will undergo an MRI today after aggravating a strained right biceps injury in the third inning last night. ... Matt Clement was moved to the 60-day DL to make room for Bryan Corey, who should be with the team on Wednesday.

Keith Foulke strained his lower back and won't pitch for about a week. PawSox pitching coach Mike Griffin: "He had some stiffness so he didn't want to try it. He did some long toss but got up on the mound and just felt tight." ... Foulke: "I'm not pitching. You can call it whatever you want. ... I don't want to talk about it, really."

Manny Delcarmen is probably unavailable for a few days because of an irritation on his right thumb. It's been bothering him for about a week, and as it turns out, he's allowed five runs in 2.1 innings over his last three appearances. ... MDC:

My four-seamer right now I can't throw it away on the corner, everything keeps running in. When I want to throw my curveball the way I want it, that's when I really feel it. I'd rather say something now than have it get worse and become a big issue later. My velocity's [the same], but I can't really control where I want the ball to go now.

Monday, 12:30 PM -- Jayson Stark, ESPN:

The Red Sox rolled their shopping cart through Soriano-ville on Sunday, just for the fun of seeing what happened. Well, the odds are: Not much will. Since the Red Sox are not a team interested in unloading its supply of young, electric arms, they don't seem like a good match with the Nationals.

Christina Kahrl, Baseball Prospectus, on the Abreu trade:

Master strokes rarely fix two problems simultaneously, but whether you want to consider this a case of Brian Cashman making a simply outstanding deal, or the Phillies dumping salary to the one team that is consistently willing to absorb more, or some combination thereof, this quite simply fixes the Yankees in a way that single trades rarely achieve. ...

The Yankees probably just added four wins in the final 60 games, with Lidle probably being every bit as responsible for that as Abreu. That's not just an upgrade, that's a massive difference, and a reflection on what's being replaced. This doesn't simply help the Yankees keep up with the competition, they now have a much better shot at winning not merely the wild card, but their own division, and they can better withstand an injury in either their rotation or lineup than before.

Monday, 11:50 AM -- Rob Bradford on WEEI reports: Atlanta offered Andruw Jones to the Red Sox for Jon Lester, Coco Crisp, and Craig Hansen last night. It was turned down, but "was a lot closer than you'd expect."

What? It would be better for Theo to turn off his cell phone and go to sleep for four hours than make a deal like this.