December 14, 2011

Lowrie, Weiland Traded For Reliever Mark Melancon;
Then Nick Punto Signed For Two (Yes, Two!) Years

Chad Finn, Globe:
The Red Sox have made a significant addition to their bullpen, acquiring righthanded reliever Mark Melancon from the Astros for infielder Jed Lowrie and reliever Kyle Weiland.

Melancon, a hard-throwing 26-year-old had a 2.78 earned run average and 20 saves in 74.1 innings for Houston last season. He struck out 66 and walked 26.
Example
Finn, Globe:
The Red Sox have signed veteran utilityman Nick Punto to a two-year contract, according to CBS Sports' Jon Heyman.

Heyman reported Punto, who turned 34 in November, is guaranteed $3 million with another $500,000 possible in incentives. ... [Punto is a] lifetime .249 hitter with a .652 OPS ...
Bleh. Ortiz agrees:

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13 comments:

Pokerwolf said...

Apparently Scutaro made an impression last season. Wow.

buffwarrior said...

sorry to see Jed leave but he had a hard time staying healthy... I imagine that the Shortstop to be traded for later is still coming...

allan said...

what the fucking fuck - a 2 year deal for that shitass bunting machine nick motherfucking punto???

Zenslinger said...

It seems like a lot for a decent-to-slightly-above average reliever. I understand that Lowrie never performed consistently, but his little streaks hitting well were amazing. I was attached to the idea of his emerging in a the way hopeful fans want their kids to emerge. That may have been a little irrational (although it didn't hurt that Lowrie was actually smart!) So I am not too psyched about this transaction.

Bobby V on Darvish: "10 times more talented and 20 times more poised than Daisuke Matsuzaka was at the same age."

Did anyone tell the new skip that Matsuzaka is a member of his team?

Zenslinger said...

Gosh, Allan. Don't be so harsh. He has 14 career homers (in 887 games) and a career OPS above .650 (it's .652).

On the other hand, he did have a .388 OBP last year in limited action.

allan said...

SoSHer Smiling Joe Hesketh: "It's like Cafardo's the new GM."

allan said...

On the other hand, he did have a .388 OBP last year in limited action.

Maybe he suddenly learned, at age 34, how to get on base. Even a solid 2011 put his career OPS+ at 76.

Good late-inning glove, I suppose.

tim said...

I usually find myself disappointed with the acquisition of "good" players that I get excited about (i.e. Gagne, Drew, Coco, Lugo, etc...)

Lets hope these are some of the moves we don't remember until October when we're toasting with champagne reflecting on how sweet Cherington's moves were.

Benjamin said...

Willie Bloomquist signed last month for 2/$3.8. It looks like the market for shitty utility infielders who suck at baseball has simply gone up.

Philip said...

"(i.e. Gagne, Drew, Coco, Lugo, etc...)"

I really wouldn't put Drew on that list at all.

tim said...

He underperformed in Boston when compared to his numbers beforehand, so he goes on the list.

But he did whack a grand slam in the 2007 ALDS so maybe he doesn't belong.

hrstrat57 said...

Punto, really Punto.....???

Jere said...

"whack a grand slam in the 2007 ALDS"

ALCS