Since Wells has been one of the team's best pitchers in recent weeks, it would be a major concession that the team has little chance at making the playoffs. The Red Sox trail New York by 7.5 games and are 6.5 GB Chicago for the wild card. Boston still has three games remaining with both the White Sox and Twins.
If Boston does decide to deal Wells, who cleared waivers on August 3, they would likely do it by midnight tomorrow, so he would be eligible for a team's post-season roster. (ESPN's Buster Olney said a source put the odds at "80-20 or 90-10" that a deal would be made.) Wells is scheduled to pitch against Toronto tomorrow night at Fenway.
Boston has apparently spoken with the Dodgers, Padres and Cardinals. One report said Boston had asked the Dodgers for 21-year-old outfielder Matt Kemp, who hit .279 in a six-week stint in LA earlier this year and is currently batting .349 for Las Vegas (AAA).
Theo Epstein refused to discuss the matter, but Padres GM Kevin Towers said he had spoken with Epstein on Monday afternoon.
We've had some dialogue, but nothing is imminent. ... I think Theo is just trying to find out which clubs would be interested if they decided to move him. He's putting his feelers out. That's kind of where it's at. ... I wasn't getting the impression from Theo that they were raising the white flag or anything. He just wants to be proactive in case they get to that point.
6 comments:
This is depressing.
Too banged up and old to make anything happen, I guess.
I'm surprised that they're getting rid of Wells, unless there's a AAA pitcher in the wings waiting for his roster spot.
I wish they'd fight more for the playoffs, but considering everything that's wrong with the team right now, it's not that surprising.
Interesting that Sox 'snuk' Wells through waivers at the beginning of August when his future was iffy. I guess the only question is whether Matt Kemp is better than Adam Stern. I don't have a lot of confidence at the moment in Sox evaluations of outfielders or relief pitchers (or veteran catchers, for that matter). As for waiving the white flag ... well, it's been done before, just not by the Theo regime.
Fight for the play-offs??? FIGHT FOR THE PLAY-OFFS?? Talk about denial!
The danger of the injury glut, which no team in the last 50 years could have withstood, is that it will permit the Sox management to take Redsock's approach: it wasn't the management and poor talent evaluation that killed us: it was the injuries. That's like the old law school causation problem: a man is lost in the desert, with two assassins trying to kill him, each unaware of the other. One poisons his canteen, effectively dooming him; the second sneaks in and pours out the water, so the guy dies of thirst rather than poisoning. Sure: the injuries now make it likely that the Sox would have missed the play-offs even if they SWEPT the Yankees. But that's an illusion. The team was already doomed because Theo had 90% of a championship team and wouldn't or couldn't get the last couple pieces that were absolutely essential.
No, I-girl: the fact that I agree the Sox were a very good team at the All-Star break does NOT make Redsock's point. They were very good, but fatally flawed, and we ALL saw the flaws: a missing starter, shaky set-up in the pen, no reliable lefty (Theo: tell us again why Mike Myers was too "one dimensional"?), and no good starter-long relief swing man. Theo decided that an uncertain but promising "future" was more important than a possible championship that was right within his grasp. He poisoned the canteen. The fact that the injuries superceded that mistake doesn't make it less of a crime.
No, I-girl: the fact that I agree the Sox were a very good team at the All-Star break does NOT make Redsock's point.
Uh, ok. I guess I'm just not into assigning blame to the extent that most Sox fans seem to be. It doesn't change anything and doesn't make me feel any better.
I'm disgusted and depressed about this season, but what measure is Theo's fault, what measure Tito's, what part injuries, even perhaps what measure is my own unreasonable expectations, it's not possible to sort out, in my opinion.
The rage at Theo and Tito understandable, but IMO a little over the top. As if other teams are somehow run by brilliant management that works the chess pieces perfectly, and we poor Sox fans are stuck with the dregs.
By the way, it's L-girl. Blogger makes it look funny with the lower case L.
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