Abraham On Toucher & Rich: No Big Moves Expected By Red Sox
It's deadline day in Major League Baseball, and no one really knows what the Boston Red Sox are up to.
Reports on Monday said they were ready to ship Josh Beckett out-of-town. But Tuesday came, and Beckett is now likely to remain a member of the Sox.
The Boston Globe's Peter Abraham joined 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich Tuesday morning to break down what the Sox could do as the 4pm deadline approaches.
One thing is certain; they are not moving starter Jon Lester.
"They've made it pretty clear they have no intention of trading Lester," said Abraham. "Lester is a guy who is under control for a couple of years; they haven't even made him available, taken offers on him or even talked about him."
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There are other parts on the Red Sox that interest other teams. One of them was Ryan Sweeney, until he broke his hand Monday night. Another was Cody Ross, who is having a very strong season for Boston after signing a one-year deal over the winter.
"That's the guy they're getting the most calls on," Abraham said of Ross. "If you're a team that thinks you're heading to the playoffs, an extra outfielder or potential starting outfielder that can play a couple of positions and really murders lefties is a good guy to have around."
"But the Red Sox are in that place -- where are they? They're sort of in it but not really in it, but they're not going to send the message that they've given up," said Abraham. "If they were to trade Ross that would essentially be a message that they've given up."
"If they do anything today it will be trading a few of the extra guys; a couple of second-level prospects, maybe one guy off the major league roster, for a player one or two players to supplement the current roster," said Abraham. "But I don't see them getting a hugely significant guy that would change anything."
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Backup catcher Kelly Shoppach's name has been mentioned with the Mets, Nationals and Brewers interested. The Red Sox are in a good position to move him, with Ryan Lavarnway -- who Bobby Valentine was a big fan of during Spring Training -- waiting in the wings.
"He's never going to be Johnny Bench in terms of being a defensive catcher, but he'll be a serviceable catcher and a pretty good catcher. If you were to trade Shoppach, you'd have a guy that is ready to come up and play," said Abraham. "If they were to trade one of the outfielders, you would have Ryan Kalish ready to come up and play. They could have traded Shoppach, Sweeney and one of the relievers and gotten something back. Now I don't know if they have the depth in the outfielder; I don't know who that extra outfielder would be."
