Are the Red Sox Interested in Beltran... as a DH?

I keep reading about how the Boston Red Sox are "favorites" to land Carlos Beltran.

There seems to be a large number of people that believe that Beltran would be a fit for Boston and that he could solve their right field issues. After all, he is a switch hitting, high OPS guy with plus power. What is there not to like about him?

The Red Sox lineup is filled with left handed batters and Beltran would offer the option of batting from either side of the plate. His splits are not too different regardless of which side of the plate he bats from (slight edge to the left side of the plate.) He is a 3 time gold glove winner, 6 time all-star, won the rookie of the year in 1999 and has a couple of silver slugger awards on his resume. In other words, the man is a well decorated outfielder.

Here's the catch, he's 34 years old and is coming off his first healthy season in 3 years. He is a bit of an injury concern if he is playing the outfield on a daily basis.

But what if he isn't?

From what I am hearing the Red Sox have an idea on what David Ortiz's market value is. Though GM Ben Cherington has alluded to ongoing conversations with Ortiz, one would think that the sides are at odds in either compensation or years. The fact of the matter is, Ortiz is 35 years old and can DH, that's it.

It is true that in 2011 Ortiz had another fine season. He played in 146 games, knocked in 29 home runs, scored 84 runs, knocked in 96 while batting .309. His on-base percentage was .398 and his slugging percentage was .554, giving a fantastic OPS of .953. This was accomplished for $12.5million and again, he only DH'd.

Carlos Beltran on the other hand also had a fine season. He played in 142 games, knocked in 22 home runs, scored 78 runs, drove in 84 while batting an even .300. His on-base percentage was .385 while his slugging percentage was .525 giving him an OPS of .910. True, he made $19.3million in 2011, but it was the final year on a lucrative contract he signed back in 2005.

I don't believe Carlos Beltran is looking to "cash in" once again, as I think he is smart enough to know that he doesn't merit another large contract after 3 of the last 4 seasons were injury plagued. What he showed in 2011 is that he still has the ability to play baseball every day and perform well.

I believe Beltran will be looking for the same type of contract that David Ortiz is looking for, both in monetary value as well as years. Though I have heard some ludicrous claims that Beltran will be looking for $18million annually, which, will never happen, I think he is probably in the $12-14million range, right about where Ortiz is now.

The question that begs to be answered by the Red Sox brass is: Are the Red Sox in on Beltran to replace David Ortiz with a more rounded player? Beltran played for six and a half years in New York for the Mets and performed admirably. He was then thrust into a playoff rush in San Francisco where he absolutely crushed it in 44 games batting .323, with an OBP of .369 and a SLG of .551 for an OPS of .920.

I could see the Sox pulling the trigger on Beltran and letting Ortiz walk. This organization needs a bit of a face lift, and sadly that could mean the end of Ortiz's stay in Boston.

Giants Trade Lincecum? For Shame!

The Hot Stove is officially starting to warm up and with that come the trade rumors and speculation of great players being moved or signed. Unrealistic trades are debated among baseball fans across the country and all reason is thrown out of the window.

This morning I read an article on Fox Sports by Jon Paul Morosi asking the question, "Is the Giants' best hope trading Lincecum?" You can read that article here:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/San-Francisco-Giants-Tim-Lincecum-will-team-trade-ace-110311

From what I have read following that article, Morosi has managed to anger many Giant fans. I don't think that was his intent, and he did bring up several points to argue his case. So, let's take a look at the uproar.

It is a fact that after next season 3 of the Giants top 4 starting pitchers will be free agents: Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez and Ryan Vogelsong. Lincecum is a free agent the following year. Looking back at the previous handy work the Giants have done signing pitchers (*ahem* Barry Zito anyone?) it may be wise to think about trading one of your stars now so that you can sign the other three back.

Morosi argues that trading Lincecum would also allow the Giants to spend on a big bat - something that the 2011 team could have used badly down the stretch. Do I think that the Giants (even if they trade away Lincecum) have a shot at Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder? Not unless they are willing to break the bank for them. I guess you can't entirely rule them out, as they did have the 8th highest payroll in MLB in 2011, but an important factor to remember, the Cubs had the 6th highest payroll, and have a need for a first baseman.

Other free agent bats are out there and available for the Giants to scoop up. For example, there is a good chance they could re-sign Carlos Beltran. Bringing back the veteran coupled with a healthy Buster Posey could provide just the offensive pop the Giants lacked last season.

The funny thing I find about the Morosi article is that he does not initially say to trade Lincecum. He talks about trading one of the starting chips, though Lincecum would prove to be the most attractive to many teams if the Giants are looking to acquire offense. It makes sense, financially to explore this option, but it brings up a whole separate argument; do you consider Tim Lincecum to be a Major League "Ace" and if so, how many actual "Aces" are there in baseball?

Think about that for a second. What is an "ace" these days? He is a stopper. A guy that you know is more than likely going to get a "W" for you every five days. These guys are few and far between. CC Sabathia, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Felix Hernandez, Justin Verlander, Tim Lincecum... other than that - you have a lot of good pitchers out there, but there are many that are hard to label "aces."

So my question for the Giants fans, do you really think trading your "ace" is something General Manager Brian Sabean takes lightly? IF he explores it, which there are no indications of that at this point, it would bring about a slew of young talent and would free up cap space to make another splash in free agency.

Hot in the City Tonight!

What a surreal ride it has been for the 2011 Arizona Diamondbacks. At the beginning of the season it was a foregone conclusion that the San Francisco Giants were going to run away with the NL West and go on to possibly repeat as World Series Champions.

Really, what competition would they have? The Padres just lost their biggest star, the Dodgers were a financial disaster, the Diamondbacks were no threat. If anything the Rockies could pose some challenge, right?

On March 30th, Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal gave his predictions for the 2011 season. He stated that the Diamondbacks were below average in every aspect of the game. Who can really blame Rosenthal? After all, the D'backs were coming off of a division worst 65-97 record in 2010. Things looked dismal in the desert and some thought that perhaps manager Kirk Gibson would be out of a job at some point in the 2011 campaign.

Then something changed. They received solid starting pitching and their offense rallied. They played well enough to get things into the hands of their consistent bullpen.

That is exactly how they won Friday night against the reigning NL West Champion San Francisco Giants. It was a fitting scenario. The worst of 2010 versus the best. The Cinderella story versus, well, the Cinderella story. The snakes came together as a team and rallied.

Looking at Arizona's roster there is no name that jumps out at you other than Justin Upton. Somehow they still manage. This team reminds me a lot of the 2010 San Diego Padres (who did miss the playoffs.) They have a desire to win and it has pushed them to the front of the herd. Obviously the end of their story will end differently from that of the 2010 Padres.

I have several friends who do not watch National League Baseball and it saddens me. Teams like the 2011 Arizona Diamondbacks are teams that are loaded with guts and desire while limited on payroll and resources.

As it stands today the D'backs will open up the playoffs facing an imposing Philadelphia Phillies ball club. If ever there was a team assembled to test the resolve of a young, hungry team it would have to be the Phillies. If ever there was a David looking to conquer a Goliath, the Diamondbacks appear to be the team looking to fill those shoes.