Getty Images A source told ESPN’s Buster Olney that the Red Sox are aggressively pursuing the Cubs’ Ryan Dempster in a bid to shore up their rotation.
The Red Sox have already worked out one deal this year with their former employees in Chicago (team president Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer), but the Marlon Byrd trade was small potatoes compared to a potential Dempster deal.
Dempster, a free agent at season’s end, is currently working on a 33-inning scoreless streak and is 5-3 with a 1.86 ERA in 92 innings for the season. The Cubs are thought to want young pitching and perhaps a third-base prospect in return for him.
The Red Sox have maybe the game’s best third-base prospect in 19-year-old Xander Bogaerts. He’s currently a shortstop, but he is outgrowing the position and most project him to shift to third or the outfield. It’s doubtful they’d part with him for a rental, though. They do have 21-year-old Garin Cecchini they can make available. He’s hitting .309/.389/.441 in low-A ball.
Young pitchers the Red Sox could deal include right-handers Anthony Ranaudo, Stolmy Pimentel and Alex Wilson and left-handers Henry Owens and Drake Britton.
A less likely possibility is that they could send left-hander Felix Doubront to Chicago. Doubront has nine wins for Boston this year, but he’s struggled some lately. With Matt Garza and Paul Maholm also potentially on the block, the Cubs would certainly appreciate some young pitching capable of stepping right into the rotation.
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Quote of the Day: Jayson Werth is ready to “eat somebody’s face”
Jun 19, 2013, 2:10 PM EDT
AP
Holy bath salts, Batman! I missed this last night. Here’s Jayson Werth‘s quote after last night’s loss to the Phillies: Jayson Werth certainly hasn’t lost confidence or resolve: “We gotta show up tomorrow ready to eat somebody’s face.” — James Wagner (@JamesWagnerWP) June 19, 2013 Given that, for most of his career, Werth has…
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AP
Making official what was reported earlier this week, the Astros announced that they’ve come to an agreement with No. 1 overall pick Mark Appel. Appel, who turned down $3.8 million from the Pirates last year as the No. 8 pick, is expected to receive around $6.35 million. That means returning for his senior season at…
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AP
Jon Heyman talks to some MLB insiders and reports that, yes Virginia, suspensions are looming in the Biogenesis scandal: Major League Baseball has started interviewing big leaguers linked to the Miami PED investigation, and people who have spoken to MLB investigators are convinced there will be at least some suspensions handed down in the explosive…
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Less than a month after rejoining the Red Sox following a concussion catcher David Ross is back on the seven-day concussion disabled list with a second brain injury. Ross took a foul tip to the catcher’s mask in Friday’s game and manager John Farrell explained yesterday: He’s still having symptoms with the concussion. The foul…
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Tweet of the Day: Dustin Ackley is recovering from his sabermetrics abuse
Jun 19, 2013, 1:00 PM EDT
AP
Had me laughing: Must be fewer sabermetricians in Tacoma: Dustin Ackley hitting .383/.490/.519 in 99 PA in Triple-A. #clearyourhead — Brent Hershey (@BrentHQ) June 19, 2013 And it doesn’t appear as if the improvement is based on Ackley becoming more aggressive or anything. He has walked in 16.16 of plate appearances during his minor…
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Nationals activate Danny Espinosa from the DL … and send him to the minors
Jun 19, 2013, 12:46 PM EDT
AP
Danny Espinosa is recovered enough from his wrist injury to be activated from the disabled list, but the second baseman was so bad before being shut down and so bad during his rehab assignment that the Nationals have decided to option him to Triple-A. Anthony Rendon hitting .338 filling in for Espinosa at second base…
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Look, I love Harvey and Wheeler and wish them nothing but success in all they do outside of games against the Braves. And I think anyone wishing injury on any player — like, say, Joe Simpson seemed to do in yesterday’s game, proving again that he’s awful — is just horrible. But Mets fans would…
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AP
Out since May 20 with a strained oblique, Phillies second baseman Chase Utley has been cleared to begin a minor-league rehab assignment tonight at Double-A. Assuming he doesn’t have a setback Utley’s rehab stint is expected to be just a few games, potentially setting him up to come off the disabled list this weekend. Philadelphia…
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“It would be a dream come true” for Bud Norris to play for the Giants
Jun 19, 2013, 11:32 AM EDT
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Jon Paul Morosi sat down with Astros starter Bud Norris. Norris knows the score: he plays for the Astros and, while the Astros are mildly exceeding expectations, he is clearly a guy they will consider trading for prospects at the deadline. And Norris makes no secret of where he’d like to end up: with the…
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Five weeks after being placed on the disabled list with a strained elbow Diamondbacks closer J.J. Putz has been cleared to begin a minor-league rehab assignment Thursday at Triple-A. According to Steve Gilbert of MLB.com the plan is for Putz to pitch Thursday and Saturday, take Sunday off, and then try to work back-to-back games…
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I think it was dumb that the Astros put an actual hill in center field when they built their ballpark. But if they hadn’t, we wouldn’t get to see Carlos Gomez climb it and make a great catch. And that’s worth the inevitable broken ankle someone suffers on it someday, yes?
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Yankees get one-time Mets top prospect Fernando Martinez from Astros
Jun 19, 2013, 10:47 AM EDT
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Fernando Martinez was once an elite prospect in the Mets’ farm system, but they let him go for nothing last year and now the Astros have soured on him as well, trading the 24-year-old outfielder to the Yankees for rookie-ball pitcher Charles Basford. I’m sure Mets fans are dreading the possibility of Martinez suddenly figuring…
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Major League Baseball: not so impressed with the San Jose lawsuit
Jun 19, 2013, 10:30 AM EDT
Major League Baseball released a statement about the San Jose lawsuit last night: “In considering the issues related to the Oakland Athletics, Major League Baseball has acted in the best interests of our fans, our communities and the league. The lawsuit is an unfounded attack on the fundamental structures of a professional sports league. It…
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AP
It seemed likely that Colorado could find a taker for Eric Young Jr. after designating him for assignment last week and sure enough the Rockies traded the utility man to the Mets for right-hander Collin McHugh. Young is far from an impact player, but as a switch-hitter with defensive versatility and blazing speed he’s plenty…
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Vin Scully will take over the Dodgers Twitter for tonight’s Yankees-Dodgers game
Jun 19, 2013, 9:43 AM EDT
AP
This could either be great fun or a total disaster: #VinScully will take over @Dodgers for the second game of the doubleheader. The twittering and hashtaging begins at 4pm PT. — Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 18, 2013 Since the Dodgers are on the east coast Scully isn’t travelling with the team and will…
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Reuters
Fun story from Jeff Passan at Yahoo!. In the course of his Matt Harvey/Zack Wheeler feature he passes along a tale from last year when Matt Harvey was a rookie and Jon Rauch was a reliever for the Mets. It seems that Harvey was trying to take a nap in the clubhouse and Rauch tried…
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It’s hard to grasp how truly awful Josh Hamilton was on Tuesday night. He came to the plate five times. Here’s what happened: First Inning: No score, Mike Trout on first, nobody out, Hamilton grounds into a double play; Third Inning: Mariners up 2-1, Mike Trout on first, nobody out, Hamilton grounds into a double…
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Brandon DuBreuil of the Manny Does Taiwan blog passes along some Asian news reports which say that Manny Ramirez has been removed from the roster of the Taiwanese team for which he has been playing and will leave the country on June 21. There are mixed reports about why he is leaving, with some saying he…
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Mets 4, Braves 3; Mets 6, Braves 1: New York Mets fans are hoping this is a glimpse of the future. Matt Harvey dominating in one game, Zack Wheeler dominating in the next. And, worth noting, Dillion Gee dominating in the game before those even if they did lose in the end. There’s so much…
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Indians closer Chris Perez is scheduled to be activated from the disabled list this Friday. But there’s reason to wonder whether that will happen. Perez made a rehab appearance — his second — on Tuesday evening with the Double-A Akron Aeros and got absolutely shelled. Facing the Yankees’ Double-A affiliate from Trenton, New Jersey, the…
