Boston Red Sox

Rumors and speculation

By Chad Finn

3 minutes to read

With the season roughly a third of the way complete, trade rumors are beginning to flow as the contenders assess their needs and pretenders face reality. Here a few fun whispers regarding the Red Sox to take you into the weekend . . .

ESPN’s Buster Olney connects a few dots and suggests the Red Sox and Phillies might be a good trade matchup. His proposal: Brad Penny for to Philly for young shortstop Jason Donald:

Boston has been poking around considering possible shortstop options since Jed Lowrie was lost to injury earlier this season, and while rival executives like the potential match of a Red Sox-Pirates deal for Jack Wilson, there might be some concerns about Wilson’s injury history.

Donald is younger [24], is solid defensively, and would be the perfect complement to [Jed] Lowrie in the years ahead. He is a good prospect, but there are questions about how much he’ll hit in the big leagues. Penny is a good pitcher with experience, and there are questions about whether he’ll be able to stay healthy. These would be moderate solutions for both teams, and Thursday night, one rival evaluator — who is not involved in any Red Sox-Phillies conversations, and is merely speculating from the outside — thought the notion of a Penny-Donald trade discussion was reasonable.

“It would make sense,” said the evaluator. “With [Daisuke] Matsuzaka and Jon Lester pitching like they are — and you never know about Smoltz’s health — I still don’t think now is the optimum time for the Sox to trade Penny. I like Jason Donald. I think he could play short for the Sox. His ascension maybe would be a tad quick right now, but he is a better defender than either Nick Green or [Julio] Lugo now. He fits in perfectly when Lowrie gets back.”

The evaluator Olney spoke to also had this to say about the Red Sox’ shortstop situation:

“Boston is going to have to eat [Julio] Lugo’s deal.”

Lugo is in the third year of a four-year, $36 million contract.

  • Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman follows up old friend Gordon Edes’s earlier report on Yahoo! Sports that the Sox may be interested in acquiring the struggling Jeff Francoeur from the Braves:

    The Braves don’t like their outfield production, with center fielder Jordan Schafer and right fielder Jeff Francoeur both struggling with OPS’s in the low .600s. Reports suggest that the Red Sox scouted Francoeur (three HRs, 21 RBIs), and if so, they must be thinking about the “buy low” strategy. The Braves have to be concerned about his weak power production.

    If there is something to the Sox’ interest in the righthanded-hitting 25-year-old, it raises the question as to whether they are confident that Rocco Baldelli can remain reasonably healthy the entire season. Baldelli, who suffers from mitochondrial disorder, is currently suffering from a tender hamstring. The free-swinging Francoeur makes Wily Mo Pena look patient at the plate — he has five walks in 193 plate appearances this season — but he is a terrific outfielder who won a Gold Glove in 2007.

  • Edes, who first reported the Sox’ apparent interest in Francoeur and noted the possible appeal of Wilson and Donald to Boston in his column earlier this week, also wondered about another potential shortstop target for Theo Epstein:

    Jhonny Peralta might make a great match for Boston, which is unhappy with the play of veteran Julio Lugo while awaiting the return of injured second-year man Jed Lowrie. Peralta might also provide the Red Sox a replacement down the road at third base for Mike Lowell, who has defied expectations with his productive play after off-season hip surgery.

    Peralta, who is not known for his defensive range, is batting .267 with a home run and 18 RBIs this season.

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