Low-Risk, High Return- Red Sox playing the Free Agent Market

[kNiCk_PriDe]

http://www.prosportspress.com/baseball_news/857.html

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Fenway Park, 4 Yawkey Way, Boston, MA, 02215

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All MLB Players and Agents

Subject-
Send us your old, your injured, over-the-hill masses, yearning to get a fresh start, a new opportunity, and a fat pay check

Are you hurt or unable to work? Call Affleck. Maybe he can pull some strings in the Red Sox Front-Office.

The Boston Red Sox continued their shopping spree into the MLB scrap heep. They agreed to principle on a one-year deal with former Cy Young pitcher John Smoltz.

You can’t exactly call John Smoltz scrap, considering he’s only one of the greatest and most versatile pitchers of this generation, but coming off shoulder surgery at the age 41, one must admit, he’s damaged goods.

The deal pays Smoltz $5 million guaranteed. He can also earn up to another $5 million in performance and health related incentives.

Smoltz’ rehab is on track and he should be ready to be on the opening-day roster, but at what capacity, and with how much gas left in the tank, remains to be seen.

It’s a gamble, but the positives of this signing far outweigh the possible negatives. Smoltz is a proven winner, and his experience and performance in the post-season speaks for itself. For his playoff career, he has an impressive line of 15-4 with 4 saves and a 2.65 era, while striking out 194 in 207 innings pitched.

Considering the money being spent on free-agent pitchers these days(Yankees-CC Sabathia-$161 million), this is a steal. If it doesn’t work, oh well. It’s a $5 million hit I’m sure the Red Sox can afford.

They add Smoltz to their other recent injured acquisitions of Brad Penny, and Rocco Baldelli.

Like Smoltz, Baldelli, and Penny will also receive contracts based on performance and health incentives. Baldelli will make $500,000 guaranteed, with another $1.75 million in incentives, while Penny will receive $5 million guaranteed, while possibly earning another $3 million in incentives.

Baldelli was the Rays’ star of the future. He had all the tools, the talent, the swagger, but injuries never let him jump start his career. Multiple leg injuries and mitochondrian disorder, a condition that leaves him extremely fatigued after a brief work out, has limited Baldelli to only 155 games in the past 3 years. He’s still only 27, and with some luck could turn it around. It’s a low risk move for the Sox, that if nothing else, gives them depth in the outfield. Baldelli proved that he can still be an effective role player while with the Rays in their World Series run last year.

Brad Penny is a former all-star with great stuff, but like most other pitchers that have come through the Florida Marlins’ organization, he’s spent a lot of time on the disabled list.

After having back-to-back 16 win seasons in 2006-07, he spent most of last season on and off the disabled list. He went 6-9 with a 6.27 era, in between 3 trips to the DL before finally shutting it down. Like Baldelli, Penny is still young at 30-years old.

A healthy Smoltz and Penny give the Red Sox virtually the deepest starting-pitching in baseball with Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Clay Buchholz, Tim Wakefield, and Justin Masterson. They also add experience in Smoltz that is invaluable. He can do for this team what Curt Schilling and his bloody sock did for Boston in 2004.

Who’s next on Boston’s free agent radar? Go through MLB’s disabled lists and take a wild guess.

[Basketball Jesus]

Um, yeah.

[Bleeding Green]

Hell yeah. Championships are won on cheap one-year deals that don't saddle your payroll for years to come. Didn't they win a championship in '04 behind Schilling and Bellhorn and Millar and Mueller? Cheap signings. Smoltz will be electric and I kind of feel bad for the rest of the league that the Red Sox already got their trade-deadline pickup in January.

Do people remember Brad Penny in the all-star game a couple years ago? Obviously the gun was juiced to hell, but he was putting up triple digits in the first inning. This guy can be a great reliever if it comes to that. And if he sucks? Oh well.

[hiphop1]

Hell yeah. Championships are won on cheap one-year deals that don't saddle your payroll for years to come. Didn't they win a championship in '04 behind Schilling and Bellhorn and Millar and Mueller? Cheap signings. Smoltz will be electric and I kind of feel bad for the rest of the league that the Red Sox already got their trade-deadline pickup in January.

Do people remember Brad Penny in the all-star game a couple years ago? Obviously the gun was juiced to hell, but he was putting up triple digits in the first inning. This guy can be a great reliever if it comes to that. And if he sucks? Oh well.

I was thinking setup man or insurance if we dont sign Papelbon.

[NES 247]

I really like what we did with the free agent, low-risk high reward signings. Throw out the Teixeria soap opera and the Sox had a pretty good offseason, just looking at the low risk guys we brought in. Baldelli is gonna be a great 4th OF and will see his fair share of time whe Drew gets hurt. We have OF depth in the minors and Kotsay if Baldelli has a set back because of his condition. Saito is like Smotlz and Penny in regards that he is still good and the injuries shouldn't hurt him. If he struggles we have Rameriz, Okajima, and Delcarmen to pick up slack. Once again, we have depth in the bullpen. There is no need for Smotlz to rush back and with a a full five man rotation and Clay Buchholz waiting in the wings in Pawtucket, anything Smotlz can do is gravy. I'd let him rehab in Triple A for a month and then put him in the rotation. I'd really rather see him start than Wake if Smoltz is healthy. If Smoltz can't get healthy or sucks we are fine b/c of the depth in the rotation. Penny is guy I'm riding on to have a good season and would be a bit worried about if he was hurt or struggled. I think he'll put up 14 this year with an ERA around 4. He'll make maybe one DL visit but should make no less than 27 starts. If he does struggle or get hurt for the long wrong i'd be a bit worried b/c we'd have the two oldies in Wake and Smoltz at the back end of the rotation or Clay Buchholz, who I would rather have but is a ? in his own right. The point is we aren't really on these guys to carry the team. Penny is going to play the biggest role, but we won't be screwed if they all fall flat on their faces. If they are perform up to their past track records, we are the best team in the AL East.