SB Nation - John Lackey

Josh Beckett and John Lackey: Today's Schilling and Pedro

Randy Booth — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:00:18 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

3 months ago: Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher John Lackey throws to the plate during the first inning of a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Browse more photos »

It's safe to say that the Red Sox signing John Lackey came as a surprise to the entirety of Red Sox Nation. No one saw it coming. Theo Epstein didn't even hint at it coming. He held his cards as close as possible to his chest and then threw down two aces to take the pot.

It was a bold, calculated move.

And we've all seen it before, especially here in "The Nation": bold, calculated moves put shiny rings on your fingers.

It didn't click with me right off the bat what John Lackey means to the Red Sox. Yes, he's an ace. Yes, he could be the No. 1 pitcher for almost any baseball team in the world. Yes, he has one of the highest-paid right arms in the world.

It's not that simple, though. There's so much more to Lackey as a Red Sox.

Do you remember 2004? I know it sounds like a stupid question to ask a Red Sox fan, but let me rephrase to something a little more specific. Do you remember 2003? Specifically, the end of the year? To give you an exact date, it was Nov. 23, 2003.

That was the day the Red Sox traded for Curt Schilling.

Talking about Lackey and Schilling in the same breath should stir up some similarities. Beyond the physical (both bigger guys), they are both pitchers that wanted the ball every day. Hurt or broken, it didn't matter. They're feisty pitchers. They're loud pitchers. They will say what's on their mind and slam their fastball down your throat.

That's just how they do things.

But Schilling's presence in 2004 was more than his ability on the mound. It's what he brought to the team. Namely, he brought competition. His opponent? Pedro Martinez.

From Seth Mnookin's book, Feeding The Monster:

No one was more upset by [Curt] Schilling's arrival than Pedro Martinez

[...]

For all his light-heartedness, Martinez was also driven by an irrational (and slightly contrived) fear of being disrespected and the Red Sox's pursuit and acquisition of Schilling gnawed at him. Boston, afer all, was supposed to be his town. "I can't help that they wanted to sign Schilling," Martinez said in February

[...]

Martinez's wounded pride could, potentially, have been a good thing for the Red Sox. Martinez was most effective when he felt as if he had something to prove...

[...]

With Schilling on board, Martinez wondered if the Red Sox were planning on keeping him around beyond the 2004 season, and without a contract, he was both hesitant to risk further injury and worried about giving the impression he was less than totally healthy.

Pedro, on the downward slope of his career, was pushed by Schilling. Pedro thought he was the team's ace; not Schilling. Pedro thought he was the star; not the new guy. Pedro still had a lot left to prove with the team he's been with for many years.

The same rings true for Josh Beckett.

Beckett is a lot like Pedro, Schilling and Lackey. He's a true competitor that wants to just play baseball until his arm falls off. He'll yell, scream and throw pitches at players' heads as a warning sign if that is what needs to be done. It boils down to this: he wants to prove he's great. He doesn't want anyone else to be better than him, even if it is a teammate.

The similarities between Schilling/Pedro and Lackey/Beckett are there. Schilling and Lackey came on as an ace from another team. Pedro and Beckett have been aces for the Red Sox, until the new guy shows up and wants to prove what he can do. Pedro and Beckett are also entering the last year of their contracts when the new guy shows up.

Pedro went on to have a great season in 2004 (not quite "Pedro-esque," but still a great season). Schilling and Pedro, together, went on to lead the Red Sox to their first World Series championship in 86 years. Beyond what Schilling did on the mound, do you think he had a bigger effect on that championship?

Of course there are differences between Schilling/Pedro and Lackey/Beckett. One, is that in 2004, Schilling and Pedro were better overall than Lackey/Beckett is today. Lackey and Beckett are two of the best pitchers in the majors today, but back in 2004 -- and the years prior -- Schilling and Pedro were just out of this world. We all know of Pedro's dominance, but Schilling was right there, too.

From all accounts, it seems like Beckett wants to be with the Red Sox in the future. His contract is up after this year, but Theo Epstein has already told him -- actually, texted him -- that Lackey's signing has no barring on his future. (Similar sentiments were shared with Pedro, as well.)

Lackey's presence puts a fire under Beckett's butt to perform. Both -- with Jon Lester, can't forget about him -- are going to battle to prove they are the team's ace. This, as you could already tell, should lead to good results for both the individuals and the team.

I have a good feeling this year about Lackey, Beckett and the Boston Red Sox. How are you feeling?

Matsui vs. Lackey

WiHaloFan — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 21:13:26 -0000

What to expect the next time Hideki Matsui faces John Lackey....

The Mets Are Doomed, And Other Offseason Overreactions

Eric Simon — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:00:22 -0000

More photos » by Charles Krupa - AP

"Why did I sign with Boston and not the Mets? There were 82.5 million reasons." (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Browse more photos »

The local rags are absolutely killing Omar Minaya and the Mets for their failure to attract any big names to Queens so far this offseason. The story goes like this: the Mets were terrible last season and the Phillies have appeared in back-to-back World Series, so the Mets have no choice but to jerk at the knees and spend big-time money as quickly as possible. Look- the Red Sox already signed two key free agents and are itching to acquire Adrian Gonzalez from the Padres! Check it out- the Phillies went out and traded for one of the best pitchers in baseball! Dang- even the Nationals are drawing interest from free agent pitchers. If the Mets don't do something irrational soon they'll be doomed to finish fourth again in 2010!

I'd like to see the Mets be a bit more aggressive in pursuing some of the more attractive free agents -- Matt Holliday in particular -- but there's no need to act like a crazy person waving a fistful of cash around a used car lot. The Mets have been mostly quiet since the free agency doors swung open last month, and now that John Lackey has landed in Boston and Roy Halladay has been traded to Philadelphia, outside forces are putting even more pressure on the Mets to step up and do something and, what's more, they're slamming the Mets for failing to acquire either of those players. I guess it makes good copy, but I'd personally be underwhelmed if the Mets had made either of those two deals..

John Lackey - Lackey signed with the Red Sox for five years and $82.5 million. That's an average annual value of $16.5 million for a pitcher who hasn't posted a sub-4.00 tRA or thrown 180 innings since 2007. Lackey turned 31 in October and his strikeout rate has declined steadily from a high of 8.57 in 2005 to a barely-league-average 7.09 last year. He still has very good control and he doesn't allow too many homeruns, but he has missed time due to injury in each of the past two seasons and there's a very good chance that his best years are behind him. The bottom line is that Lackey is a good, not great, pitcher, and Boston has just committed almost $17 million a year to him for the next half-decade. I suspect that if he had any interest in coming to the Mets that it would have cost them even more than the Sox paid.

Roy Halladay - Halladay is a terrific pitcher, but it's just not clear that the Phillies have improved themselves much for 2010, and it's quite possible that they've put themselves in a far worse position for 2011 and beyond. Halladay will make $15.75 million next year -- $6 million paid by the Blue Jays -- in the final year of the deal he signed with Toronto. Cliff Lee will make $9 million next year, so the cost difference to the Phillies is negligible. The Phillies then signed Halladay to a three-year extension at $20 million per season that will carry him through age 36, and there's a vesting option worth another $20 million for 2014. If Halladay is healthy enough to reach the innings-pitched threshold for the option to vest, we're talking about a five-year, $90 million deal in total, which is a lot of money for a pitcher -- an admittedly great one -- who is already in his mid-thirties. Nevermind that the Phillies had to trade Lee just to get Halladay to the table to sign the extension. Add in the fact that the Mets didn't have anyone like Lee to trade for Halladay in the first place and I just don't get how you can denigrate them for failing to make a similar deal.

I guess that's it, really, and because the Mets didn't make either of those two iffy deals we have to live with the insufferable moanings of local columnists disparaging the Mets for their relative inactivity. There are plenty of things to dislike about Omar Minaya and the Mets' approach to, well, everything, but not overpaying for Lackey or Halladay shouldn't be counted among them. I would also urge Minaya not to acquiesce to the pitchfork-mob ramblings of the New York scribes, who care only about the next day's column (or the next minute's inane Tweet) and would be all-too-happy if the Mets went out and signed Jason Bay to a six-year, $100 million deal, just so they could rag on them for that one, too.

I don't think the Mets are merely sitting back and waiting for the action to come to them, but I do believe they are taking a measured approach to free agency -- and the trade market, I suppose -- and are certainly in a good position right now to land either Bay or Holliday. Teams like the Red Sox, Angels, and Yankees, who might otherwise compete with the Mets for those players' services, have already committed their money and open outfield spots to other players, so the Mets are in no way obligated to overpay for any of the remaining free agents. Since the Red Sox's four-year, $60 million offer is probably off the table, unless some other team has come along and expressed interest in Bay there's no sense in the Mets guaranteeing five years -- let alone six -- to bring Bay into the fold when there is nobody else against whom they are bidding. To that end, I sincerely hope that the Mets' reported interest in Holliday is legitimate, because there's no better way to get Bay to come around to your line of thinking than by making a comparable offer to Bay's free-agent rival (so to speak).

At all events, the Mets aren't actually in the inescapable morass of woe into which everyone has seemingly cast them. They have money, they have options, and, goodness willing, they have some kind of plan. We're as critical of them here as anyone, but I think it's probably time to lighten up just a bit.

VIDEO: John Lackey Welcomed To Boston

Randy Booth — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:14:10 -0000

More photos » by Charles Krupa - AP

3 days ago: Newly-acquired Boston Red Sox pitcher John Lackey, center, is flanked by manager Terry Francona, left, and general manager Theo Epstein during a baseball news conference at Fenway Park in Boston, Wednesday, Dec. 16, 200, Lackey finalized a five-year contract with the Red Sox, a deal worth $80 million to $87.5 million .(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Browse more photos »

It was a busy day in Boston. First Mike Cameron before noon and then later a little John Lackey action. Lackey is a officially a Red Sox, something that some of you might love or might hate. I guess we'll judge that come April.

A few details from the press conference and other news regarding Lackey:

His wife, Krista, went to the University of New Hampshire (a rival of mine, in a way, but that's OK) and was a big factor in Lackey coming to Boston.
Lackey's deal is actually front-loaded, which is good if the Red Sox ever run into problems with the big pitcher down the line. Lackey is due $18M the first season and $15.25 every season after that. His signing bonus is worth $3.5M.
Alex Speier of WEEI breaks down why the Sox chose to sign Lackey than trade for Roy Halladay. Halladay would have cost the team prospects and money -- a lot of money, as Halladay is going to get approximately $20M per season for the next three years.
Theo Epstein apparently sent Josh Beckett a text saying the Lackey signing had no effect on Beckett's future with the Sox. This is a good message to give to Josh early.

After watching the video of the press conference -- which can be found below -- I'm quite excited for Lackey to be in Boston. It's for many reasons (that I will break down in a post tomorrow), but one is just the combination of great pitching and a defense that should also be great, depending what happens at third base and first base. With three bonafide No. 1 starting pitchers, and three more good-to-great pitchers, this Red Sox rotation has to be considered the best in baseball going into Opening Day. With that defense behind them, this is going to be a dangerous team.

I think Lackey will be really good with the Sox. It helps, though, that Theo has improved the defense behind him. If that hadn't happened, Lackey's stats would suffer and I don't think we'd get full value out of him. But as it stands now, the combination of this pitching staff and defense could be lethal in the American League.

Here's the Lackey video:

Could Braves' Lowe be heading to the Yankees... or the Jets... or the (fill in team name here)

gondeee — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:02:23 -0000

More photos » by Tony Dejak - AP

Could the Braves sound the horn for the Yankees' Nick Swisher?

Browse more photos »

There has been quite a bit of silence on the Derek Lowe front for the last 24 hours. The latest incarnation of a destination for the Atlanta Braves starting pitcher has been conjured up by AJC beat writer David O'Brien:

Lowe-for-Swisher would be a strong outcome for the Braves in the whole Lowe situation. Big Money (Yanks) could make things all better.

He goes on to make an analogy about the Yankees being a rich uncle who is benevolently buying back the car which was too expensive that we (the Braves) got last year, blah, blah. Things have been so quiet the past 24 that I'm forced to re-print these twitter ramblings. Lowe might as well be headed anywhere at this point.

Lowe-for-Swish would be a decent deal, though I've consistently been on the fence about Nick Swisher. He seems like another in a long line of almost-stars who do a few things well, but have some holes in their game. But he knows how to hit a homerun and he knows how to take a walk, so that's a start. He's be a better option than Juan Rivera, who everyone and their brother keep trying to put us on.

I'm ready for something to happen. Damn the Braves patience.

[UPDATE: 4PM]

To add another thought here; with the Lee/Halladay deal now done, and the Mariners having already added Chone Figgins and Cliff Lee this off-season, and with John Lackey off to Boston, surely the Angels feel they need to respond. I think Derek Lowe would be a good beginning to that response, with the notion that he will likely pitch better back in SoCal.

Everybody Welcome Mike Cameron to the Red Sox Family

wolf9309 — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:41:46 -0000

In the first of two press conferences on Yawkey way today, the Red Sox welcomed outfielder Mike Cameron to the family.

With almost childlike excitement, Cameron, at the age of 36 still known for being one of the best defensive Center Fielders in the game, joined Theo Epstein and Terry Francona to discuss his role on the team.

Now I didn't manage to watch the whole press conference, I tuned in about halfway through it, so I'm sure I missed some good bits here, and would love anyone who did catch it to chime in with any other information they thought was useful.

The first and biggest thing that I noticed were that a lot of questions centered around where Cameron was going to play in the field- this has been a question here, with some people thinking he will be in left so that the Sox give Jacoby Ellsbury time to develop in center, and other people thinking it is vital to shore up the defense now, moving Ells to left and keeping Cameron in center.

Theo Epstein seemed somewhat non-commital, saying that he knows that Cameron plays great Center field and would also be capable of his plus defense all throughout the outfield.

Cameron himself was a little less reserved, saying that he certainly could take his skills to the corners and use what he has learned at center there, but also saying that he is looking forward to bringing his center field abilities over to the Red Sox. The other thing he was very unreserved about was he wants to win- he is here to win and he is going to play his hardest.

Personally, I would like to see something like they did with Coco Crisp when he and Ells were both around- keep Ells in left when Cameron is in the lineup, and if he gets a day off, move Ellsbury over to center and have Hermida come into left. This will give Ellsbury some chance to develop his skills as a center fielder- and with Cameron's veteran tutelage, while dramatically improving our defense in 2010.

One other thing worth mentioning was that Theo wouldn't specifically say that they were shutting the door on Bay, however did state that whichever team gets him will be getting a great ballplayer.

Remember, if you're on the internet but not a TV, you can still catch John Lackey's press conference live at www.MLB.com/LIVE. I may have to be off working, but I hopefully will be able to catch it, and if not, I look forward to everyone's thoughts on it.

Poll

Where do you think Cameron should play in 2010?

MLB Trade Rumors: Red Sox Sign John Lackey and Mike Cameron; Is Deal for Adrian Gonzalez Next?

raygu — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:00:20 -0000

by David Zalubowski - AP

2 months ago: San Diego Padres' Adrian Gonzalez follows the flight of his single to drive in two runs against the Colorado Rockies in the ninth inning of the Rockies' 11-10 victory in a baseball game in Denver on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

View full size photo »

The Boston Red Sox also made news on Monday signing starting pitcher John Lackey to a reported 5 year $85 million deal, and signing Mike Cameron to a 2 year $15 million deal. It appears that Red Sox GM Theo Epstein is placing more and more value into defensive metrics illustrated by his signing of Marco Scutaro and Mike Cameron. Epstein appears to have washed his hands of Jason Bay and his big bat/no glove in left field.

Epstein is also close to dealing third baseman Mike Lowell to the Rangers for catcher Max Ramirez. Lowell has been injury prone over the last two years, and Epstein is looking to sign Adrian Beltre to play 3B, or is he?

Now that the Sox have signed John Lackey, they have an extra starting pitcher that new Padres GM Ned Hoyer covets in Clay Bucholz. Could the Sox be entertaining the idea of del Bucholz now that they have signed Lackey? A package of Bucholz, Casey Kelly, Ryan Westmoreland and 1-2 more prospects would surely entice Hoyer who knows the Sox system inside and out. And Gonzalez's bat and glove would be an ideal fit for Epstein's new approach to building a ballclub.

Poll

Will Padres GM Ned Hoyer finally cave and deal Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox?

Settling for Lowe

gondeee — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:42:23 -0000

More photos » by John Bazemore - AP

Browse more photos »

It looks like the long-awaited trade of Atlanta Braves starter Derek Lowe is nearly upon us. The prerequisites for a Lowe trade are about to be finalized and that could be the trigger which leads other teams to make a move to acquire Lowe.

The Boston Red Sox are on the verge of signing John Lackey for way too much money. The Phillies and Mariners and Blue Jays are playing the Napa Cap Shuffle with Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay, and the Phils want to have their cake and eat it too, so they will land Halliday regardless of the cost.

That leaves several teams, particularly the Angels, without a "top-flight" starter, and if they believe that Lowe fits that mold, then maybe they'll bite on a trade. The Mets, and specifically their fans, are also left wanting more, but not only do we not want to trade with a division rival, we don't match up well with the Mets on the trade front.

Those two teams would be the front runners for his services, but there may be another mystery team or two who could get into the bidding, especially if the Braves can eat some of Lowe's salary as they apparently indicated that they can (though that is not their preference). Lowe is essentially the next most attractive starting pitcher on the free agent or trade market this winter, and his services could come relatively cheap in terms of players a team would have to give up to get him.

For the Braves, getting rid of that contract would be a huge help, as the team must view that as somewhat of an overreaction last year to what had transpired the year before with the starting rotation. The balance on the Braves now would be to spend more money on the lineup rather than the rotation, especially with inexpensive rotation options in Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson entrenched for several years.

We're still in the sit and wait mode on a possible Lowe trade, but we're certainly waiting more eagerly.

[UPDATE: 11:15]

Maybe the White Sox could be a buyer. After all they seem to be collecting a bunch of old Dodgers players who have bad contracts.

Life After Lackey Starts With Sheets

James Kannengieser — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 10:00:22 -0000

With three of the better free agent starting pitchers (John Lackey, Randy Wolf, Rich Harden) off the market, and Roy Halladay a Phillie, Met fans have unsurprisingly started in with the it's-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it talk. Best practice to avoid this nonsense is turning off WFAN. Actually, that's probably a good idea in general, unless you're tuning in for the unintentionally hilarious grunts of Mike Francesa. Make no mistake about it: there are plenty of other strong options for the 2010 rotation, available via free agency and trade. One name that the Mets would be wise to make a strong play for is Ben Sheets.

Sheets is the best of the crop of talented, injury prone pitchers which includes Erik Bedard and Justin Duchscherer. He missed all of 2009 because of flexor tendon surgery and has a history of other assorted ailments. When healthy, he's one of the best in the game. Hopefully the Mets' reported preliminary interest in Sheets turns into strong pursuit, and soon. The rare blend of strikeout ability and control he provides (career K/BB of 3.85) is preferable to the fielding dependent stylings of Jason Marquis or Joel Pineiro, especially considering the iffy Mets infield defense and presence of Mike Pelfrey and Jonathon Niese.

According to ESPN, Sheets is reportedly looking for a deal in the neighborhood of $12 million a season. That seems a bit excessive but I would endorse a deal similar to Harden's with a small bump because Sheets is slightly better. Maybe a one year deal for $9 million with an option around $12 million? If signed, he could realistically be a 2.5-3 win pitcher, even in ~140 innings. It would be wise to limit him to 25 starts or so to ensure health as well. Pairing Sheets up with someone more reliable would be prudent, and some of the available pitchers worth looking at are as follows:

Aaron Harang - My top choice to pair with Sheets. He can probably be had for less than he's worth, has a strong strikeout rate and is an overall above average pitcher. Just don't let Jerry Manuel use him on two days rest for four innings of relief. The home run problem might be alleviated if he escapes Great American Ballpark.
Derek Lowe - The contract might become an albatross but if the Braves kick in some money he would be a decent addition. Similar skill set to Marquis and Pineiro, albeit more dependable.
John Smoltz - Calling a 42 year-old with injury problems reliable is a big stretch but if Sheets isn't signed "Schmoltz" (per Ron Darling) is worth a look. His peripherals and velocity were there in 2009 and despite his status as long-time Brave he is a personal favorite. Every pitch he throws looks like an angry haymaker thrown at the batter. I rarely say things like this, with good reason, but Smoltz is a competitor who just seems to want it more than anyone else on the field. His intensity would help satiate the masses and mainstream media who think the Mets are a bunch of spineless slugs.
Doug Davis - An under the radar type whose numbers might surprise. Yes, he gets hit hard but considering his age and lack of brand name he could be a nice bargain on a cheap one year deal to fill out the back of the rotation.

See robcast23's Big Book Of Available Pitchers post for more on Sheets and the pitchers listed above.

John Lackey's Signing: The Potential Ripple Effect

ltrain2 — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 09:38:24 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Is Adrian Gonzalez, pictured here, the next big name acquisition to be announced by the Boston Red Sox following the recent signing of free agent pitcher John Lackey?

Browse more photos »

In what can surely be considered an understatement; the Red Sox's recent off-season activity has the Major League Baseball community buzzing, namely the population that makes up 'Red Sox Nation.'

On Monday, following reports that discussions surrounding re-signing Jason Bay had soured, the Red Sox proceeded to sign the top available starting pitcher via free agency, John Lackey, to a 5-year deal. The arrival of the former Angels' ace in Boston has been dissected in a bevy of ways since news broke earlier today by nearly every media outlet, each offering their own unique opinion on the situation. Some suggest that Lackey represents a reallocation of the funds originally intended for Bay. However, I don't believe that there is enough emphasis being placed on the big picture as a result of the acquisition, and the subsequent sequence of events that may potentially follow.

While some may argue that because Jason Bay is no longer an option, the Red Sox may have simply taken their money and invested in another big ticket free agent instead. If that were the case, wouldn't it have been more intelligent to focus on someone like Matt Holliday or Adrian Beltre to help fill the holes that Boston has both defensively and offensively, rather than acquire a starting pitcher? While there's no denying that the depth in regards to the starting rotation was a point of emphasis for management heading into the off-season, it seems rather narrow-minded to use such a large sum of financial resources to fill that void while continuing to ignore the ones at third base and left field.

Is it possible that Mike Cameron is set to be Jason Bay's replacement, especially given the defensive upgrade he represents, and that they simply used the money that they saved by not going after Matt Holliday on the combination of Cameron and Lackey? Sure, it's not a farfetched theory by any means. However, after much deliberation on the topic, I have come to the conclusion that there may be more to the Red Sox's recent acquisitions than what is evident on the surface.

One piece of information that slipped through the cracks today, which is understandable given the more notable moves made, is that the Red Sox made a two year contract offer reportedly worth $15 million dollars to left-handed Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman. Chapman, a 21 year-old starting pitcher with a fastball that consistently touches triple-digits, could offer a bit of foreshadowing into the Red Sox's plan of action in relation to their void at third base.

The $80-85 million dollar contract awarded to Lackey is what originally made me look into the potential reasoning behind extending $15 million to Chapman who, like Lackey, is a starting pitcher. No, Chapman would not likely be added to the MLB-level rotation come opening day, but there are still some flags being raised by Boston's pursuit of the young talent. Why continue attempting to accrue starting pitching depth with a hole still evident at not only the third base position, but in the lineup as well?

Consider this; the addition of Lackey now gives Boston six viable options for their rotation, as it stands now, heading into 2010. With Beckett, Lester, Lackey, Matsuzaka, Buchholz, and Wakefield, a once seemingly questionable rotation has become more than formidable, arguably the best in baseball. Where does extending a $15 million dollar contract to a young, unproven, prospect-type pitcher make sense given the Red Sox's glaring needs elsewhere?

It would not only make sense, but it would actually appear rather brilliant in its creativeness, if the plan of action was to turn around and begin shopping the attractive young talent that is Clay Buchholz. Buchholz, known for his devastating arsenal of off-speed pitches as well as his limitless potential, seemingly finds himself immersed in nearly every trade discussion involving the Red Sox the last few years. So why stop now?

One reason that Theo Epstein has been reluctant to move Buchholz to this point is that it is difficult to find a young starting pitcher with that much potential without having to develop internally, as they did with Clay. This is where Aroldis Chapman becomes relevant to this discussion.

Matt Holliday had been the center of rumors regarding the Red Sox's planned route in the event that Bay could not be retained. However, recent reports (especially coming from Holliday's agent, Scott Boras) suggest that signing Holliday would require a deal exceeding that in which Jason Bay is commanding at the present time. Boras has been rather vocal in his opinion that Holliday is a more valuable asset than Bay to an interested team. Having said that, and assuming that Adrian Beltre is now out of this off-season's budget limit, it's hard to imagine that the Red Sox are left with many options to plug third base via free agency. It's also safe to assume that management is left unsatisfied with Cameron replacing Bay if it means that someone like Casey Kotchman is going to take over the first base duties, with Youkilis moving to third base in this scenario (also making the assumption that moving Varitek back behind the plate full-time, while shifting Youkilis to third and Victor Martinez to first, is not a realistic option).

All of this leads me to believe that the Red Sox next plan of action is to begin gauging interest from teams regarding the aforementioned Clay Buchholz.

With the potential signing of Aroldis Chapman, moving Clay Buchholz could become more justifiable to the Red Sox. Essentially, the Chapman signing may simply be a case of replacing one young pitching prospect with another, allowing Boston to utilize Buchholz's trade-appeal and acquire the corner infield-bat that they so desperately need.

San Diego could potentially be a player in any discussion pertaining to Buchholz. The Red Sox have discussed the availability of first baseman Adrian Gonzalez with the Padres recently, but to no avail, citing Boston's hesitation to move Buchholz as a main reason. Reports, prior to the Lackey signing, made it appear as though no progress was being made on that front. Padres general manager Jed Hoyer reportedly requested a combination of Buchholz and either Casey Kelly (a pitching prospect widely considered untouchable in such discussions) or outfielder Ryan Westmoreland.

One interesting aspect of negotiations is that Jason McLeod, a former Red Sox scouting director, is now employed by Hoyer. It has been said that both have a detailed understanding and admiration of the Boston system.

While the Red Sox still expected to retain Jason Bay, it was understandable for Epstein to be adverse to the idea of unloading Buchholz, especially given his opinion that the rotation (even with Buchholz) lacked depth. Also, because Bay was still an option at that point, the need for an offensive upgrade was slightly less glaring. With Bay and Holliday now out of the mix, and the potential signings of both Lackey and Chapman, the attention has to be redirected back to the original need for offense at one of the corner infield spots left vacant by Mike Lowell's departure (still pending). A platoon of Mike Cameron and Jeremy Hermida is probably not the caliber of replacement in left field that Boston entered the off-season with in mind, but acquiring someone such as Adrian Gonzalez would have to help alleviate any concerns regarding offensive potency that may still linger.

As I implied earlier, San Diego is very interested in Clay Buchholz, even going as far as insisting his presence in any potential package offered by Boston. If Chapman is signed, Buchholz immediately becomes more expendable, and Gonzalez that much more appealing. Boston's interest in Chapman has been evident for some time, is it possible now that his addition could represent the subtraction of Buchholz? Clay's availability has to increase exponentially in the event that the Red Sox land Chapman.

It is starting to appear as though Theo Epstein has been underestimated in his approach this off-season all along. His lack of activity seems to have directly corresponded with the progress made in re-signing Bay. As soon as the discussions began to break down, Theo started making moves. My feeling is that he has had this plan in his back pocket the whole time he was in talks with Bay and his representatives, and is only now beginning to deploy it.

One fact remains certain, Boston's needs a power-hitter to compliment their lineup following the departure of Jason Bay. With Cameron and Hermida joining J.D. Drew and Jacoby Ellsbury, completing a respectable core of outfielders, the most obvious place to fill that void remains at one of the corner infield spots.

It's hard to imagine a better solution than someone like Adrian Gonzalez.