Victor martinez to Red Sox?

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by Gander

Pretty much done deal but you're right, I guess its not official.

Dead deal

[dalakhani]

This is a great trade for the Ped Sox. Exactly what they needed. A player in his prime (31) can catch, play first and DH. Best part? They owe the balance of 5.7 million this year and have a club option for a very modest 7 million next year with a 250k buyout.

Exactly what they needed.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by dalakhani

This is a great trade for the Ped Sox. Exactly what they needed. A player in his prime (31) can catch, play first and DH. Best part? They owe the balance of 5.7 million this year and have a club option for a very modest 7 million next year with a 250k buyout.

Exactly what they needed.

They got a very good player with a good contract. It doesnt address any of their pitching issues and they did give up some pretty good players to get him.
If Martinez was a full time catcher it would be a better deal. They really need to shed Ortiz, Lowell and Varitek after this year though I'm doubting there any takers for Big Papi or Lowell.

[dalakhani]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

They got a very good player with a good contract. It doesnt address any of their pitching issues and they did give up some pretty good players to get him.
If Martinez was a full time catcher it would be a better deal. They really need to shed Ortiz, Lowell and Varitek after this year though I'm doubting there any takers for Big Papi or Lowell.

Wakefield is injured but will be back and he has pitched well. lester is a solid number 2 behind beckett. Then you thow in the grab bag of penny, bucholz and smoltz before matsuzaka comes back. I know they are a little beat up but that is still a good staff to go along with the deepest pen in the league. I dont see pitching as a problem for them really IF they can get past the injury bug.

Their lineup looked anemic before this deal. They will have to pick up some major contract dollars and throw in some prospects for anyone to want any part of papi or lowell. Now the middle of the order actually looks like that of a legit contender.

[SniperSB23]

In a couple years I think they are really going to regret giving up Masterson.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by dalakhani

Wakefield is injured but will be back and he has pitched well. lester is a solid number 2 behind beckett. Then you thow in the grab bag of penny, bucholz and smoltz before matsuzaka comes back. I know they are a little beat up but that is still a good staff to go along with the deepest pen in the league. I dont see pitching as a problem for them really IF they can get past the injury bug.

Their lineup looked anemic before this deal. They will have to pick up some major contract dollars and throw in some prospects for anyone to want any part of papi or lowell. Now the middle of the order actually looks like that of a legit contender.

I dont agree at all. Penny is a 5 inning guy and got absolutely smoked the other night, Smoltz has been really shaky against mostly weak teams, Dice K wasnt good before his arm troubles. While the top 2 are as good as anyones and Buchholz is a good pitcher, the rest of the staff is shaky. The bullpen has plenty of late inning guys but is lacking in a solid middle guy now that Masterson is gone. I suppose Bard will fill in but those innings will are going to be important since they have three more or less 5 inning pitchers in Penny, Smoltz and Dice K. They can probably get a guy that gets through waivers but they are needing a veteran guy to pick up innings and make some spot starts.

As for the lineup, Martinez is a very good hitting catcher but as a 1st baseman or DH he is just pretty ordinary. Not to mention that he hasnt been hitting much the last 2 months. Plus Martinez in the field makes an already weak defensive team weaker. He is a huge downgrade at 1st from Youlkilis and is not a strong catcher. I like Martinez and his ability to catch makes him valuable but I would like him more if he were going to play 5 games a week behind the plate.

[dalakhani]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

I dont agree at all. Penny is a 5 inning guy and got absolutely smoked the other night, Smoltz has been really shaky against mostly weak teams, Dice K wasnt good before his arm troubles. While the top 2 are as good as anyones and Buchholz is a good pitcher, the rest of the staff is shaky. The bullpen has plenty of late inning guys but is lacking in a solid middle guy now that Masterson is gone. I suppose Bard will fill in but those innings will are going to be important since they have three more or less 5 inning pitchers in Penny, Smoltz and Dice K. They can probably get a guy that gets through waivers but they are needing a veteran guy to pick up innings and make some spot starts.

As for the lineup, Martinez is a very good hitting catcher but as a 1st baseman or DH he is just pretty ordinary. Not to mention that he hasnt been hitting much the last 2 months. Plus Martinez in the field makes an already weak defensive team weaker. He is a huge downgrade at 1st from Youlkilis and is not a strong catcher. I like Martinez and his ability to catch makes him valuable but I would like him more if he were going to play 5 games a week behind the plate.

I hear you. Wakefield was an all star this year before his injury. That brings them four deep. As for number 5, Dice K would be one of the best number 5 guys in the league. As for five inning guys, thats all you really need with that bullpen. Del Carmen, okijima, Ramirez and bard are pretty darn good. And they will probably, as you say, pick up a waiver wire reliever as there are always some available in august.

Martinez allows them to make more moves because of the contract. Getting a .300 guy that plays 1st and catcher is huge considering the production that they have been getting out of those positions.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by dalakhani

I hear you. Wakefield was an all star this year before his injury. That brings them four deep. As for number 5, Dice K would be one of the best number 5 guys in the league. As for five inning guys, thats all you really need with that bullpen. Del Carmen, okijima, Ramirez and bard are pretty darn good. And they will probably, as you say, pick up a waiver wire reliever as there are always some available in august.

Martinez allows them to make more moves because of the contract. Getting a .300 guy that plays 1st and catcher is huge considering the production that they have been getting out of those positions.

The problem with those bullpen guys is they are situational 1 inning guys. Those guys get tired as the year goes on. Wakefield was pretty good earlier in the year but he is getting older and may not bounce back as quick as thought. Dice K may not be give them anything and Buchholz is going to be on limited innings.

The thing about Martinez is he is valuable because he can catch but is not really a top 1st baseman. Ortiz can only DH and Lowell can only play third. Youk gives them the flexability to make it work by being able to play third but defensively at third he is not the same as 1st and Martinez is not a good fielder. Really Martinez is a very average 1st baseman in terms of production. I mean if Youk plays third, Martinez 1st and Ortiz Dh do they really have a much better lineup than with Lowell at third, Youk at 1st? It certainly is weaker in the field with Martinez out there. While he is younger Martinez production isnt really better than Lowells. He is certainly an offensive upgrade over Varitek but how much will they play him behind the plate? He does have a good contract from the teams point of view.

While I'm sure he wasn't available for the same price, Adrian Gonzalez would have been a monster in Fenway.