Daniel Bard

Red Sox reliever Daniel Bard said that he was open to any role that might present itself in the future, whether it’s closing, starting or continuing as the team’s set-up man, when he joined The Big Show on Friday with Michael Holley and Rob Bradford who was sitting in for Glenn Ordway.

“I’m a pitcher. I don’t see myself as locked into any one role,” Bard said. “Right now I’m a middle reliever, I’m just going to be the best one I can be. If that means pitching in a different role down the road, whether that’s pitching the ninth inning or pitching the first inning, I’m open to it.”

Jonathan Papalbon’s impending free agency promises to have an impact on Bard’s future one way or the other. If Papelbon leaves, Bard would likely assume the closer’s role. But if he stays, Bard was asked if he would consider converting back into a starting pitcher.

“I’ll address that situation if it comes next year. It’s too tough, too many factors that are out of my control to really say right now how I would feel,” Bard said. “I’m thinking about this year. I’m just thinking about right now. That’s not much of answer for you.”

Listen to the whole interview on The Big Show audio on demand page. Here are more highlights from the conversation. Read the rest of this entry »

The Red Sox claimed right-hander Taylor Buchholz off of waivers on Monday. (AP)

The Red Sox claimed right-hander Taylor Buchholz on waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays. His acquisition represents a buy-low move in the Red Sox’ efforts to overhaul their bullpen. Two years removed from a season when he was one of the dominant setup men in the majors, he missed the 2009 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery and then spent much of 2010 in the minors trying to return to form. If he is able to replicate his 2008 form, the Sox will have a low-cost right-hander with big upside. If not, then he will represent a player whom the club claims at minimal risk and cost.

The 29-year-old split last season between the Rockies and Blue Jays, pitching 12 innings in nine games while forging a 3.75 ERA, striking out nine and walking six in his return from Tommy John surgery that robbed him of his 2009 season.

At one point, Buchholz (unrelated to Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz) was considered a strong pitching prospect for the Phillies and then Astros, getting  recognition among Baseball America’s top 100 minor league prospects before the 2003 and 2004 seasons. He was dealt to Houston as part of a package to yield Billy Wagner in 2003, and subsequently went to the Rockies as part of a deal for starter Jason Jennings.

In 135 career big league appearances, Buchholz has a 19-21 rec0rd and 4.39 ERA. He has struck out 6.4 and walked 2.5 per nine innings. He enjoyed a tremendous year in the Rockies bullpen in 2008, forging a 2.17 ERA in 63 appearances, nearly making the All-Star team. But the need to undergo Tommy John surgery deprived him of a chance to back up that performance.

After returning to the Rockies following Tommy John surgery last year, he was claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays in September. With the Blue Jays, he showed an 88-90 mph fastball in his two appearances, and he also featured the 12-to-6 curveball that had been his out pitch pre-surgery.

He earned $1.055 million in each of the last two seasons, in which he was arbitration eligible.

With the addition of Buchholz, the Red Sox’ 40-man roster now stands at 36.

The question of whether Johnny Damon will return to the Red Sox likely hinges on whether or not he elects to exercise his power to veto a deal to Boston. The Sox are one of the eight teams to which Damon can veto a deal.

Damon, of course, has his reasons for having sought the opportunity to veto a deal to Boston. On Monday, he dredged the memories of his acrimonious departure from Boston, and his uncertainty about whether he would want to go back to the Red Sox.

But more often than not, no-trade protection ends up being less a means of avoiding going to a team than a bargaining tool should a trade occur. As one former general manager once explained:

“(The clauses) started out legitimately enough. There were certain places that players did not want to be assigned. … As time marched on, they became a hybrid between not wanting to go somewhere and wanting to leverage a potential deal.

“It’s gone full circle. … Where we are now, a ‘no trade’ doesn’t always mean you don’t want to go to that club. In many cases, it means exactly the opposite.”

Often, players simply use no-trade clauses to get some kind of bonus if they are sent to a team. The Red Sox’ recent history of deals (and near-deals) for players who had the right to veto a deal to Boston suggests as much:

Billy Wagner (2009): The Sox acquired the left-hander from the Mets a year ago. Wagner had a full no-trade clause in the deal he’d signed with the Mets, and as he continued his rehab from Tommy John surgery, he considered using his power to veto a deal, feeling that the pressure of a pennant race might be a less-than-ideal scenario in his efforts to recuperate.

But Wagner ended up agreeing to go to Boston after the Sox guaranteed that they would not exercise his option for the 2010 season. The deal was consummated, and Wagner ended up being a contributor not only over the duration of the 2009 season, but, perhaps more importantly, for the long haul, when he declined the Sox’ arbitration offer and signed with the Braves as a Type A free agent, giving the Sox a pair of compensation picks (No. 20, which turned into first rounder Kolbrin Vitek, and No. 36, which the Sox used for Bryce Brentz) in this year’s draft.

Alex Gonzalez (2009): The Sox made a waiver deal with the Reds for shortstop Gonzalez last August. Gonzalez had the power to nix a deal, armed with a no-trade clause, but he didn’t want to do anything to impede the deal.

“I didn’t ask for money,” Gonzalez said last year. “I didn’t ask for anything.”

Brian Giles and Mark Kotsay (2008): The Sox were scrambling to add outfield depth in August of 2008 (sound familiar?) as a result of an injury that sidelined J.D. Drew for most of the final six weeks of the season.

The team made a move to acquire Brian Giles from the Padres, but the veteran outfielder elected to exercise his no-trade clause to block the deal, citing his desire to stay close to his family on the West Coast. Undeterred, the Sox kept exploring outfield options, and near the end of August, they made a deal with the Braves for outfielder Mark Kotsay. But Kotsay was also armed with a limited no-trade clause that included the right to veto a deal with the Sox. In exchange for not exercising that power, Kotsay received $325,000 from the Sox.

Eric Gagne (2007): Gagne represented the evolution of no-trade protection. Prior to the ’07 season, the Sox did not have a closer (Jonathan Papelbon was being converted to the rotation), and the Sox had talked to the free-agent about signing to join their bullpen. Gagne had been interested, but had a better offer from the Rangers. Afforded the opportunity to pick a list of clubs to whom he could not be traded without his consent, he included the Sox — a team he said he was thrilled to join after being dealt at the 2007 trade deadline.

“(The clause) is not really where you want to go or not go,” Gagne conceded in the summer of 2007. “I think it was more leverage than anything else.”

The power of that clause proved significant. Gagne leveraged his veto power to have the Sox guarantee $2.5 million in potential bonus money.

Alex Rodriguez (2003): Rodriguez had a full no-trade clause from the Rangers in his landmark 10-year, $252 million deal. But he was more than willing to waive it in order to join the Sox following the 2003 season. In fact, the deal that would have brought him to Boston fell apart not because Rodriguez was seeking concessions, but instead because the MLB Players’ Association felt that he was giving up too much (approximately $28 million) in order to go to Boston.

The no-trade clause was not the hang-up in this failed deal.

Curt Schilling (2003): Schilling’s full no-trade clause created tremendous leverage in his negotiations with the Sox. He used his veto power to get a two-year, $25.5 million extension from the Sox (which became a three-year, $40.5 million deal once Boston won the World Series). The clause did not stop a deal; it just made it more expensive for the Sox.

Johnny Damon has been claimed off trade waivers by the Red Sox. That we know.

So, what does it all mean? Here is a primer for what you should know regarding the Damon saga as it pertains to the outfielder, his current team, the Tigers, and the Red Sox as we live through the next 48 hours:

THE FIRST REASON WHY THE RED SOX CLAIMED DAMON

The impetus for the Sox’ claiming Damon off trade waivers (which is different than regular waivers) is most likely for defensive purposes, and we don’t mean anything to do with a glove. The Red Sox reside just in front of Tampa Bay and the Yankees in the order of getting a crack at players who are passed through waivers, allowing them to implement the kind of tactic they did in the case of Damon.

If the Red Sox didn’t claim Damon, Tampa Bay would have almost undoubtedly put in a claim since its biggest weakness is one of the 36-year-old’s remaining strengths. He can help an offense. While Tampa Bay is third in the majors in runs scored, this month it has the second-worst team batting average for the month of August among American League clubs.

While Damon wouldn’t be expected to carry a club, for a team like Tampa Bay – which has had their designated hitter position total a .238 batting average with the second-fewest runs scored in the American League – he could help.

Regarding the Yankees, there has already been a precedent of how much Damon can serve as a complementary piece to New York’s already powerful lineup. He would certainly seem to be more valuable to the Rays than the Yankees, but it would be an addition that certainly couldn’t hurt the Yanks.

THE SECOND REASON WHY THE RED SOX CLAIMED DAMON

While Damon isn’t nearly the player he was when he last wore a Red Sox uniform, he could provide some value to the current club. His numbers aren’t bad (.270 batting average, .355 on-base percentage), although he is hitting just .219 in August. But the fit in the Red Sox’ lineup would seemingly be a natural one, either manning the No. 2 spot behind Marco Scutaro, or with the pair switching places with Damon taking the top spot. It should be noted, however, that Damon has only hit leadoff six times this season.

Would he better than the likes of Bill Hall, Darnell McDonald, Ryan Kalish and Daniel Nava? In some ways, yes. But not enough for the Red Sox to overpay for the outfielder.

Another aspect of Damon’s arrival that might make such a deal worthwhile for the Red Sox is the energy it might supply a team desperate for a boost. That was certainly the vibe relayed by players in the Sox’ clubhouse.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hideki Okajima is having his worst season with the Red Sox, contributing to a Sox bullpen that ranks among the worst in the AL.

It is no great revelation to suggest that the Red Sox bullpen is thin.

Sox starters rank fourth in the majors with 524 1/3 innings this year, and sixth in the majors with an average of just under 6 1/3 innings per start. It’s not hard to figure out why. The rotation has a 4.07 ERA, fifth best in the American League. The bullpen now features a 4.83 ERA, second worst in the AL. The Sox also have 13 blown saves, most in the AL, and a 64 percent save percentage that ranks 11th among the 14 teams in the American League.

In his return on Tuesday, Hideki Okajima allowed a homer — to left-hander Carl Crawford, no less — to push his ERA up to 6.00. Ramon Ramirez (4.81 ERA) has been unreliable. Manny Delcarmen saw his ERA more than double to 4.59 as a result of a three-outing stretch of ineffectiveness that forced him to the DL to rest his elbow.

In short, it is no secret that the Sox will need to improve their bullpen, and that the team is likely to seek a change to its current crew. But the question remains: what kind of change?

The Sox gave an indication of the initial direction of their attempt to restore relief to their pitching staff with the news that Michael Bowden, who has been dominant as a Triple-A starter for the past five weeks, will be moved to the PawSox bullpen. And if the Sox seek to address a struggling bullpen with internal solutions such as Bowden, it would not be that out of character for the club under the stewardship of GM Theo Epstein.

While the Sox have at times been aggressive in trading for bullpen reinforcements, there have been years when they did not do so, even with deeply flawed bullpens. In 2005, for instance, the Sox featured a horrific bullpen. Closer Keith Foulke required surgery in July, and setup men like Alan Embree and Matt Mantei endured horrible seasons.

The Sox looked into acquiring an impact arm at the trade deadline, but decided not to do anything when they were presented with trade proposals such as an exchange of Kevin Youkilis for Twins setup man J.C. Romero. Yet the team still made one of its most significant bullpen moves under Epstein, making the decision to use Jonathan Papelbon (a starter to that point in his career) as a reliever down the stretch. Now, it appears that the Sox want to see if Bowden can permit them a similar solution this year.

Here’s a look at the year-by-year history of Red Sox in-season bullpen moves during Epstein’s tenure: Read the rest of this entry »

INDIANAPOLIS — The Sox have a couple of openings in their bullpen with the departures of Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito. The defections of the two veterans leave the Sox with a need to fill out a couple of bullpen spots, rounding out a group that (barring a trade) currently includes Jonathan Papelbon, Daniel Bard, Hideki Okajima, Ramon Ramirez and Manny Delcarmen.

The Sox will explore the elite relievers on the market. This year, Mike Gonzalez (80 games, 2.42 ERA, 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings) and Rafael Soriano (77 games, 2.97 ERA, 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings) both fit that bill.

However, both will require multi-year contracts as well as the sacrifice of a draft pick, since both Type A free agents were offered salary arbitration. And history suggests that it would be unlikely for the Sox to pay such a price.

Only once during the seven-year administration of GM Theo Epstein have the Sox sacrificed a draft pick or given a contract of more than two guaranteed years to a reliever. Both cases occurred with the signing of Keith Foulke to a three-year deal after the 2003 season.

Unless the Sox trade closer Jonathan Papelbon, thus creating a need for a closer (and there have been no indications that the team will do this), it is difficult to envision Boston making such a sacrifice for a reliever – especially since the Sox are mindful of the year-to-year inconsistencies of performers out of the bullpen.

It is also worth noting that the Sox — who have already coughed up one draft pick in order to sign Marco Scutaro, but gained two back when Billy Wagner signed with the Braves — have only sacrificed multiple draft picks in one offseason. That came after the 2004 season, when the team lost two picks for signing Edgar Renteria and David Wells, but enjoyed a net gain of four draft picks by receiving two selections each for Pedro Martinez, Derek Lowe and Orlando Cabrera.

The Red Sox would have been content to bring back either left-hander Billy Wagner or right-hander Takashi Saito. Though both veterans will require careful health management to ensure their productivity, both the 38-year-old Wagner and the 39-year-old Saito proved effective in 2009.

Wagner had a 1.72 ERA in 17 big-league appearances in his return from Tommy John surgery, punching out 26 batters in the process. Saito had a 2.43 ERA in his 56 appearances.

But, with both relievers having signed with the Braves in a span of less than 48 hours, the Sox are prepared to move on. The Sox offered Wagner salary arbitration, though they anticipated that the left-hander would pursue a job as a closer elsewhere, a notion that was borne out by his $7 million deal. And yesterday, Saito — who was offered a short-money deal by the Sox, who liked the right-hander, but felt compelled to manage his usage carefully given an elbow that nearly required Tommy John surgery in 2008 — followed Wagner to Atlanta, with a deal that guarantees him a reported $3.2 million.

Now, the Sox have a pair of openings in their bullpen for 2010. Barring a trade, the team will return Jonathan Papelbon, Daniel Bard, Hideki Okajima, Ramon Ramirez and Manny Delcarmen to next year’s relief corps, the primary members of a group that forged a 3.80 ERA (second-best among AL bullpens) in 2009.

If the team wants to look internally to replace Wagner and Saito to fill out the ‘pen, it could look to left-hander Dustin Richardson (who struck out 11.7 batters per nine innings in the minors in 2009 before tossing 3.1 scoreless innings in the majors following a September call-up), Michael Bowden (who struggled to a 9.56 ERA in 16 big-league innings, but finished sixth in the International League (min. 100 innings) with a 3.13 ERA) or right-hander Junichi Tazawa (2.55 ERA in Double A and Triple A; 2-3, 7.46 ERA in the majors).

The team has also shown interest in free agents Rafael Soriano (2.97 ERA, 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings with the Braves in 2009) and left-hander Mike Gonzalez (5-4, 2.42 ERA, 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings for Atlanta in 2009).