Buster Olney

Shortly after breaking the news that the Red Sox had reached a deal with David Ortiz, ESPN senior baseball writer Buster Olney joined Mut & Merloni and talked about how the deal came to fruition, as well as how it represents a change in philosophy for the Red Sox front office.

The Red Sox and Ortiz agreed on a one-year, $14.575 million deal, a midpoint between what the team was willing to offer and what Ortiz wanted. Though Ortiz ideally wanted a multiyear deal from the Red Sox, Olney said the team just felt better taking it one year at a time with the 36-year-old designated hitter.

“He was hopeful at some point that the Red Sox would eventually begin some dialogue on a multiyear deal, but they were so far apart,” Olney said. “From the beginning of this process when the Red Sox offered him that two-year, $18-19 million [offer] whatever it was, which obviously is very far from where they wound up. I think, too, the Red Sox were comfortable going one year at a time and I’d be willing to bet that’s probably the way it will be for the rest of his time with the Red Sox.”

With a new general manager in Ben Cherington, Olney said that the deal with Ortiz is indicative of a greater change in thinking in the Red Sox front office with former GM Theo Epstein now with the Cubs.

“There’s no question that there’s a real shift in philosophy that’s been going on around the Red Sox, around baseball,” Olney said. “I think David Ortiz is a dinosaur — he’ll be one of the last guys where you’ll see a team devote a lot of money to someone to be a designated hitter I think teams, for the most part, like to keep that position more flexible, to give injured guys rest.”

Given Ortiz’ age and position within the team, Olney indicated that the DH is on a short leash if his production starts to decline, even to the point where the Red Sox may let him go.

“If he has any kind of a drop-off, he’s reached the age where if he has a 10 percent drop-off from this year going into next year, then the Red Sox would probably be inclined where they would look at it and say, ‘I think we can save some money,’ ” Olney said. “I think David’s in a position where, as long as he continues to have seasons like he did last year, he’ll continue to get paid. And if he regresses at all at his age, I bet the Red Sox will bail out on it.”

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Buster Olney

ESPN baseball analyst Buster Olney joined Mut & Merloni Tuesday morning to discuss the Red Sox’ September woes and their chances of making the playoffs. Olney pointed to starting pitching as the main problem during Boston’s poor run.

“They’re pitching has just been so bad, and they’ve fallen apart so quickly, that they are going to look really flat,” Olney said. “I bet you that behind closed doors, the position players on the team are saying, ‘My God, we have to do it ourselves. We have to win softball games.’ Because it doesn’t look like the pitching is going to get any better.”

Another point Olney made was that scouts that follow the Red Sox are questioning the conditioning of some of the Boston players late in the season.

“I’m talking to these scouts and they’re saying there are some players on the Red Sox,  they’re surprised that they’re not in better physical condition,” Olney said. “[The scouts] feel like there are guys during the course of the Red Sox season that have gotten out of shape and that’s a problem. If you’re the Red Sox and you’ve got a lot of money invested in this team, when you’re coming down the stretch, you don’t want to be sitting there wondering, are these guys struggling in part because they are not in as good of physical condition as the Rays are? That’s a problem.”

Following are more highlights from the conversation. To hear the full interview, go to the Mut & Merloni audio on demand page.

On the trade deadline deals and whether Boston did enough: “Let’s face it, the Red Sox were playing so well at that time that you weren’t envisioning a period where the team was just going to utterly collapse. So you’re sitting in Theo’s shoes, you’re just trying to fill in little bits, you’re trying to make it a little bit better, but you’re not thinking of a major overhaul, and now there’s a situation where you compare them with Tampa Bay, they’re not even close. It will be interesting to see how they react and adapt in the off-season when so many holes have popped up on their roster.”

On whether John Lackey should still be in the rotation: “I’m sure part of the internal conversations they’re having right now is, if not Lackey, then who? Maybe they’re at the point where they’re feeling, you know, anybody, because he’s thrown so poorly. I know there’s been talk about [Alfredo] Aceves maybe going into the rotation. I think he’s been so valuable in that sort of stop-gap role and with their rotation so thin, and then having to fill in it seems like on a daily basis, I’d keep Aceves there and take your chances.”

On if Boston will make the postseason: “I think they will. I think they’ll beat up Baltimore and win those softball style games down the stretch. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay’s playing the Yankees. … The Yankees want to get the No. 1 seed. They’re going to continue to play hard. They have some guys chasing milestones, they’re trying to figure things out. I don’t think there’s any question that Tampa Bay, while they might be the better team [than Boston] right now, they have a tougher road over the next nine days than the Red Sox do.”

Buster Olney

ESPN baseball insider Buster Olney joined the Mut & Merloni Show on Tuesday to discuss the Red Sox’ potential playoff scenarios and some possible waiver wire acquisitions as the regular season winds down. To hear the full interview, check out the Mut & Merloni audio on demand page.

If the MLB playoffs started tomorrow, the Red Sox would play the Rangers in the ALDS, while the Yankees would face the Tigers. If Monday night’s 4-0 loss in Texas was a sign of things to come, the Red Sox might want to avoid that first-round matchup. Still, Olney said both the Rangers and Tigers would present a challenge in a five-game series.

“I think it’s a flip of the coin between the two teams,” said Olney. “Because Texas, they’ve shown that they’ve got the firepower to go offensively against the Yankees or the Red Sox, and they’ve got C.J. Wilson, who’s going to be the most coveted free agent pitcher on the market this fall. I don’t think that they have as much depth necessarily as the Tigers do with their pitching. But on a given day, when a Wilson pitches or Derek Holland has a day where he’s actually throwing strikes, they can match up. On the other hand, Detroit has [Justin] Verlander and he’s the best pitcher in baseball right now. I don’t really think there’s an advantage for the Red Sox or the Yankees to try to position themselves to face one of these two teams. It’s going to be difficult either way.

“I think that right now, [Tigers pitcher] Max Scherzer on a given day can be dominant. If you catch him on the right day, he can be the guy who can hold a good team to a couple hits. He can also be a guy that can give up 10 runs, and Texas has a similar rotation. Holland has had days where he’s been absolutely lights out and he’s had days where he’s having a tough time getting through the second inning. [Rangers pitcher] Colby Lewis can be a guy that I think a good offensive team can get to but we saw in the postseason last year he was pretty good. I think Detroit with [Jose] Valverde at the back of their bullpen, they’ve gotten better and so that’s why I think they have a little more depth than Texas does.”

The Red Sox were shut out by Wilson and the Rangers bullpen Monday, while Erik Bedard took the loss after giving up four runs on seven hits through six innings. The newly acquired pitcher hasn’t quite hit his stride yet, but Olney said Sox GM Theo Epstein made the right move at the trade deadline, especially because he passed on Ubaldo Jimenez.

“In the times when I’ve seen [Bedard] pitch, I thought that he could be a guy that on the right day, he can give you something,” Olney said. “I tweeted out the night that you saw his stuff because inning-to-inning, he’s got good stuff. He can actually be a little bit the way Bartolo Colon can be for the Yankees. When he’s right, he can actually help them, and I thought it was the right move for them because they had the same questions the Yankees did about [Jimenez], which was: OK, you’ve got a guy who was dominant in the first half of 2010, he still shows flashes where he’s throwing 95 miles per hour, he’s got a great contract, the exact kind of contract that if you’re the Rockies, you would want to acquire. Why are they looking to move him? And you know that’s why the Yankees in the end, in their conversation on Thursday of trade deadline week, they told the Rockies, ‘Look, we are not going to trade for him unless we can do a complete physical.’ They were told, ‘No,’ and that’s why they were very limited in what they were willing to talk about at the trade deadline. The Red Sox were the same way, and I think both teams made the right decision. Cleveland, in the end, we’ll see if they ended up giving too much.”

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Carlos Beltran

While no deal has been made for Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran, ESPN’s Buster Olney tweeted Monday that sources have said the delay is due to the Mets still needing to finish their prospect evaluations for other teams. Here’s the full text of the tweet:

Sources: Mets expected to finish evaluation of rival farm systems in next day or two, as they prepare for Beltran deal.

If Olney’s tweet and sources are accurate, it would seem the Mets must be preparing to trade someone on the team. With the Mets having already said they won’t trade shortstop Jose Reyes, Beltran seems the most likely option.

The Red Sox reportedly have contacted the Mets regarding Carlos Beltran, but ESPN’s Buster Olney writes that “New York is insisting on a Grade A prospect in return.” Olney speculates that the Red Sox might decide to settle for one of the second-tier outfield options such as Kansas City’s Jeff Francoeur, Oakland’s Josh Willingham or San Diego’s Ryan Ludwick.

With all three starting Red Sox outfielders and backup Josh Reddick batting lefty, there has been talk that the switch-hitting 34-year-old Beltran has been on Boston’s watch list. Beltran is a career .291 hitter against lefties, with a higher OPS (.886) when he bats righty against lefties than the reverse (.844).

Beltran has played the majority of his career in center field but has spent time in right field, making him a platoon option with J.D. Drew.

Signed for $18.5 million this season, Beltran has about $6 million left on his contract.

According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Yankees will not pursue Carlos Beltran before the July 31 trade deadline. The Mets outfielder has said he’d waive his no-trade clause to a play for a contender, and the Giants have emerged as a potential suitor.

The Yankees currently have Nick Swisher in right field, who’s hitting .249 with 10 home runs and 49 RBI.

Olney also reports the Tigers could be in the hunt for Beltran, because of their willingness to absorb big money contracts.