Buster Olney

ESPN’s Buster Olney joined Dennis & Callahan on Thursday to discuss the current rumors and speculations regarding the Red Sox. With the MLB trade deadline rapidly approaching, Olney discussed a few names that the Sox may explore and talked about the possibility of the club picking up David Ortiz’ option in 2011.

On if general manager Theo Epstein has to make a decision to be a buyer, seller or an obtainer:

“I do think he has that decision, and I do think that is kind of what they’ve been waiting on. Give it more time to decide whether to pour resources into the 2010 team to make sure they are not in a situation where they are pouring paint down a hole. … And it’s interesting because the Phillies are in the same situation where they are kind of sitting there saying, ‘You know what, lets see if we can add guys who cannot only help us, maybe get back into this thing in 2010, but guys who can help us next year.’ That’s why a Corey Hart might be a good fit for the Red Sox, and I know yesterday activity around the Brewers outfielder really picked up a lot more.

“And maybe if they start to fall out of it a little bit more, maybe they get less interested in a guy like Scott Downs, the reliever from Toronto who is a free agent at the end of this year. Go for the guys who have four to five years of service time rather than go for players who are going to be eligible for free agency in the fall.”

On if the Sox will be fine with just having their injured players return and not making a trade:

“I also think another factor is they have to look at the landscape of their division and say, ‘You know what, even if we add something, we spend resources to improve the 2010 team, bottom line is we maybe chasing the two best teams in baseball.’ That’s a dynamic they have to deal with and I think the GMs in the other divisions really don’t have to worry about.” Read the rest of this entry »