Shoulder Shelves Schilling

Word from the Boston Globe has Curt Schilling ailing (perhaps significantly) from a bum right shoulder. There seems to be some measure of dispute over whether he will require surgery but, if he does, then his season will likely be finished before the first game of the regular season. Schilling's injury places two recent front office moves in sharper focus. First, as noted a few posts ago, the Sox took Jon Lester off the table in the Santana negotiations. With the injury to Schilling, the move makes more sense than a sudden epiphony about the degree of Lester's talents. Second, the Sox recently signed Bobby Kielty to a minor league contract, which, at the time, was explained by an "if Crisp is traded" addendeum. At the time, trading Crisp looked unlikely but now the Sox have a "need" for more starting pitching. (Need is relative and I'll elaborate below.) It appears more likely now that Crisp will be packaged in a trade that brings another starting pitcher to the Sox. You may be asking why the Sox would "need" more starting pitching given that Buchholz easily slides into the rotation and, arguably, improves the rotation (at least early in the season). Keep in mind that Theo Epstein has said many times that he learned from the 2005 season that there is no such thing as too much pitching and success usually depends on having more than five capable starters on which to rely throughout a season. Last year, the Sox entered with Lester in the minors. This year, the plan (I think) was for Buchholz to start in the minors. There is no clear sixth starter in Pawtucket unless David Pauley or Devern Hansack start pitching lights out or Justin Masterson dominates his way to AAA early in the season.

So, in The World According to Theo, the Sox need more pitching. The question becomes who is available for what the Sox are willing to part with. Obviously, Crisp is on the table as is Jed Lowrie who is blocked in the infield and unlikely to see much time unless Julio Lugo is totally unproductive. The Sox could also part with either Masterson or Michael Bowden although such talent would have to net significant return talent. Nick Hagadone is an intriguing chip given that the Sox have much less invested in him and his outstanding performance in low-A last year. So, what would a Crisp, Lowrie, and Masterson/Bowden/Hagadone trade net the Sox?

Joe Blanton(?)

Blanton is intriguing for several reasons. The Sox would get a power righty that could easily fill the number 3 or 4 position left open by Schilling. Blanton is also a fairly reasonable pitcher at roughly $18 million over the next three years (give or take depending on arbitration). And, the A's have let it be known that Blanton is available for the right offer? Is this the right offer? I'm not sure. Personally, I think the inclusion of Bowden or Masterson is probably too much and, quite likely, the Sox would have to pick up some of Crisp's salary. But, the A's need a quality center fielder on the cheap. They also need a middle infielder that can back up the oft injured Bobby Crosby and fill in at second to spell Mark Ellis. Crisp and Lowrie fit the bill quite well. And, the inclusion of a quality minor league arm helps the A's in their rebuilding effort. On the whole, it looks like the deal would be possible but, of course, this is just speculation. But I rather like the deal for both teams.