Red Sox Trading For A Right Fielder?

As we all know by now Mike Cameron has been let loose. We also know that JD Drew sucks, and won't give us anything (except good fielding). That leaves Reddick in RF when the playoffs come around. One would wonder if the Sox would make a move to bring one in. There have been a couple names that have been popping up on the rumor mill around the league that would seem to fit the Sox (Jeff Francoeur, and Michael Cuddyer).

If we are picking between these two I will go with Cuddyer everytime. Sure is isn't as good of a fielder as Drew or Francoeur, but he tends to talk more then Francoeur and man play a ton of different positions (LF, RF, 1st, and 2nd). That's a great type of player to have on your bench and would give the Sox a lot of options depending on matchups, injuries, ect.

This is just a thought, but I do think he would be a very good fit here for the Sox.

Braves Going After Penny

"Atlanta is one of the teams in conversation with the Boston Red Sox about veteran right-hander Brad Penny, according to sources, at a time when the Red Sox have been doing their own research on Braves right fielder Jeff Francoeur (ESPN)."

We have been speculating this for a couple of weeks now, but it seems like it might actually come true. There is no word on how interested the Sox are on any of the Braves players, but in the grand scheme of things it makes sense. The Sox are going to need to add a bat at some point. Ortiz looks to be all done, and the Sox actually have a surplus of pitching with Buchholz, Bowden, and Smoltz all seemingly ready to go in the near future.

Now on to Francoeur...I personally was a big fan of him, but he has struggled for awhile now. My question is...will Fenway straighten him out. If he can use the call, and the short fences to his advantage then maybe. Still I can't say I am overly thrilled with this idea since his OBP is terrible (.275) and he really seems to have lost whatever groove he was in during the 2006-2007 seasons.

Red Sox Trade Rumors

There are actually a lot of Red Sox trade rumors going around. So let's look at each one that I have seen...

- Nick Johnson - From what I am reading any deal for this guy is basically dead. I thought he would be a good fit as he is like a poor man's Youk (good OBS, solid contact), but the National's asking price is just too high (Bowden).

- Jeff Francoeur - Two of Sportsline's top writers are saying that the Red Sox have had scouts at Atlanta games lately taking a look at Francoeur. For no reason what so ever I have always loved Francoeur and I think he would be nasty again at Fenway.

- Teams expressing interest in Penny - the Phillies, Brewers, Royals, and Twins. Out of that bunch the Phillies have been rumored to be the most likely. Not sure what the Sox would get in return, but if Smoltz, Buchholz or Bowden prove to be up to the challenge of being the Sox 5th starter, then they could deal for minor leaguers.

- Jhonny Peralta - If you know me at all then you know I love Peralta. He has not been having a good season, but he is still a major improvement over anything the Sox have at SS. It would also give the Sox a way to fill some of the power void that has been left since Ortiz forgot how to play baseball. With Tek hitting for some power, and Bay/Youk continuing to shine, a guy like Peralta might be enough to put the Sox over the edge. This will become more likely if the Indians keep losing games.