Reports: Sox set to add Smoltz and Baldelli
Ask and ye shall receive!
A pair of reports coming out late last night revealed that the Sox are likely close to adding starting pitcher John Smoltz, 41, and outfielder Rocco Baldelli, 27. This just mere hours after we opined and lamented over the fact that both the Yanks and Rays had gotten substantially stronger while the Sox silently sat by in observation mode. Apparently, someone was listening. (And yes, we have that high an opinion of ourselves as to believe that Sox brass actually saw that post...)
Getting down to the nitty gritty, it appears both guys will be here on one-year deals. More information is available for the Smoltz deal, and according to the Hot Stove Blog, he'll be getting a base of $5.5 million with incentives that could bring the total value to $10 mil. Financial terms were not available for Baldelli's contract, but you'd have to figure it would be incentive laden (likely focusing on number of at bats and/or games played) and in the neighborhood of $3 to $5 mil. (UPDATE, 1:43 PM: Boston.com's Chad Finn has Baldelli earning a base of $500K with an incentive that could bring the deal to $2.25 mil, which is exactly what he earned last year, if he remains on the active roster all season. The total value of the deal could reach as high as $7.5 mil, but that is unlikely as he'd have to reach 600 ABs. Quite a bargain if it proves to be true.) Both should prove to be relative bargains if each guy can stay healthy and produce as they're capable.
As is the case with most of Theo's moves, I think these two signings were nothing short of excellent. In my mind, Baldelli will prove more valuable than whatever they end up paying him. He should be an even better super-utility type OF than Coco was and is the perfect insurance policy for the inevitable Drew injury or Ellsbury slump. And even though Smoltz is coming off pretty serious shoulder surgery and he's as old as some of our parents, he still has a shot to be a valuable front of the rotation starter. If one of Smoltz or Penny is able to stay healthy for the bulk of the season, the Sox will have one of the deepest, most effective pitching staffs in the MLB, let alone the AL East.
Plus, putting Smoltz and Pedoia on the same team is sheer marketing genious; Rogaine couldn't find two better spokesman for their products, so the endorsement bucks are sure to start rolling in. All joking aside, these moves obviously pale in comparison to the Yanks' signings of C.C., Tex and Burnett, but they serve the needs of the team perfectly and each player should be tremendously valuable assets before all is said and done.
I like the Red Sox signing of Baldelli, I wonder about Penny I don't know why the Sox are signing Smoltz. Are these three signings supposed to be counters for Sabathia, Burnett and Tiexiera?
Penny might be a good deal but I don't think John Smoltz will do any good in the AL EAST.
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Both risky moves, but they have major upside. I'd like to see the Sox grab a guy like Kotsay or Ty "Wiggy" Wiggington as well, since Baldelli is still a question mark... but overall, this is good stuff.
All that said, can we please fix the catcher situation now?
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YN - The Sox don't make moves to counter the Yankees, the Yankees make moves to counter the Sox.
We're seeing two very different approaches to building a team... it will be fun to see which philosophy works better.
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Great points, Rob. I don't believe I stressed enough that basically all of the moves made by the Sox this offseason can be classified as "high risk, high reward." It's not unlike the Bartolo Colon signing from last year.
Smoltz's risks are well-documented (age, coming off injury, etc., etc.), and people may be reading too much into the whole "Baldelli was misdiagnosed" angle. Yes, we've heard that his "new" disorder is very treatable, but he's still likely not out of the woods yet and it appears doubtful he'll ever approach what we consider to be "100% health."
That said, as you hit on, the upside here is tremendous. Throw a competent offense behind a healthy Smoltz (something he arguably hadn't enjoyed in his last few years in Atlanta) and we could see something special. If Baldelli can weather upwards of 80 games, it'd be a great problem for the Sox to have if they have to find playing time for him, Bay, Ellsbury and Drew.
At the very least, the East just got a lot more interesting (for about the fourth time this offseason)!
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I agree with you on two different takes. The Yankees almost know what there going to get vs the Red Sox taking a risk in players. I am very excited for the up coming season.
On paper the Yankees should take it but I think the Red Sox bullpen might be lights out next season.
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