Trade Proposal

There's a trade proposal that's been bouncing around my head for quite some time now. The Baltimore Orioles have said they want to shed payroll and are open to trading both closer Jim Johnson and catcher Matt Wieters. The Red Sox don't need a closer but a catcher like Matt Wieters would certainly be worth exploring.

I know the odds are slim that the Orioles would make a trade to improve a division rival but there has been precedent. Most notably in my mind was the Mike Boddicker trade that sent Curt Schilling and Brady Anderson to the Orioles. It could happen again and I keep thinking this could be a trade could make sense for both teams.

Matt Wieters would be a great fit for the Red Sox. He has two years left before free agency which would be the perfect amount of time for Boston before one of its two stud catching prospects (Blake Swihart and Christian Vazquez) are ready to take the reins. David Ross is only really good for 60 games per year and he's only signed for one more year. Wieters could come in and have a relaxing year for him (he led the AL in games caught last year) and the next year he could mentor Swihart or Vazquez as one of them back him up in his year heading into free agency.

Wieters is perhaps the best defensive catcher in the AL (Gold Gloves in 2011 and 2012). He's hit more than 20 HR in three straight years. He'd be an upgrade over Jarrod Saltalamcchia and salary wise - he would be cheaper with arbitration probably getting Wieters $8.5 million next year and maybe $10.5 in 2015. Salty's probably going to get a 3-year $30 million deal at the least in free agency.

What would be in it for Baltimore? I'd suggest trading catcher Ryan Lavarnway who right now is probably going to catch the majority of the games next year but who would be extraneous with the arrival of Wieters and starter Felix Dubront. Both players are just 26 and both under team control for at least another 4 years. Dubront could be the 3rd starter right away for the Orioles and Lavarnway could be their starting backstop. Both are also very cheap and the two in exchange for Wieters would save Baltimore more than $10 million in 2014 alone when you factor in what a starting pitcher is going for in the free agency market.

It should also be noted that Wieters agent is Scott Boras - so Baltimore knows they are probably going to lose him to free agency anyway. Why not trade him now and get more than just a draft pick for him (especially now when they could use salary relief)?

A deal worth thinking about.

Doug Mirabelli

Doug Mirabelli has been waived by the Red Sox.

As one of the few members of both the 2004 and 2007 Championship teams you would think Mirabelli would have been more popular but even his supporters understand that this move may have been overdue in coming. Mirabelli is the proverbial one-trick pony. He could catch the knuckleball and that is all. He can't hit (just a .202 BA with five HR and 16 RBIs in 114 at-bats last season), he can't run (perhaps the slowest player in the Red Sox system) and he can't even stay healthy.

It may have been this last point that was the deciding factor. Mirabelli just had to be available to catch every fifth day when Tim Wakefield's turn rolled around but last season Mirabelli couldn't manage that so the Red Sox had to sign Kevin Cash. During his stint Cash proved that he could both catch the knuckleball and stay healthy. It says a lot that Cash is even worse with the bat than Mirabelli but Cash is the one they are keeping.

At this point - Mirabelli's detractor's probably outweighed his supporters. My friend Tim, for an example, called Mirabelli "Fat Belly" every time Tim saw Mirabelli step to the plate. When Tim said "Fat Belly" there was no humor in his voice. It was all distaste. I think Mirabelli drew such fan ire for 3 main reasons.

1. He had a huge drop off of efficiency at the plate. His first year with the Red Sox he was touted as a guy who could start for many other teams and who was perhaps the best back-up in baseball. The last two seasons he was a guy who was lucky he could catch one specific pitcher otherwise he'd be out of baseball. By the way - Mirabelli is not Italian for Bob Montgomery.

2. The "I could do that" factor. How many guys sitting on a bar stool looked at Mirabelli and thought "I could be just as bad at the plate and just as slow - damn if I could catch a knuckleball it could have been me on that team." Major league players are supposed to be special not lucky, lucky bastards.

3. Mirabelli represents the dearth of major league ready catching prospects in the Red Sox system. Neither George Kottaras nor Mark Wagner are MLB ready and even though that's no fault of Mirabelli's - he was the lightning rod for that resentment of the hole in the system. I say it's not his fault but the Red Sox did have to trade Josh Bard to get Mirabelli back.

So now the Red Sox will probably break camp with Jason Varitek as the starter and Kevin Cash as the back-up. Kottaras will get more seasoning at Pawtucket and Wagner will do the same in Portland. My dream scenario is that the Red Sox somehow acquire Matt Wieters from the Orioles. I just think it would be perfect if the guy to replace Jason Varitek was another Georgia Tech alum.

EDIT: Curt Schilling says goodbye to Doug Mirabelli.