The Red Sox have traded Jon Lester and Jonny Gomes to the Athletics for Yoenis Cespedes, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com has confirmed.
BIG TRADE Lester and Gomes for Cespedes
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I like it for Oakland!!! Lester is a beast and a lefty!!!! Many good years left....Cespedes is solid but is replaceable. Pitching wins championships
Short term, good for A's, long term, not good for A's. Lester does not have a signed deal past this season. Gomes' best years are past him, Cespedes a lil more mature than most players with his limited years in US, so this is a win for the Sox and their future.
This is rent a pitcher and bench player to go for a ring in 2014!
This is rent a pitcher and bench player to go for a ring in 2014!
A's need to dump Hammil....get Malone back up. Hammil is garbage.....They gotta put Chavez in the pen also. He's wearing down but would be solid for 2 innings relief.
I agree. Lester wants to be in Boston. He's a free agent at the end of this season. Unless the Red Sox don't want him, I think he'll be back in Boston for spring training.
Love the deal. Cespedes was leaving after 2015 and was undercutting Melvin in clubhouse by not wanting to play CF. Lester likely gone after this year but the A's could lock up home field throughout playoffs and having Lester, Gray, Samardzija and oaklands home crowd looks promising for a chip. Gomes is a throw in who knows the coach and clubhouse
Big Papi will take him under his arm and get him to sign long term....Have you seen his gun from the outfield, go ahead and try and score....The Monster will have more dents in it than Scraps Van....Lester most likely will come back, if not we'll overpay for someone else this winter.....Free Trade is alive and well in Beantown......:00hour
Cardinals Acquire Lackey; Kelly, Craig To Boston
The Cardinals acquired John Lackey from the Red Sox, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. The Red Sox are expected to get a Major League ready outfielder and a pitcher from the Cardinals, adds Heyman. Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com first reported the Red Sox were close to a Lackey deal.
Lackey, 35, has a 3.60 ERA, 7.6 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 0.98 HR/9, and 46.9% groundball rate in 137 1/3 innings this year. His 2014 numbers closely resemble his work last year, a resurgent season after his 2011 campaign culminated in Tommy John surgery and he missed all of 2012. A second round draft pick in 1999, Lackey spent the early part of his career as a front of the rotation workhorse for the Angels.
The Cardinals continue to bolster their rotation, having acquired Justin Masterson from the Indians yesterday. Masterson is due back soon from a DL stint for knee inflammation. Jaime Garcia is out for the season after rib surgery this month, while Michael Wacha is a question mark for September as he recovers from a stress reaction in his pitching shoulder. In addition, the Cards received unspectacular work from Shelby Miller and Joe Kelly.
Kelly, 26, has a 4.37 ERA, 6.4 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 0.77 HR/9, and 54.3% groundball rate in 35 innings for the Cardinals this year.
The 2011 surgery plays a large role in Lackey?s trade value. When the Red Sox signed Lackey to a five-year free agent deal in December 2009, concerns over his elbow led to a clause creating a club option for the league-minimum salary for 2015, which was triggered with the Tommy John procedure. That would mean playing for little more than $500K next year after earning more than 30 times that much in each of the previous four
seasons. Lackey?s only recourse would be to retire, an idea floated by Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports in June. Lackey was noncommital about his future in comments made to WEEI?s Alex Speier the following day.
This season, Lackey has a bit over $5MM in salary remaining, plus a $500K assignment bonus for being dealt. He had been scheduled to start tomorrow in Boston as the Red Sox kick off a three-game set against the Yankees.
12:52pm: The Red Sox are also sending a minor leaguer to the Cardinals, tweets WEEI?s Alex Speier.
12:47pm: The Cardinals are sending starting pitcher Joe Kelly and right fielder/first baseman Allen Craig to Boston for Lackey, tweets Peter Gammons of MLB Network. The Red Sox continue to focus on players that can help them win in the near future, having traded Jon Lester and Jonny Gomes for Yoenis Cespedes earlier today.
11:38am: The Cardinals acquired John Lackey from the Red Sox, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. The Red Sox are expected to get a Major League ready outfielder and a pitcher from the Cardinals, adds Heyman. Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com first reported the Red Sox were close to a Lackey deal.
The Cardinals acquired John Lackey from the Red Sox, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. The Red Sox are expected to get a Major League ready outfielder and a pitcher from the Cardinals, adds Heyman. Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com first reported the Red Sox were close to a Lackey deal.
Lackey, 35, has a 3.60 ERA, 7.6 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 0.98 HR/9, and 46.9% groundball rate in 137 1/3 innings this year. His 2014 numbers closely resemble his work last year, a resurgent season after his 2011 campaign culminated in Tommy John surgery and he missed all of 2012. A second round draft pick in 1999, Lackey spent the early part of his career as a front of the rotation workhorse for the Angels.
The Cardinals continue to bolster their rotation, having acquired Justin Masterson from the Indians yesterday. Masterson is due back soon from a DL stint for knee inflammation. Jaime Garcia is out for the season after rib surgery this month, while Michael Wacha is a question mark for September as he recovers from a stress reaction in his pitching shoulder. In addition, the Cards received unspectacular work from Shelby Miller and Joe Kelly.
Kelly, 26, has a 4.37 ERA, 6.4 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 0.77 HR/9, and 54.3% groundball rate in 35 innings for the Cardinals this year.
The 2011 surgery plays a large role in Lackey?s trade value. When the Red Sox signed Lackey to a five-year free agent deal in December 2009, concerns over his elbow led to a clause creating a club option for the league-minimum salary for 2015, which was triggered with the Tommy John procedure. That would mean playing for little more than $500K next year after earning more than 30 times that much in each of the previous four
seasons. Lackey?s only recourse would be to retire, an idea floated by Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports in June. Lackey was noncommital about his future in comments made to WEEI?s Alex Speier the following day.
This season, Lackey has a bit over $5MM in salary remaining, plus a $500K assignment bonus for being dealt. He had been scheduled to start tomorrow in Boston as the Red Sox kick off a three-game set against the Yankees.
12:52pm: The Red Sox are also sending a minor leaguer to the Cardinals, tweets WEEI?s Alex Speier.
12:47pm: The Cardinals are sending starting pitcher Joe Kelly and right fielder/first baseman Allen Craig to Boston for Lackey, tweets Peter Gammons of MLB Network. The Red Sox continue to focus on players that can help them win in the near future, having traded Jon Lester and Jonny Gomes for Yoenis Cespedes earlier today.
11:38am: The Cardinals acquired John Lackey from the Red Sox, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. The Red Sox are expected to get a Major League ready outfielder and a pitcher from the Cardinals, adds Heyman. Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com first reported the Red Sox were close to a Lackey deal.
Cespedes cant even play a ball of the bat. How is he going to play a ball off the Monster? Plus what a waste of an arm in a small park. His bat isn't even that great either. Hes overrated IMO...
Lester will be a FA of course, Hud, and Cespedes the same, the Sox will have the $$ to negotiate with both players after the season is over and FA begins. However, with lack of premium lefties in ML, Lester will command and probably get top dollar. Cespedes has a unique agency and he has ties with other Cuban players in ML, so it's quite possible he'll sign elsewhere but Sox want hitters and they will give him their best shot to sign him before this season is over with.
Hammel as you stated is now 0-4 for A's since acquiring him and Sam, Hammel has value but not as a top 4 guy in a starting rotation, he could be good in middle of the games when they are trailing big or in extra inning affairs, he's done this start off hot and end cold routine since he's been in the Big Leagues, ie, Orioles, Cubs, Rockies, Tampa, everywhere he's been. So there is some value for him, but who knows, perhaps the A's have a deal in place to ship him else where.
A'ls want a WS Ring so badly, do they have the $ to sign Lester? I doubt it, unless it's a 2 year deal.
His natural position with Cuban nationals was RF and Boston is said to put him their in pre-game drills and of course he's played a few games at Fenway already!
Cards trading Kelly & Craig to Sox for Lackey is a head scratcher, Lackey has never pitched in the NL but he's faced the NL teams before - but Boston also unloaded 1/2 their starting Rotation, so now they rely on Webster, Kelly, DLR and Buchholz and a couple of minor league callups it looks like, they traded DuBront away to the Cubs which is no loss, but he's another lefty the Sox now don't have. They are said to be talking Miller in a trade as well possibly for Braves, Sox are asking for Lucas Sims in the deal, #1 two years ago for Braves.
Phils could be dealing AJ Burnett & Cliff Lee today - line is moving weird on Nats/Phils game, Kendrick on shopping block for Phils as well and Ryan Howard.
Could be a very busy afternoon and lineup changes.
Cespedes T-Shirt give away Saturday
Cespedes T-Shirt give away Saturday
The A's will give away the Yoenis C?spedes "La Potencia" T-Shirt as planned this Saturday, August 2, presented by NetSuite, to 10,000 fans. La Potencia means "The Power" in Spanish and recognizes C?spedes for his contributions to back to back division titles.
Cespedes T-Shirt give away Saturday
The A's will give away the Yoenis C?spedes "La Potencia" T-Shirt as planned this Saturday, August 2, presented by NetSuite, to 10,000 fans. La Potencia means "The Power" in Spanish and recognizes C?spedes for his contributions to back to back division titles.
