Slowey To Be Traded Soon

"The Kevin Slowey relief experiment has ended, and a change of scenery appears to be in order. The 27-year-old control artist told Twins manager Ron Gardenhire he doesn't think he can continue as a reliever, according to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Slowey is headed back to Triple-A to get stretched out as a starter, but Gardenhire implied on ESPN 1500 that the right thing is to find the righty a starting opportunity with another club. After Sunday's game, Slowey had this to say to Neal:

"I understand our situation here. I understand the starters we have here, and I understand that, even given past successes as a starter, this might not be the right fit for me anymore (MLBTradeRumors)."

We talked about this before the season even started, but it looks like it finally might happen. There are certainly going to be some teams that are interested (Yankees/Royals?), but I don't think you have to worry about the Red Sox getting involved. In my opinion that's a good thing. Slowey is a guy who would be a good pitcher in a large ballpark. As this site says "He's a righty with a 90 mile per hour heater. He's hittable, and his high flyball rate makes him prone to the longball." Those are not things you want to hear if you are playing at Fenway. Unless something really bad happens like Dice-K or Lackey getting shut down for the year I don't see them getting involved.

Red Sox Contact Bengie Molina

"There has been speculation for weeks that the Boston Red Sox are losing patience with catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, with one weekend report by Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com claiming the team had contacted free agent Bengie Molina.

There are already concerns about Salty's defense, and his .203 batting average with three walks and 19 strikeouts this season isn't helping things (ESPN)."

Tek isn't going anywhere, but I could really see the Sox getting rid Salty. I wouldn't do it just yet, as I do feel like he has been a little better at the plate, but we also can't have Tek catching 2 of every 5 games (or more), which seems to be what's going on right now.

Molina hasn't played all season, so maybe it would be a good idea to sign him soon and let him get some swings in the minors, and that would also buy Salty a little time to see if he can get going. Last year Molina played for Texas and San Francisco batting .249 with 5 HRs and 36 RBIs in 118 games. Nothing special there, but he plays good defense, and that offense is way more then we are getting from Tek or Salty.

How Bad Is The Red Sox Catcher Situation?

I think even the most biased Red Sox fans knew there was going to be problems behind the plate. Yet, I don't know if we knew it was going to be this bad. Tek is what he is, he calls a good game, but that's about it. At this point in his career he can't throw anyone out, or hit (let alone play everyday). Salty was supposed to be the future, but his defense looks worse the Teks. On top of that I don't know if these pitchers trust him, or like the way he calls games. I am not putting the pitchers problems just on his shoulders, but when everyone and their mother and stealing bases on him it adds a lot of pressure.

On top of Salty's struggles behind the plate he also isn't doing anything in the batters box either. Right now he is hitting .194, and although he has been hitting better of late he is not someone I trust to be consistent at all. My biggest concern is his relationship with the pitchers, and his ability to control base stealing, because this lineup (on paper) is good enough to take a shitty hitting catcher.

ESPN throws out the rumor that the Sox could make a move and get Ivan Rodriguez, who is getting less playing time with the Nationals. For once I agree with DP and I am all for it. He doesn't hit much anymore, but he throws out about 35% of the runners that steal on him and when you compare that to Salty (usually around 24%), and Tek (20%).

The Sox have so many problem right now (Crawford, bullpen, starting pitching, clutch hitting) that this isn't my main concern, but out of all their problems it's the one I don't see improving.