The Red Sox made a slew of moves yesterday, designating Alan Embree for assignment, trading Chip Ambres and Juan Cedeno for Tony Graffanino, and dealing Scott Cassidy for Adam Hyzdu (again). Let's take a look at these deals.
Honestly Ambres looks like the best hitter of the group, although Graffanino will have his uses for the Red Sox while Bellhorn sits on the DL and tries to find his 2004 form. Graffanino and Cora are a pretty good team for second base until that time, and would work better if Graffanino showed some semblance of power, even just doubles power.
I hope Ambres turns into a better than league average player for the Royals in the outfield. Emil Brown, David DeJesus and Chip Ambres is not the best outfield in the world, but it sure beats having Terrence Long out there. The deal just makes me nervous about the Red Sox caving in and keeping Johnny Damon, who I have this to say about at Sox on Deck today:
Embree was pitching awful, let's throw him in a table with Scott Cassidy and Juan Cedeno:
Embree is not the victim of a high BABIP as I had hoped; he is a victim of his own inability to keep the ball in the park. That homerun rate is Milton-esque. Juan Cedeno isn't as bad as he looks by his ERA, but he will need to stop walking so many batters if he wants to look even half decent. Cassidy was not going to solve the bullpen issues in Boston, and Hyzdu is probably back to take Ambres spot in Pawtucket. Overall a good day for the Sox, some addition by subtraction, but nothing substantial, and nothing to truly fix their bullpen woes. Now if they could DFA John Halama, keep Jeremi Gonzalez on the roster and bring up Abe Alvarez or Lenny DiNardo (or both) to stabilize the bullpen then I just might be a little more excited. I expect the big splash in the east to come way of the Fish; that is, when the Marlins choose their trading partner (I'm sticking with Baltimore) for Mike Lowell and A.J. Burnett.