Boston Red Sox Considering a Trade for Hunter Pence?
Numerous sources are reporting that the Houston Astros are likely to trade outfielder Hunter Pence prior to the July 31st trade deadline.
The Astros are 22 games under .500 and own easily the worst record in baseball, which makes them obvious sellers.
The Red Sox are in the market for a quality right-handed hitting outfielder, and other than Carlos Beltran and his $18.5 million salary, Pence is likely the best option on the market.
Pence is hitting .316 this year with 11 home runs, 61 RBI, and seven stolen bases. He’s also extremely durable having played at least 156 games in each of the last three seasons.
He doesn’t walk a lot (24 BB in 2011) but would provide an All-Star presence in the bottom third of Boston’s batting order.
The 28-year-old is widely considered one of baseball’s best defensive outfielders, mostly because of his elite arm strength at the right field position. Adding that to Jacoby Ellsbury in center and Carl Crawford in left would give the Sox arguably the best defensive outfield in the game.
Pence is making $6.9 million this year, a contract he was awarded through arbitration prior to the season. He will be due roughly $2.3 million over the final two months of the season.
The Sox are reportedly near the luxury tax threshold and are unlikely to add significant payroll, but the money remaining on Pence’s deal seems doable.
He’s under team control through 2013 but will likely command a raise over the next few years based on his recent performance.
ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that it will take a “major, major overpay” to acquire Pence. Then again, the Astros are nowhere close to being a contender and Pence isn’t a franchise player.
Alastair Ingram is the lead Boston Red Sox writer for the RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlastairIngram. For daily Red Sox updates, follow the blog at @FenwayReport and join the fan page on Facebook.
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I think Hunter Pence would be a good piece for the Red Sox because the price for Beltran is probably going to be moonball high, even for an organization like the Red Sox. Or maybe he could be useful fallback should they try and fail at Beltran.
http://wwwbookdiplomacy.blogspot.com/2011/07/what-baseball-can-teach-us-about.html