Everything is fine. After the rookie program, I had an accident. Everything is fine, but I was cleaning my gun and it accidentally discharged on me and I sustained an injury. Nothing serious. That’s why I was out of big league camp, because at the time I’m not able to participate fully, but I am recovering fast and should be ok to start the season.

July 11, 2012; Reading, PA USA; Portland SeaDogs player Bryce Brentz (25) smiles after fouling off a pitch during the AA Eastern League All-Star game at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Eastern Division defeated the Western Division, 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Most sites rank Brentz as one of the top ten prospects in the Red Sox’ system, and some even have him in the top five. He enjoyed a good season between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket in his age 23 season in 2012, as he batted .290/.349/.465 with 17 home runs and 87 RBIs. Brentz projects as a solid major league right fielder who should hit for power and some average, and plays well into Fenway Park’s dimensions.

It’s a shame that we won’t be able to see Brentz in spring training, but he should be up in the majors by the end of the year barring any setbacks. It sounds like he should be ready for the start of Pawtucket’s season even if he misses much of spring training. Here’s to wishing Bryce and his family recover from this scare, and to a quick recovery.

Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-US PRESSWIRE

Ever since I really got into the Red Sox and major league baseball in general, one part of baseball that’s really fascinated me is prospects. The Red Sox may not have the best farm system in baseball, but it’s certainly an entertaining one. To give all the readers of BoSox Injection an accurate representation of the potential of these minor leaguers, I’ve compiled a full 25-man roster of them. As a whole, this looks like a well rounded and impressive group of top prospects. Fast forward a few years and pretend every current member of the Red Sox is gone, their team may look something like this group I’ve put together.

The Starting Lineup:

1. Garin Cecchini 3B (.301/.383/.426, 4 home runs, 50 RBIs, 32 stolen bases with single-A Greenville)
2. Jackie Bradley CF (.339/.449/.503, 5 home runs, 51 RBIs, 21 stolen bases between single-A Salem and double-A Portland)
3. Xander Bogaerts SS (.284/.358/.466, 12 home runs, 52 RBIs, 20 doubles with single-A Salem)
4. Ryan Lavarnway C (.300/.386/.451, 8 home runs, 41 RBIs, 21 doubles with triple-A Pawtucket)
5. Bryce Brentz RF (.274/.340/.444, 12 home runs, 50 RBIs, 21 doubles with double-A Portland)
6. Keury De La Cruz LF (.309/.356/.526, 14 home runs, 59 RBIs, 6 triples with single-A Greenville)
7. Travis Shaw 1B (.317/.418/.565, 16 home runs, 72 RBIs, 30 doubles with single-A Salem)
8. Brandon Jacobs DH (.279/.336/.429, 8 home runs, 48 RBIs, 12 steals with single-A Salem)
9. Sean Coyle 2B (.243/.305/.383, 7 home runs, 45 RBIs, 25 doubles with single-A Salem)

The Bench:

1. Michael Almanzar 1B/3B (.296/.348/.451, 8 home runs, 39 RBIs, 27 doubles with single-A Salem)
2. Alex Hassan OF (.262/.381/.384, 7 home runs, 45 RBIs, 13 doubles with triple-A Pawtucket)
3. Jose Iglesias SS (.260/.305/.298, 1 home run, 20 RBIs, 10 stolen bases between single-A Lowell and triple-A Pawtucket)
4. Blake Swihart C (.268/.316/.402, 5 home runs, 37 RBIs, 4 triples with single-A Greenville)

The Starting Rotation:

1. Matt Barnes (7-3, 2.33 ERA, 110 strikeouts, 89 innings pitched between single-A Greenville and single-A Salem)
2. Brandon Workman (7-6, 3.40 ERA, 88 strikeouts, 95.1 innings pitched with single-A Salem)
3. Chris Hernandez (4-8, 3.12 ERA, 64 strikeouts, 109.2 innings pitched between double-A Portland and triple-A Pawtucket)
4. Miguel Pena (5-5, 2.60 ERA, 68 strikeouts, 72.2 innings pitched with single-A Greenville)
5. Noe Ramirez (0-2, 2.93 ERA, 31 strikeouts, 40 innings pitched with single-A Greenville)

The Bullpen:

1. Alex Wilson LRP/RHP (5-2, 3.41 ERA, 61 strikeouts, 58 innings pitched with triple-A Pawtucket)
2. Aaron Kurcz LRP/RHP (3-4, 3.04 ERA, 72 strikeouts, 50.1 innings pitched with double-A Portland)
3. Will Inman MRP/RHP (1-3, 2.48 ERA, 51 strikeouts, 40 innings pitched with triple-A Pawtucket)
4. Josh Fields MRP/RHP (3-3, 3.03 ERA, 51 strikeouts, 38.2 innings pitched with double-A Portland)
5. Junichi Tazawa SU/RHP (3-2, 2.55 ERA, 56 strikeouts, 42.1 innings pitched with triple-A Pawtucket)
6. Chris Carpenter SU/RHP (0-0, 3.27 ERA, 13 strikeouts, 11 innings pitched between GCL, single-A Salem, double-A Portland, and triple-A Pawtucket)
7. Michael Olmsted CP/RHP (0-2, 2.29 ERA, 61 strikeouts, 39.1 innings pitched with single-A Salem)

There you go, that’s my representation of who I’d pick to be on an All-Red Sox team. Would you have done anything different? Please comment and thanks for reading.

It took a cogent comment by a loyal reader to identify the exact location of the problem in the anatomy of the team: Jon Lester has fallen out of the team’s “Ace” hole.

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The Red Sox should trade Lester and Ellsbury for “King” Felix Hernandez; so says the Globe’s Nick Cafardo, but are there other Sox players to make a better deal?

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Rather than obtaining a pitcher with a long-term contract [like John Danks], who could quickly go from great to garbage, the Sox might consider renting a Dempster. But, how much are the Sox willing to pay for ONE extra win?

Cubs GM “Thiefo” Epstein is intimately familiar with the value and talents of the Sox prospects and may be keen to deal with his former under-study, Ben, again.

[Previously, the April [21st] trade sent RHP Michael Bowden and LHP Hunter Cervenka to the Cubs for Marlon Byrd. And, Theo gave Ben “The Other” Chris Carpenter in compensation for himself.]

The Cubs have baseball’s worst record (26-49) and are already in re-build mode and want to deal almost any player for prospects, hoping to become a young, competitive team before Bud Selig retires.

Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports that Chicago is willing to pay part of Ryan Dempster‘s $14MM salary in a deal in order to receive better quality prospects in return. Their plan is to accumulate talent, not save money.
Although Dempster, 35, is currently on the DL with a lat strain he is expected back around the All-Star break.

Dempster played catch Friday and could throw off the mound Saturday or Sunday, but he will not be ready until sometime after the All-Star break.

Dempster, on the disabled list since June 16 with a sore right lat, said Friday he’s making progress.

“It won’t take me long once I get going,” Dempster said. “I haven’t said [I'm returning on] ‘This date’ because if I feel good, it could be sooner than that. I’m completely pain free. I just don’t know how I’m going to feel throwing.”

Dempster has pitched to a 2.11 ERA in a dozen starts this season and may be the best value starter on the market. And, Dempster is in the last year of his contract, which makes him a low-risk half-season rental.

If the Cubs were willing to eat half of Dempster’s remaining contract [$7 million], about $3.5 million, and the Sox were willing to deal 1-3 prospects, there is a deal to be made.

Ben may even be willing to part with Jose Iglesias in a 1-for-1 swap, since the Sox have a seven shortstop stockpile from Low-A to Fenway.

The Sox signed #24 overall pick Deven Marrero to a $2.05 million deal.

“Coming into the season Marrero was widely considered a top-10 talent, but the Arizona State shortstop’s stock dropped as he struggled offensively.

Even with the inconsistent offensive production Baseball America ranked Marrero as the 14th-best player in the draft class and ESPN.com rated him 13th, so if the Red Sox believe in his bat they got excellent value near the end of the first round.” [Baseball America]

Theo, no doubt is aware that Marrero is off to a good offensive start in the minors; in his first four games: .375/.412/.563,3 K/1 BB.

Today, the Sox collected another SS:
“The Red Sox have added one of the top international amateur free agents available in advance of the July 2 signing period, getting 18-year-old shortstop Tzu-Wei Lin out of Taiwan for $2.05 million.

The deal was first reported in the Taiwanese press earlier this month and is now official. Lin will still have to complete an investigation from Major League Baseball, but that shouldn’t present a problem.

Though 5-foot-8, 155 pounds, Lin has drawn strong reviews from scouts for his lefthanded bat. Some scouts have projected him as an above-average hitter, capable of hitting better than .300, though he won’t offer much power…” [Baseball America, http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/international-affairs/2012/2613618.html]

With Aviles established for 2012 at SS and Punto and Lillibridge as backups, and 19 year-old SS Xander Bogaerts on the Salem Red Sox (A+) team, the Sox are loaded at SS.

Assuming that Theo would want a SS prospect, these other players could also be part of a 1-3 player package for Dempster:

Bryce Brentz, Rank: 1, Portland Sea Dogs (AA), ETA: 2013, Position: OF

Brandon Jacobs, Rank: 6, Salem Red Sox (A+), ETA: 2014, Position: OF

Kolbrin Vitek, Rank: 8, ETA: 2014, Position: 3B

Garin Cecchini, Rank: 9, Greenville Drive (A), ETA: 2014, Position: 3B

Blake Swihart, Rank: 11, Greenville Drive (A), ETA: 2015, Position: C

Oscar Tejeda, Rank: 13, Altoona Curve (AA), ETA: 2013, Position: 2B

UPDATE:

The Pirates have claimed infielder/outfielder Oscar Tejeda off waivers from the Red Sox, the team announced.  To make room for Tejeda, Pittsburgh has also designated left-hander Doug Slaten for assignment.

Tejeda, 22, was designated for assignment by Boston following their acquisition of Zach Stewart and Brent Lillibridge earlier this week.  Tejeda split time between designated hitter and left field this season, hitting .262/.294/.396 in 51 Double-A games.

With the current paucity of pitching, it is unlikely that the Sox will be willing to part with:

Matt Barnes, Rank: 4, Salem Red Sox (A+), ETA: 2014, Position: RHP, Age: 22, Drafted: 2011, 1st (19) or

Anthony Ranaudo, Rank: 5, Portland Sea Dogs (AA), ETA: 2013, Position: RHP, Age: 22,Drafted: 2010, 1st (39)

(Unless Theo would be interested in Chris Carpenter?)

A deal for a half-season rental might get Theo one player in return, like Iglesias or Brentz, or the Sox #1 draft pick, Marrero. If Theo is thinking quantity, he might get a 2-1 deal with some of the other Sox prospects, listed above.

Consider that Dempster might get 12-15 starts and, with a career W% of .491, he might go 6-6 or even 8-7.

What is a break-even or plus ONE game starter worth to the Red Sox?

Jose Iglesias? Brad Brentz? Deven Marrero? Kobrin Vitek?

Or, Chris Carpernter?

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Somebody did; Chris St. John, over at Steal of Home [http://stealofhome.wordpress.com/]

We will comment on some of the surprises on the Sox list and provide links to the complete body of work produced by Chris.[...spreadsheets...MMMmmm...]

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By now you may have heard that the Red Sox farm system was rated 18th out of MLB’s 30 teams by ESPN Insider’s Keith Law, but the worse news is that he ranks Boston last in the AL East. Among all 30 MLB teams, Toronto finished #2 and Tampa #3, just behind #1 San Diego, while the Yankees finished 8 slots ahead of the Sox at #10 with the Orioles just above then at #17. And, guess how many Red Sox minor league players made the ESPN Top 100 Prospects: just two!

Law said the “Red Sox are very thin at the top of the minor league chain due to the amount that the organization has spent on amateur players. However, he sees some potential breakout candidates in the single A level.” [NESN]

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With about $6 million to spend on a starter for the Sox rotation, what is the best deal Ben Cherington can make?

In a previous post we suggested a few criteria and speculated on a trade match between the Sox and the Astros.  While an excerpt from that post is spinning on the round glass plate in the microwave, let’s consider the Sox other major option:  not trading any prospects, by signing a FA pitcher, say, Roy Oswalt.

Roy-O had been dreaming about a one-year $10 million deal, but, when there were not takers, his agent Scott Boras floated the rumor that his client may take, say, maybe just $8 million.  This appears to create a gap of $2 million, since Lucchino and his colleagues, the Absentee Owners, are unwilling to cross the Luxury Tax Line.

Ben and his accountant, Howie Cheetham, have devised a solution: a 2-year deal that:

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He is also preparing for the 2102 draft, where he will be compounding his over abundance problem by adding more prospects with his four Round One picks at #24, #31, #37 (for Papelbon) and a FA Compensation pick for Dan Wheeler (level B).

This week NESN ranked the MLB farm systems and placed the Red Sox in the middle of the pack at #13, commenting:

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Instead of casting off in quest of a Big Fish, a top tier FA pitcher, to slide into the #4 slot in the rotation behind Lester, Beckett, and Bucholz, sport fisherman and Red Sox President “I’m Feelin’ Lucky” Lucchino  has sent his First Mate, Ben out to the pet store in the mall to buy a water-filled plastic bag full of common goldfish, in hopes that one might survive. “Besides,” Mr. “I’m Feelin’ Lucky” Lucchino, [still basking in the glow of his Princeton team mate Bill Bradley] muses confidently: “I already have [dicey] Dice-K Matsuzaka and Clay The Pen Bard in the freezer….AND my pal Admiral Bobby V at the helm…heh, heh…”

But, down at the fish market, where flounders flop, the Fenway Faithful, who suffered, very slowly, through last season’s September Swoon, when the Red Sox team suddenly beached itself, like a lost, drunken whale on Revere Beach, fret and fidget with their September scorecards and wonder why it wouldn’t be prudent to sign a reliable lefty for the 2012 rotation. Mr. Lucky’s “minor” menu substitution  of fish and chips for lobster just doesn’t pass their smell test.  The wizened, veteran fans know that, “literarily,”  “Nothing shall come of nothing.” And that, conversely, the play’s the thing and they know that ‘Something’s rottin’  in Fen Park.’

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Dear Fellow Citizen of Red Sox Nation,

Does this list inspire your confidence?

ROTATION:
• 1. J. Lester
• 2. J. Beckett
• 3. C. Buchholz
• 4. D. Matsuzaka
• 5. D. Bard

Didn’t think so…
So, where can the Sox find a young, MLB-proven, lefty starter for the #3 slot?

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The Red Sox did not pull the trigger on the Gio Gonzalez deal, saving their prospects rather than sending them to Oakland.  While it was good news, but still doesn’t solve the starting rotation.  There are still free agents that the Red Sox could target, but there still remains an interesting trade possibility, one that Cherington has looked at already; Gavin Floyd of the Chicago White Sox.

Cherington has already met with the White Sox management back at the winter meetings where he discussed both Floyd and the newly re-signed John Danks.   But it was there that we learnt that the asking price for either pitcher would be costly.  Thanks to the Mat Latos deal and now the Gonzalez trade the bar has been set, meaning Floyd won’t come cheap.  (more…)