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The Red Sox have taken flak this offseason because of their lack of major moves. Apparently, it hasn’t been for a lack of trying. According to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com, Boston recently had a proposed Jacoby Ellsbury-for-Cliff Lee trade squashed by the Philadelphia Phillies.

“According to multiple sources,” wrote Salisbury, “the Red Sox approached the Phillies and a Jacoby Ellsbury for Cliff Lee deal and were told Lee was not available.” He went on to explain that the Phillies want to see what their three-headed pitching monster of Lee, Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels can do this upcoming season.

The Phillies had been in dire need of a center fielder, but were able to acquire Ben Revere from the Minnesota Twins earlier this week. Having just completed his second full season in the majors, Revere made only $492,500 last season and represents a significantly cheaper option than Ellsbury.

In addition to wanting to maintain their pitching strength, the Phillies may have been turned off by a couple of major issues with Ellsbury.

Despite his enormous talent, Ellsbury has struggled mightily with injuries throughout his career, averaging just 83 games per season over the past three years. He was the 2011 AL MVP runner-up but played in just 74 games last season, and his .271 batting average and .682 OPS were big disappointments.

Trading for Ellsbury may have also wound up being just a one-year rental for the Phillies. He is arbitration eligible this offseason and will likely make in the neighborhood of $10 million in 2013 before heading into free agency. Since he is represented by Scott Boras, he will be looking for a major payday when he hits the market, something the Phillies may not have wanted to become involved in.

For their part, the Red Sox would have assumed major risk of their own if they had taken on the left-handed Lee. He has three years and $75 million remaining on his current contract. In 2016 he can have an additional year vested if he pitches 200 innings in 2015 or a guaranteed $12.5 million buyout if he combines for more than 400 innings between 2014-15.

Lee’s 6-9 record in 2012 may look like he slipped in his performance, but his secondary stats tell a different story. He had a 3.16 ERA and struck out 207 batters in 211 innings, clearly maintaining his status as one of the best pitchers in baseball.

The Red Sox may not have been able to land Lee, but their pursuit of Lee shows how serious they are about making a significant upgrade to their starting pitching. It will be interesting to see if they continue to use Ellsbury as a trade chip and, if so, where they might next set their sights.

Statistics via BaseballReference 

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Even the breaking news of Ryan Ludwick reportedly signing a two-year contract with the Cincinnati Reds can’t slow down the trade rumors (via the Cincinnati Enquirer’s John Fay). Ludwick still doesn’t fix the void at leadoff, but CBS Sports senior baseball writer Danny Knobler seems to think that the Reds have a plan brewing that can solve that very issue.

Check out this tweet from Knobler:

Rays, not surprisingly, still poking around for a catcher. Asked at least one team about trying to do a 3-way deal to get Mesoraco from Reds

— DKnobler (@DKnobler) December 7, 2012

Wow. According to this, it seems as though Cincinnati would be willing to part with catching prospect Devin Mesoraco if the deal could eventually net the Reds a leadoff man.

According to a report by Jason A. Churchill on ESPN.com, the third team involved could be the Colorado Rockies. As Churchill explains in his report, the Reds need a leadoff guy (presumably Dexter Fowler), the Rockies need pitching (presumably one of the young Rays arms), and the Rays need a catcher (presumably Devin Meoraco).

Essentially, this means that Cincinnati would give up Mesoraco for Fowler after all was said and done. But is Fowler really worth such a trade? On one hand, he is a young player who fills a huge hole. On the other hand, however, the Reds could play this better by getting an arm like Jeremy Hellickson or James Shields and keeping him for themselves.

The 2013 Reds’ Opening Day rotation would suddenly contain Johnny Cueto, Mat Latos, possibly Shields or Hellickson, Homer Bailey and Bronson Arroyo. Notice one big omission?

That’s right, no Aroldis Chapman. Many may be very happy to see him moved back to the closer’s role. Talk about domination. Such a pitching staff would undoubtedly end up as one of the best in baseball.

No, this does not solve the issue at leadoff. But that could be addressed through other means, like the trade of other assets or the signing of Michael Bourn.

It’s all an interesting twist to these reports. What are your thoughts?

Follow @JRamCincy

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The Los Angeles Dodgers have reportedly expressed interest in acquiring St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Skip Schumaker. The Dodgers have also reported that their shortstop, Dee Gordon, is available for trade.

With the limited amount of time that Schumaker played down the stretch in 2012 for the Cardinals, and the team’s desperate need for a shortstop, it appears that this trade could very well happen.

In 87 games last year, Gordon struggled for the Dodgers. He hit only .228 and had an on-base percentage of only .280. Gordon’s WAR was also an abysmal -1.3. Defensively, Gordon was not very good either. He made 18 errors at the shortstop position and had a DWAR of -1.1.

It was really a rough second year for Gordon in Los Angeles.

With all these awful stats, though, why would the Cardinals be interested in acquiring Gordon?

First off, the price is not too high. The Dodgers appear ready to be done with Dee Gordon, and the Cardinals may be able to trade away a 32-year-old player who is in the last year of his contract for a player who is 24 years old and is just beginning his career.

Secondly, Gordon has good offensive potential. In his first year in Los Angeles, Gordon hit for a .304 average in 56 games with the Dodgers and had an on-base percentage of .325. He is also a massive threat on the bases, having stolen 56 bags in only 143 major league games.

Sure, Gordon was terrible last year, but he was put under a lot of pressure from the start of the year. The expectations were fairly high for the second-year player, and he buckled under them early in the season and never quite recovered. The expectations will, of course, be very high in St. Louis as well, but the fans and media tend to be a little more compassionate in St. Louis than they are in Los Angeles.

Finally, Gordon has the potential to be not just a good shortstop, but a great one. The Cardinals have very good fielding coaches who can work with Gordon. Not to mention that Rafael Furcal can help him while Furcal is still in a St. Louis uniform. It was already mentioned that Gordon has tremendous speed, which is a huge key for shortstops. If he can combine that speed with a strong fielding ability, he could become a great shortstop for the Cardinals.

Skip Schumaker has done some great things with the Cardinals, but he is not likely to get much playing time with the team this year and would be an unlikely candidate to re-sign as a free agent next offseason. The Dodgers are interested in Schumaker, and they have a player the Cardinals could turn into a star.

It is obvious what needs to be done.

Dee Gordon needs to be brought to St. Louis.

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During each of the past two seasons, Curtis Granderson has surpassed the 40-home run mark as well as the 100-RBI mark. However, the New York Yankees may be considering trading Granderson, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.

Andrew Marchant of ESPN New York has provided a list of reasons why the Yankees should consider dealing away their star centerfielder.

Granderson has just one year and $15 million left on his contract, so almost any team would be able to afford him. The Yankees would likely ask for at least one top prospect in any deal involving Granderson.

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Major League Baseball’s annual Rule 5 Draft will take place on Thursday morning, beginning what should be a busy final day at the GM meetings in Nashville, Tenn. The draft has three phases: MLB, Triple-A and Double-A, though the MLB phase is the only one that requires the selected player to be purchased and placed on the 25-man roster.

Once added to the active roster, the player is required to remain there for the entire season. As a result, few players are selected each year due to the significant risk involved and lack of impact talent made available. If the team opts to remove a Rule 5 draft-pick from the active roster before the end of the season, then they must first clear waivers before they’re sent back to previous organization.

As part of Prospect Pipeline’s Rule 5 Draft coverage, I’ve put together a list of a majority of the top prospects eligible for selection on Thursday. I’ve also offered several potential fits for each player in relation to the needs of each organization, both at the minor- and major-league levels.

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The Philadelphia Phillies are reportedly in discussions with the Arizona Diamondbacks over a deal involving All-Stars Justin Upton and Cliff Lee. 

ESPN’s Pedro Gomez reported the news via Twitter, noting that Philadelphia would need to add cash in order to obtain the 25-year-old slugger.

Phillies and Diamondbacks are discussing Justin Upton for Cliff Lee. Money coming to AZ would also be involved.

— Pedro Gomez (@pedrogomezESPN) December 4, 2012

However, Nick Piecoro of AZCentral.com noted that Gomez’ rumor may not stand up to scrutiny.

Dbacks source tells me the Upton/Lee stuff “hasn’t been discussed” and is “off base.”

— Nick Piecoro (@nickpiecoro) December 4, 2012

Upton batted .280 win an OPS of .785 this season. He had 17 home runs and a career-high 107 runs scored.

He continued to flash the talent that made him the first overall pick in the 2005 MLB draft, but did not live up to the standard he set in the 2009 and 2011 seasons. The right fielder had an OPS of .898 in both of these campaigns, in addition to hitting over 25 home runs and surpassing 20 stolen bases. 

The Phillies would be adding a young player who had proven he can be productive, but also likely has his best days ahead of him. Philadelphia traded both Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence in the middle of the 2012 season and would certainly benefit from adding an outfielder.

Lee has been an All-Star in three of the past five seasons and is coming off a campaign in which he went 6-9 and posted an ERA of 3.16. The lefty signed a five-year, $120 million deal in Philadelphia as a free agent in 2010.

Arizona finished 15th in the majors in team ERA this past season, and adding a pitcher of Lee’s caliber will help the staff improve on this mediocre production.

Both teams have motivation to pull off the deal, and fans in both Philadelphia and Phoenix will have to wait and see if Gomez’ rumor ends up turning into reality. 

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With Day 1 of the MLB Winter Meetings already behind us and Day 2 now in progress, Andrew Friedman and the Tampa Bay Rays have shown that they’re not going to hesitate to pursue players on the free-agent or trade market.

After being involved in a flurry of rumors on Monday, it looks as if the Rays could be pretty active in Nashville this week.

With a handful of possible trade possibilities on the table and multiple teams contacting the Rays, here are five things the club should try to do over these next few days.

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Since the New York Mets and David Wright reached an agreement on a lucrative contract extension late last week, there continues to be mixed opinions on whether the organization will extend their NL Cy Young award-winner R.A. Dickey, or move him for a package of high-upside prospects.

Earlier this morning, CBSSports.com’s Jon Heyman reported that as many as eight teams are interested in the 38-year-old knuckleballer, including the Kansas City Royals, Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Washington Nationals. However, now that the Nats are likely to sign free-agent Dan Haren (as tweeted by Ken Rosenthal), it’s safe to rule them out of the mix.

Here’s a look at a prospect package from each of the seven aforementioned teams that could potentially be used to land R.A. Dickey.

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Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported the Philadelphia Phillies are believed to have made an offer to outfielder Angel Pagan. Sources claim the offer is a four-year deal. Rosenthal also reported it is believed the San Francisco Giants have made a four-year offer to Pagan.

Let the bidding begin.

This is a very important signing for the Philadelphia Phillies, especially after the brutal month the club had to endure. Losing out on B.J. Upton to the Atlanta Braves, halting a trade for relief pitcher Wilton Lopez and Chooch’s 25-game suspension would make any team miserable.

Needless to say, the Phillies are due for some good news.

Pagan would bring an interesting dynamic to the Phillies’ clubhouse. A switch-hitter with the ability to hit in multiple spots of the lineup—including leadoff. He is also extremely versatile at each outfield position. 

Now, Pagan had a great season last year and has been steady for the past three, but he is prone to injury. That’s a chief concern for the Phillies, but his potential outweighs the negative. 

Finally, the Phillies signing Pagan would allow the club to keep pace with the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals—who both have made huge splashes in the offseason, specifically center field. 

Maybe December is the month of good fortune for the Phillies. More details to follow on Pagan’s decision.

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The Detroit Tigers have already made one major move this offseason with the signing outfielder Torii Hunter. The question Tigers fans are now asking themselves is what happens next. The Tigers still have needs: a closer, a shortstop with better range and possibly another outfielder. 

A popular target for trade rumors is starting pitcher Rick Porcello. I think a big reason why many fans want to see Porcello dealt are the expectations fans had when Porcello was given a large bonus as a first-round pick in the 2007 draft. Many fans expected Porcello to turn into a front-line “ace” pitcher, not unlike another first-round pick from 2004, Justin Verlander. 

Porcello will probably never be an “ace” for a team, but he is still a very valuable pitcher. For starters, Porcello is still a very young pitcher at just 23 years of age. Already he has been a major league starter for four years and has two 14-win seasons under his belt. He has been healthy and can be counted on to throw about 180 innings. He is also under contract through 2015. 

In 2011, Porcello matched his fantastic rookie season (2009), when he went 14-9 with a 3.96 ERA and an ERA+ of 114 (from baseball-reference.com) and had the lowest WHIP of his career at 1.336. One reason why Porcello has not been more successful is the lack of an elite defense behind him. 

Porcello is a pitch-to-contact pitcher who does a good job of throwing strikes. Evidence of this can be seen by his walk rate declining to 2.25, good for 28th in all of baseball. However, what killed Porcello this past season was a major league worst 11.53 hits per nine innings. 

So is there a chance the Tigers could shop Porcello, and if they do, can they actually get anything in return for him? I think the answer is yes, but the Tigers need to shop Porcello carefully. 

One team the Tigers should contact is the Colorado Rockies. 

The Rockies have a very solid infield defense headlined by superstar shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. Their outfield defense is solid as well. The Rockies need pitching and more specifically, they need pitchers who either strike batters out or who force opponents to put balls on the ground. 

What would the Tigers want in return? One option which seems like a nice fit with the Tigers would be outfielder Dexter Fowler. Fowler is a little below average as a defensive center fielder, but move him to left and it’s easy to see him becoming a plus fielder. 

There have been rumors about Fowler being offered in an attempt to land a veteran pitcher. Fowler makes sense for Detroit for two primary reasons. First, he is a switch-hitter who has shown improvement with his hitting approach and is probably going to be closer to a .280 hitter with 15-home run power and a little bit of speed (12 steals in 2012). Secondly, he is a young player who fits the need for a solid defender. 

A one-for-one deal between the Tigers and Rockies is not likely. Several minor league players will most likely be included. I think the Tigers could include pitcher Casey Crosby and either outfielder Daniel Fields or Tyler Collins. The Rockies would probably be asked to include a prospect like shortstop Trevor Story. In order to get Story, the Tigers might have to include one of their young outfielders (Andy Dirks or Brennan Boesch). 

This would help Detroit both now and in the future. MLB.com projects Story to be major league ready in 2015. Currently, the Tigers could address shortstop until Story is ready by either re-signing Peralta for another year or signing Steven Drew to a two-year contract with a team option for a third. Fowler is an everyday outfielder and can man the outfield until either Nick Castellanos or Avisail Garcia is ready for everyday duty. 

The Rockies would get a starter who can actually make it through six innings and who is still quite young and should be able to chew up some innings for a rotation that struggled to make it more than four innings per game last year. Porcello is better than his numbers indicate, and he will benefit from having a stronger defense behind him. 

The Rockies also get a solid pitching prospect in Casey Crosby, who has gotten better each year after Tommy John surgery. Crosby struggled in three spot starts for Detroit this past year, but he is shown good progress with locating his pitches. He is also a strikeout pitcher, which is the type of pitcher the Rockies need. 

Finally, adding a prospect with upside like Fields or Collins is a gamble for the Rockies, but if it pays off, it could give them an above-average outfielder with some speed and power. Also, if the Tigers included Boesch or Dirks, the Rockies would have either a sold bench bat or (in Dirk’s case) a player who can defend all three outfield positions. 

Before the Tigers make this deal, they will want to either re-sign Anibal Sanchez or have another pitcher to take Porcello‘s place in the rotation. The Rockies need pitching badly and may be willing to pay for that pitching. It behooves the Tigers to inquire and find out. 

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