Despite Theo Epstein’s claim that nothing would get done before he left Indianapolis this morning, the Red Sox apparently have a preliminary deal in place with the Texas Rangers.  The deal would send Mike Lowell to Texas for 25-year-old catcher / first baseman Max Ramirez.  Of course, Lowell would be driving a Brinks Truck into Dallas; the Red Sox are offering to pay most of the remaining $12 million owed to Lowell.

Who is Max Ramirez?

A top hitting prospect at one time who originally was signed out of Venezuela by the Atlanta Braves.  Ramirez tore through the minor leagues up until he hit AAA a year ago, where he has stalled a bit.  He has demonstrated good plate discipline throughout his career (.398 OPB in the minor leagues).

Defensively, there is room for improvement, but he has the potential to be a little better than Victor Martinez behind the dish.  Ramirez threw out 24% of potential base stealers in AAA last season, along with 3 out of 15 in a small sample of MLB chances.  He did play 3 MLB games at first base, but the bulk of his professional experience is behind the plate.

I’ll have more on this later.

NOTE:

Amalie Benjamin reports that the Sox front office staff have made their exodus from Indianapolis.  Honestly, who can blame them?  It’s 2009.  I have the ability to take over a small African country with my cell phone.  MLB team officials should be able to collaborate without meeting in some dilapidated midwestern cow town.

Comments are closed