Big SoxandPhils addition

Despite my lack of posting, this has been a huge week for the SoxandPhils. And I'm not talking about the blockbuster additions of Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford.

Nope. Bigger. Massive, even.

The Phillies acquired reliever Dennys Reyes. Baseball-Reference generously lists him at 250 pounds, but I think that number misses some of the Grand Slam breakfasts* he's had.

He's a big boy. So big, in fact, that many times in recent years when the Cardinals have been playing the Phillies, I stop to watch him pitch. Actually, if I must confess, I'm staring at his butt. It's huge. He's a big boy, but his rear is a few sizes too big for his frame. It's a freak of nature that I'll enjoy watching all season long.

*If you're wondering why it's safe to assume Reyes has eaten some Grand Slams, check this out from Todd Zolecki:

Asked how he pronounces his name, Reyes once told Cardinals beat writers, "It's Dennys, like the restaurant."

Oh, and yes, Trent and I are excited about the new-look Red Sox, even though there's a tinge of Yankeeism about it.

Image credit: Riverfront Times

Oops

Never mind what I wrote yesterday. Adrian Gonzalez is a Red Sox.

Trent and I are happy, and so is A-Gon:

"I'm very excited to be here in Boston and ready to beat the Yankees."
[...]
Gonzalez said joining the Red Sox is the culmination of a childhood dream.

"I've had five incredible years in San Diego and grew up wanted to be a Padre, and my dream as a kid was to play in the major leagues and be a Padre,'' said Gonzalez after posing for the requisite photo op in his new jersey with Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein and owner John Henry. "And my second dream was to be a Red Sox."

And never mind another thing I wrote yesterday. Christine and I didn't see a clean-shaven, short-haired Jayson Werth at a press conference. We have no clue who it was. We questioned it but should have been more skeptical because the person in question wasn't wearing a Nationals hat or jersey.

Unfortunately for the Nats, they're still on the hook to pay Werth $126 million until he's 39 years old.

What the ...

I had a blog post in my mind and sat down to the computer at noon. It was going to be about how yesterday, when we were asked what team Trent will root for, Christine and I randomly said the Padres, even though we had no clue the Red Sox agreed to a trade with San Diego for Adrian Gonzalez.

Christine told me to hold off on writing until we knew for sure whether he was going to Boston, after the 2 p.m. deadline the teams had set to negotiate a contract extension with Gonzalez. We were all Trent for the rest of the day and after dinner turned on MLB Network in anticipation of seeing A-Gon with a Red Sox hat on.

Nope.

We saw what appeared to be a clean-shaven, short-haired Jayson Werth signing a huge contract with the Nationals. The Nationals? It elicited an out loud "Whaaaat?" from me. Trent was speechless.

I guess no one else was willing to go seven years on the former Phil. And I guess we might be back to Adrian Beltre and possibly Carl Crawford because the Sox didn't come to an agreement with Gonzalez.

But now, Christine has a real reason to root against the Nationals.

Big trade speculation

After reading Jim Salisbury's very speculative piece that the Phillies may revisit the Roy Halladay trade negotiations, a thought occurred to me this morning: Might the Phillies package a deal around - gasp - Cole Hamels?

Management seems to be down on him, and including him in a deal would presumably mitigate the Blue Jays' demand for Kyle Drabek or one of the top outfield prospects.

Salisbury's story didn't mention this possibility, but while I was driving to work, Randy Miller, of the Bucks County Times, was on WIP with the same speculation I had. He had a couple of caveats, however, chiefly that if the Phillies acquired Halladay, they might have to cut payroll elsewhere, meaning Joe Blanton could be gone.

He did say the Phillies are fed up with Hamels for failing to develop a third pitch or learn from veteran lefties Jamie Moyer and Cliff Lee. He thinks they will definitely listen to offers for the 2008 NLCS and World Series MVP, although they will be quiet about it because these megadeals rarely pan out and the Phillies are worried about Cole's fragile psyche if he learns he was placed on the trading block.

It's an interesting thought. My gut reaction is I wouldn't do it, but the Phillies may have more insight on whether Hamels can fulfill his promise in Philadelphia. If he can't, there are worse replacements than Doc.

While my perception was keen on the Hamels and Halladay speculation, I missed big time on the real implications behind the Red Sox announcing that Victor Martinez will be the starting catcher next year. That wasn't just about displacing Jason Varitek, but also signaling that V-Mart will not be at first base because the Sox may really go after Adrian Gonzalez.

It's no secret that the Red Sox have been looking for a corner infielder, especially with prospect Lars Anderson regressing this year, and the Padres are a team they have always been comfortable dealing with. Negotiations should go even better now that former Sox staffer Jed Hoyer is the GM in San Diego.

To further flame inane offseason SoxandPhils speculation is this tidbit that suggests the Red Sox may add nearly $50 million in payroll. I don't think there's that much talent available.