Heyman with Gresh & Zo: I Doubt The Red Sox Will Be Sellers
BOSTON (CBS) - The Boston Red Sox sit at 12-17 on the season after falling to the Royals 6-4 Tuesday night, their sixth loss in the last seven games.
Fans have been panicking since the season began, but is it too early to call the Red Sox sellers when it comes to the trade market?
CBS Sports MLB Insider Jon Heyman joined 98.5 The Sports Hub's Gresh & Zo for his weekly chat Wednesday afternoon, and he doesn't think the Sox will be sellers at all.
"This is still a team with a $170+ million payroll with expectations. Unless they really tank I doubt they'll be a seller," said Heyman.
"I think general managers look at their team every day and say where are we? Right now, it wouldn't be that great. But I don't see them as a seller any time soon; they'd have to tank to be a seller. They're going to wait for their players to get back," Heyman said, noting injuries to Jacoby Ellsbury, Carl Crawford and Andrew Bailey. "I think they're going to be very reluctant to become sellers with their payroll, the expectations, the fandom, their history, all of that. I think we're talking about something that's a 1-in-20 shot."
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"I think (Kevin) Youkilis could be traded, but that's a different situation," said Heyman. "I don't see a fire sale for the Red Sox."
Speaking of Youkilis, general manager Ben Cherington said that when Youk returns from his current stint on the DL, he will be back at third base with rookie Will Middlebrooks taking a seat.
"I think that's right, I think Youkilis will keep his job. It will be interesting to see if they try to put Middlebrooks in the outfield," Heyman said, although he added Middlebrooks in the outfield makes little sense. "It does solidify the situation with Youkilis long-term; I think it's pretty unlikely he gets an extension and they'll look to trade him."
Are the Red Sox going to start Youk at third just to boost his trade value?
"I wouldn't say it's to jack up the trade value. At this point you're trying to get it to even. I can't imagine his value will be very high with his salary… I think it's normal for a very good veteran to keep his job, not lose it after say a weak month and then an injury. I would say that's normal procedure. I wouldn't blame it on any trade possibility."
