Toucher & Rich: Pete Abraham On Josh Beckett Rumors
BOSTON (CBS) - With rumors of the Red Sox shopping Josh Beckett over the weekend, The Boston Globe's Peter Abraham joined 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich Monday morning to discuss any potential deal.
While the Red Sox called teams like the Rangers and Braves, it doesn't appear that they are close to anything, and this was likely the team exploring around baseball to see if there are any suitors for the 5-9 Beckett.
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"The fact that they called around, I don't know if that means they're actively looking to dump him, but I think if they could they would," said Abraham. "It's not the kind of thing where they're picking through offers to get the best one at this point. I think it's them seeing if there's a market for this guy, and finding out there's not much of a market."
Reports say a deal is very unlikely, and Abraham agrees with that sentiment thanks to the $37.3 million due to Beckett over the next two-plus years.
"I'd be surprised, unless somebody was willing to give them a couple of players and the Red Sox were willing to take $25 million," said Abraham, "but that's a lot of money to eat at this point in a contract."
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Are teams staying away from Beckett due to the perception that he was the cause of the clubhouse shenanigans and eventual September collapse last season?
"That makes sense to me. I think part of the reason the Red Sox want to trade him is because he's probably been a bad influence on Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz," said Abraham. "Look what happened last year -- he's basically perceived as the ring leader of guys drinking in the clubhouse and guys getting chicken in the clubhouse. The ring leader of a pitching staff that lost a historic lead in September when the team collapsed. It's generally seen as the reason the Red Sox are where they are right now is because Josh Beckett hasn't pitched well, and brought Jon Lester down with him."
"That's kind of over-played a little bit," said Abraham. "Jon Lester is his own guy and can make his own decisions. But the perception is Josh Beckett is the guy that has dragged the Red Sox down, and any value he would have in a trade has been cut way down by that."
