Honestly he is ‘meh’ from what I’ve seen live, but his numbers are somewhat legit for a catcher and is steadily showing improvement. I would take a waiver on him if all it takes is Bowden or Bard.

Bard + lower level guys, not sure if Zona would do it, but it would be terrific.

And this is rank speculation based on nothing but my own personal musings. So, basically what passes for professional sportswriting…

But mightn’t the Sox potentially be better off going with ‘Tek, Bard & Minor League Assortment this year, and see if Mauer comes up in a trade? Mauer’s a proven catcher, and the Twins might want to trade him, depending on how the team is treated in Polhad’s estate. I’d rather give up Bowden (or even Buccholz maybe) & Bard + for Mauer than hazard a top pitching prospect on a relatively unproven catching prospect.

Obviously, its a scenario rife with “what ifs,” but Mauer’s a high-percentage OBP guy who can remain behind the plate, and I believe the Sox F.O. has already indicated interest, if not extreme interest in him. Additionally, of the “high value/high payroll” teams, we’re one of two with a catching opening (NYY: J. Montero and the corpse of Poasada; LAA: Napoli, Mathis & Conger; LAD: Martin; CWS: Douchezynski; CHC: Soto; SFO: Posey; ATL McCann; TEX: Assorted; SEA: Johjima & Clement). And we have a better farm than the Mets. Besides which, if Mauer doesn’t become available, we can deal for Montero then…

i think shoppach would be a better option and had for less.

From the Arizona Republic:

We’re hearing the Diamondbacks aren’t getting the impression that the Red Sox are zeroing in on catcher Miguel Montero. The clubs are still talking — or maybe we should say they are again talking — and the Sox have tweaked their offer, but it apparently is not to the point where satisfies the Diamondbacks. The sides had discussed a Michael Bowden-for-Montero deal earlier this off-season, but Boston wouldn’t part with its highly regarded pitching prospect.

i think masterson is the odd man out if we trade any pitching.

Minors: .291/.356/.467 = .823 OPS career minor league, 153/261 (BB/K)
2007: .224/.292/.397 = .689 OPS in 214 ABs, 20/35 (BB/K)
2008: .255/.330/.435 = .765 OPS in 184 ABs, 19/49 (BB/K)

Last year Montero’s average and OBP went up, but he started hacking more as you can see by his BB/K rate. His 2007 BB/K rate is more in line with his minor league career numbers, so maybe 2009 will show improvement in that category.

Miguel Montero has been very forgettable at the plate at the major league level. I would put Montero’s ceiling at his minor league numbers, but I’m not convinced that he’ll be able to achieve those in the majors. I don’t know a whole lot about his defense, but is this really a guy that we want to give up a top pitching prospect for? Not in my mind! If we’re going down that road I’d rather deal Buchholz to the Orioles in a package for Weiters.

The Red Sox should stand pat if Montero is the only option.

The Orioles part with Weiters. They’ve been loving that kid up and are most likely going to call him up at some point, possibly at the end of this season to see what he can do. They got rid of Ramon to make room, and I seriously doubt Greg Zaun is going to be blocking that kids way. He’s been destroying the minors, I forgot who was ranking it, but I believe I saw him ranked as the number 2 prospect in the majors. The Orioles are going to try to build around him, Markakis and possibly Jones as well. My brother is an O’s fan and the only time I’ve seen him speak positively about his team recently is in regards to that player.

i didn’t realize he was 23 this may, i thought he was younger than that. I am jealous my brothers team has him though.

The biggest item left on Boston’s agenda is finding a catcher to share time with Bard. While the Red Sox have talked to Texas about its catching surplus and to Arizona about Miguel Montero, one source familiar with the situation said the Montero discussions are “not as lively as the Internet would make it seem.”

Good read, though. First national coverage I’ve seen discussing all the Sox recent moves.

After four days of looking at “talks intensifying,” all I can think of is a G.I. Joe cartoon serial, wherein COBRA has stolen the plans for the top secret government Talks-Intensifier – allowing them to sign any free agent. Now its up to the G.I. Joe teams to race COBRA around the globe to locate the components of the Talks-Intensifier, which are hidden in various ruined temples and remote locales.

Starring Dustin “Gung Ho” Pedroia, David “Grand Slam” Ortiz, J.D. “Clutch” Drew, Jon “Ace” Lester, Josh “Ace” Beckett, Jonathan “Snake-Eyes” Papelbon and Jacoby “Flash” Ellsbury as the G.I. Joe Team. Also featuring Jason Varitek as Duke, Heidi Watney as Scarlett, Jason Bay as the New Guy, John Smoltz as the Grizzled Veteran and Theo Epstein as the Boy Genius

Versus:

A.J. “Garter Snake” Burnett – with removable shoulder and elbow action;
Captain Intangibles – Apparently a reference to his defense;
AFraud and Robodouche – the Bionic Evil Twins, whose robotic hearts monotonously pump a Kool-Aid like substance at 30 beats per minute;
Joba the Hutt – action figure includes a bottle of sweat which cures cancer; and
Cobra Cashmander – capable of amazing feats, like missing the playoffs with an annual payroll north of $ 200 million.

Only 28 days until pitchers and catchers!