Jon Heyman of CBS Sports asked a general manager whether or not he would trade for Red Sox pitcher Alfredo Aceves. The answer, given you are Red Sox fans who have followed the ups and downs of Aceves' career, will not surprise you:
Asked GM if aceves has trade value. Answer? "Not if you know him." (Me: even if u just read about him, can't trade for him)
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) February 19, 2013
This echoes what Alex Speier wrote about Aceves and the possibility of trading him -- his character and behavioral issues mean the Sox won't get much, if anything back for him, but maybe they could at least clear his reasonable salary off of the books. So, given that, why did the Red Sox tender Aceves a contract, anyway?
For all his troubles, he's mostly been a productive pitcher. His issues in 2012 had a lot to do with his change in strategy upon moving to the closer role, as increased velocity messed with his command, and caused him to give up some huge innings he had been able to avoid in the past. The Red Sox bullpen is stacked enough that they don't need to rely on Aceves, but, should someone go down with an injury during the spring, having him around to fill-in beats the alternative.
If things go wrong, however, or he's not needed, Aceves is only set to make $2.65 million, so it's not as if the Red Sox can't waive him and let someone else take him. Or, if the league is that insistent he doesn't enter any other roster, at least he would end up off of the 40 and back in the minors. (Well, in reality, Aceves would likely reject the outright assignment and become a free agent.) If it's an outright cut, due to the behavioral problems, then they can afford to eat the full $2.65 million as well, though, the chances of that occurring are low.
Then, too, there's the fact that this is one general manager's take, and it's coming on February 19. If Aceves has a strong spring, and a team suddenly has a need in the rotation or in the bullpen, maybe they'll change their tune. That, or the Red Sox are stuck with Aceves unless they cut ties themselves, and if the rest of the relief options perform well over the next month-plus, that might be just what happens.