Joel Pineiro, who may have become the closer (although that wouldn’t have lasted very long) had Jonathan Papelbon elected to remain in the starting rotation, has been traded along with cash considerations for a player to be named later.
Pineiro, who ends his 2007 Red Sox tenure with a 5.03 ERA in 34 innings pitched, showed flashes of brilliance that were too often marred by mediocrity. He heads to a team desperate for pitching help and should find much more success in the National League than in the American League.
Pineiro had more recently been in the Red Sox minor leagues, having accepted an assignment to Triple-A after being designated for assignment to make room for Jon Lester.
In other news, the New York Yankees have traded reliever Scott Proctor to the Los Angeles Dodgers for third-baseman Wilson Betemit. I’m in favor of this move. Assuming no other move is made, this severely weakens the Yanks’ bullpen (and yes I’m factoring in Joba Chamberlain, thank you) while not upgrading the bench much. Betemit is a career .263/.338/.441 hitter who is yet only 25 and holds loads of promise. However, he is now on his third organization as he tries to recognize that promise.
In other news, I am hearing that Jermaine Dye has been traded to Boston for Wily Mo Pena and Manny Delcarmen. Unlike the Betemit/Proctor swap, this is not a sure thing. So let’s just wait and see…
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