Big CC Sabathia to join the Red Sox?

The always enjoyable Jayson Stark of ESPN had this fascinating piece in his weekly rundown, suggesting the Indians might be thinking about shopping their ace, reigning Cy Young champ CC Sabathia, to the Boston Red Sox;

C.C. Sabathia to the Red Sox? Our spies say the Indians have "got their soldiers out, looking at other clubs with depth and prospects," just in case they decide to put their ace on the market. And one organization they've been scouting most heavily is (yep) the Red Sox.

As we mentioned earlier in Rumblings, the Indians are still traveling down duel paths, hoping to charge back into the race but also letting teams know that if that doesn't happen, they're willing to listen -- on Sabathia and others. An official of one curious club says the price of an ace is "three quality pieces," which can be either young big-leaguers or advanced prospects.

Meanwhile, an executive from another club says Cleveland "would have to do better than two first-round draft picks" to justify trading Sabathia. Meaning, he said, "this would have to be a sign-and-trade."

But it's tough to envision Sabathia foregoing his free agency without a humongous, Johan Santana-esque payoff. And those kinds of deals rarely happen in July.

First off, said the same exec, "why would you give up three top-notch guys when you can wait two or three months and sign him without giving up any of them? And if we're talking seven years, I'd have a hard time with that. Considering his size now, what's his body going to look like in the sixth or seventh year? I'd go four years, but I wouldn't go six or seven. If you're talking seven times $20 million, whew. That's wrong."

Nevertheless, an official of a third team said, "Can you imagine C.C. in the same rotation with [Josh] Beckett and Dice-K? He'd change the whole complexion of the postseason."

So what would it take, is the big question.

An official of one curious club says the price of an ace is "three quality pieces," which can be either young big-leaguers or advanced prospects.

If that's the case, the Red Sox certainly have the parts. One would assume Jacoby Ellsbury is untouchable. At this stage, considering how well he has pitched and his enormous upside, plus his emotional attachment to the club, Jon Lester has to be somewhat untouchable too. Thus, one would envision a selection from the following;

• Clay Bucholz
• Justin Masterson
• Craig Hansen
• Brandon Moss
• Jed Lowrie

Would a package consisting mainly of Bucholz, Lowrie and Masterson make the Indians pull the trigger? Would that be enough? If it was, is this something the Sox should sign off on?

Fascinating stuff. Personally, I would go for it. Can you imagine that rotation? Beckett, Dice-K, CC Sabathia, Lester and Wake?

Hey, it may never happen, but, fascinating!


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