The Friday Night Rumor Mill–February 3, 2006

It’s inevitable that that the Red Sox will trade David “Boomer” Wells—but not until spring training. The Red Sox have shopped the hefty lefty all winter, but haven’t been overwhelmed with offers thus far. That’s because most interested teams would like to see Wells work off the mound this spring after undergoing off-season knee surgery. The Mets have expressed recent interest (now that they’ve cleared out Kris Benson’s salary), but the Padres remain the favorites to land Wells. Still, they will probably have to surrender more than Dave Roberts in return. Now that Coco Crisp has been secured to play in between Manny Ramirez and Trot Nixon, the Red Sox don’t have a need for a starting outfielder, just for some outfield depth. Theo Epstein and Company aren’t likely to give up an effective starter like Wells straight-up for a fourth outfielder; they’ll probably insist on having a reliever or a minor league prospect added to the package…

Another veteran starter who will likely change uniforms in 2006 is Jose Contreras, though it wouldn’t happen until sometime during the season. With the winter acquisition of Javier Vasquez and the long-term commitment given to Jon Garland, Contreras could be made available in a late-season deal for some hitting. Although Contreras pitched splendidly in the second half of the 2005 season, the White Sox have concerns about his age—he may be older than his reported age of 34—and his delivery, which requires a high level of monitoring and maintenance. Several National League teams have already made inquiries into the right-hander’s availability, including the Astros and Phillies…

The Yankees are done with their major maneuvering of the winter, but they’re still considering some bits of fine-tuning between now and Opening Day. GM Brian Cashman remains open to adding a competnent left-handed hitting first baseman who can either push Jason Giambi to the DH role or at the very least strengthen what has been a very weak bench in recent years. One player who intrigues the Yankees is Carlos Pena, who at one time was considered the first baseman of the future in Detroit, but played so poorly last year that he earned a mid-season demotion to the minor leagues. The Tigers would trade Pena for some pitching, which could translate into either Carl Pavano or a package featuring Aaron Small… If a Pavano-for-Pena trade were to transpire, it would not happen until spring training and only until Pavano shows himself to be completely healthy. Given that Pavano is only 30 years old and would be pitching at spacious Comerica Park, he would be a good fit for the Tigers…

Anderson Hernandez has been so impressive in winter ball, winning the Dominican League’s Rookie of the Year Award along the way, that the Mets have decided to stop pursuing second base alternatives via trade. They believe that Hernandez, a converted shortstop who played well at two levels in 2005, is now ready to make the transition to the major leagues. With Hernandez and Jeff Keppinger, the Mets have two prospects capable of challenging the disappointing Kaz Matsui this spring. At $7 million, Matsui is likely to become the game’s most expensive utilityman.