JERMAINE DYE?

The Red Sox have been talking with the White Sox regarding the services of Jermaine Dye. Dye is in his last year of a contract, and the floundering White Sox are attempting to offload him.

The Globe reported earlier today, that someone reported to them, that a deal was close. Then just a few minutes ago, the Globe reported that the deal was not close to being done.

Reportedly, the Red Sox will send Wily Mo Pena, along with either Justin Masterson or Manny Delcarmen for Dye. Right now, the Red Sox are hesitant to ship Masterson or Delcarmen. Delcarmen is our best right handed set-up pitcher as of right now. Masterson is playing in AA Portland after starting the year in A Lancaster. Masterson is one of the top prospects in our organization. He's 4-0 in 4 starts in Portland with a 1.77 ERA in 26 innings.

JD Drew is struggling. He's been inconsistent at the plate, and he has had several tweaks, twinges, and knocks. He hasn't had an extended stay on the DL, but he has missed time here and there due to injury.

Drew has not been nearly as productive as the Sox had hoped he would be. He's hitting .248, has only hit 6 homeruns, is only slugging .375, and has an OBP of .354. He was brought in to hit 5th and be an RBI guy, but he has spent time batting all over the lineup and only has 40 runs batted in this year.

Dye brings some right handed power to the lineup. He can play anywhere in the outfield. He had an amazing 2006 with 44 homers, 120 RBI, a .315 average, a .385 slugging percentage, and a .622 slugging percentage. He won a Silver Slugger and was 5th in MVP voting.

But this season, he's hitting .235 (lower than JD Drew). He's got a .295 OBP (lower than JD Drew). He's slugging .467. He's hit 19 homers and knocked in 52. Now, if he comes to Boston, he might get a bit of an adrenaline rush and start playing better. Then again, he might not.

Dye is a free agent at the end of the season. With Drew tied up for a few more years, as well as Crisp, it will be unlikely that we would resign Dye.

The price Chicago is asking for is too high. These are the two possible deals that are known to be on the table:

Red Sox trade:
OF Wily Mo Pena
RP Manny Delcarmen
***OR***
SP Justin Masterson (AA Portland)

for

OF Jermaine Dye

You look at those deals, and the best part of the deal for the Red Sox is that they get rid of Wily Mo. We either lose a key pitcher in our bullpen, or one of our best prospects. For what? For a guy who will play for us for 2 months, and who is currently hitting .235. It doesn't really seem like a great deal for the Red Sox, and I'm glad that they're balking at it right now.