June 2011 - Boston Red Sox Wiretap

Red Sox outfielder Ryan Kalish revealed Thursday that he underwent left shoulder surgery in November to repair a torn labrum. This, on the heels of neck surgery he had in September to deal with recurring issues he had experienced from a vicious collision back in April. Kalish, who spent the final two months with the Red Sox as a primary starter in 2010, will likely miss the first several weeks of the 2012 season. The labrum surgery, which is on Kalish's throwing shoulder, was performed by Dr. Lewis Yocum in Los Angeles. "It's not the easiest rehab in the world, and we're only a few weeks into it," Kalish said. "I'm working to get my range of motion back and will go from there. Nobody has told me a timetable, but I know it will be a while."

Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine spoke on Thursday about the team's recent acquisition of reliever Mark Melancon and closer Andrew Bailey. "The deals were in the hands of Ben [Cherington] and his baseball department and I think they've done a heck of a job of being patient, of being diligent, knowing what they want and going after it," Valentine said. "These two guys begin to fill a very big void that it seemed like we had after (Jonathan) Papelbon left and (Daniel) Bard was given an opportunity to go into the starting staff, along with (Alfredo) Aceves, and all of a sudden we went from the cupboard being bare to a cupboard that's plentiful, and we're all excited about." Valentine and Bailey know each other well off the field as both reside in Connecticut. Bailey and former Oakland teammate Craig Breslow, who is a native of Connecticut, formed the Strike 3 Foundation, which raises money for pediatric cancer research, and Valentine was the emcee for its annual event the past two years. "I see him off the field act the way you would want a major leaguer, or for that matter a son or father to act," Valentine said. "He really is an upstanding young man and when I watched him on video, or I watched him on television during his career, I've been extremely impressed with his competitiveness and his ability to get both right- and left-handed hitters out. Hopefully, like he said, he's going to be healthy as this year comes on, and if he is, he's going to be a big plus to the Boston Red Sox."

The Red Sox are exploring all options as they look for a starting pitcher and Atlanta's Jair Jurrjens is a possibility. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports also lists Hiroki Kuroda, Edwin Jackson, Roy Oswalt, Joe Saunders and Matt Garza as candidates.

The acquisition of reliever Andrew Bailey on Wednesday will allow the Red Sox to comfortably move Daniel Bard into the starting rotation. Boston manager Bobby Valentine has already said that he will give Bard a chance to win a spot in the rotation during spring training.

In addition to acquiring outfielder Josh Reddick from the Red Sox in a trade for reliever Andrew Bailey, the Athletics will also receive a pair of prospects. Oakland will add first baseman Miles Head and pitcher Raul Alcantara. Both Head and Alcantara are believed to be years away from the Major Leagues.

The Red Sox have acquired reliever Andrew Bailey from the Athletics in exchange for outfielder Josh Reddick, according to sources. Bailey compiled 24 saves last year in Oakland to go along with a 3.24 ERA -- the highest earned run average in the right-hander's three years in the majors. He is expected to replace Jonathan Papelbon, who left as a free agent, as Boston's closer. The Red Sox will also receive outfielder Ryan Sweeney in the deal.

The Red Sox and Rangers are the two teams most aggressively pushing to acquire pitcher Andrew Bailey from the Athletics. Boston and Texas are both interested in Bailey and they have the pieces needed to make a deal with Oakland.

The Yankees have signed left-handed reliever Hideki Okajima to a minor league contract. He will be in spring training as a non-roster invite. Okajima, 36, a member of the 2007 Red Sox championship team that spent most of 2011 in Triple-A, is expected to compete with Cesar Cabral, acquired by the Yankees in this year's Rule 5 draft, for a spot as a second lefty out of the bullpen with Boone Logan.

Brewers starting pitcher Zack Greinke could be in line for a significant payday after the 2012 season. Greinke's strikeout rate led the National League last season, his walk rate remained superb and only a few home runs stood between him and a season similar to his 2009 Cy Young campaign when he was with Kansas City. It remains to be seen if teams like the Yankees and Red Sox will shell out significant money to sign Greinke.

There is still a chance that the Red Sox could get a "significant" player from the Cubs as compensation for executive Theo Epstein. The Cubs have agreed not to purge Boston's staff of major talent for three years. The Red Sox and Cubs will address the issue after making the bulk of their offseason moves.