So Long Wily Mo?
Well, after saying I didn't get why the Red Sox considered Bobby Kielty an upgrade over Wily Mo Pena, Kielty was signed to a minor league deal and Wily Mo cleared waivers. What does this mean? It means Wily Mo can now be traded anytime this month as part of the waiver trade deadline.
I also heard, with nothing to back this up, that Kielty has a clause in his contract that he can become a free agent if the Red Sox don't call him up after 7 days in the minors. That to me sums it up. Pena is a goner and Kielty is going to be a Red Sox in about a week.
It would have been nice if the Red Sox could have given Wily Mo 500 plate appearances in any given year just to see what he could do. I think where ever he goes, if he gets playing time, he will be a very production hitter (average obp, but high slugging).
Of course the official transaction hasn't taken place and if the Red Sox cannot find suitable return value for Pena, they might just hang on to him. If they do move Pena, it will likely be for a player to be named later. A waiver trade that does not included a major leaguer in return has to be for the infamous PTBNL because minor leaguers cannot clear waivers as a rule (I think The Javy Lopez for Adam Stern trade was like that last year).
Anyway, as I write this, the Red Sox are losing 4-7 in Anaheim while the Yankees have already won. There was a bit of a dust-up in the Yankees/Toronto game that might just fuel the Yankees already burning fire too. That makes it a 5.5 game lead...
