It is being reported that John Smoltz is going to sign with the Boston Red Sox, and that he will be calling the Atlanta Braves this morning to let them know about his decision. Since my time is limited, I’ll just throw up a few links and come back with my thoughts later, after the dust settles.

For a candid debate on anything Atlanta Braves related, go to TalkingChop.com.

For up to the minute MLB rumors and trade updates, MLBTradeRumors.com is the best place to go. Tim Dierkes doesn’t know who we are, but dude is the best.

No big surprise here, as anyone who follows this crappy blog knows that we are big fans of Evan Longoria.  The White Sox’ Alexei Ramirez came in second place, with Boston’s Jacoby Ellsbury coming in third.

Wow. ManRam is officially a Los Angeles Dodger, and Jason Bay is a Boston Red Sox. The Pirates are getting pitchers Brandon Moss and Craig Hansen from the Red Sox, and three bagger Andy LaRoche as well as outfielder Bryan Morris from the Dodgers. That’s all I know so far.

In related news, Pat owes me something.

It looks like as many as eight teams are in on the Will Ohman sweepstakes, including the Red Sox, Devil Rays and Yankees. Keep your eye on this one, because I have a feeling someone is about to overpay for a damned good reliever.

According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Red Sox and Marlins are deep into talks that would send Manny Ramirez to the NL East. This would change the dynamics of a three team race that is likely to go down to the wire. We will know soon enough if this trade is going to happen, because the deadline is tomorrow afternoon.

What was that, Pat?

Update

Buster is now saying it could be a three team trade that would add Pittsburgh to the mix.  There are so many names involved in this trade rumor now, that it’s become difficult to follow.  In the end, the Sox would get Jason Bay to replace ManRam.  Check his numbers, because they are pretty comparable to ManRam’s.

According to both ESPN’s Peter Gammons and Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe, the Atlanta Braves offered up Mark Teixeira to the Boston Red Sox, in exchange for Kevin Youkilis and Craig Hansen. With Big Papi coming back soon, however, the Red Sox told Braves GM Frank Wren to “keep us in mind”, but that for now they couldn’t do it. This confirms that Tex is on the blocks, but with the braves only 6.5 games out in the NL East it is a strange time for them to become sellers, which I don’t think this indicates. Youkilis is signed for two more years, but Hansen doesn’t excite me one bit. Maybe the Braves should start looking into Matt Holliday themselves, as they are in desperate need of more production from the outfield.

Both here on Thee Blog, and in emails and conversations I have alluded to the fact that I think Manny Ramirez will be traded. No one seems to agree with me. Well, other than Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. When you look at the entire picture, a trade is not only possible, but likely. Manny is in the final year of his contract, with team options for 2009 and 2010 that will not be picked up. In the past few weeks alone, ManRam has flexed his muscles too many times for the Red Sox brass. Continue reading ‘Manny Ramirez on the Trading Blocks?’