"Planting" Buehrle... Good Move?
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by user Jagsinbowlxl
Reports out of Boston say that the reported Buehrle deal to the Sox was just planted in order to peak interest for Buehrle and run up the trade prices.
Do you think this was a smart move?
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Keith Law, on ESPNEWS yesterday, reported that the Mark Buehrle-to-Boston rumor is bogus and almost certainly planted by the White Sox front office. Couldn't hurt to try, unless the plant damages relations with the Red Sox in the future. This type of practice is probably more common than we realize, though.
Furthermore, Tony Massarotti of the Boston Herald says the Red Sox are out of this thing (if they were ever really in it). By the way, the reason for the refusal to allow a 72-hour negotiating window: Buehrle's likelihood of signing with St. Louis after the season.
A loyal MLBTR reader, summing up Ken Rosenthal's recent comments on WEEI, noted that the Yankees are not actually involved on Buehrle. A GM always wants the Yankees and Red Sox involved when conducting a player auction, but it looks like that's not the case with Buehrle. Perhaps the Mets-Braves rivalry can be exploited instead.
Another Buehrle note - R.J. Anderson of D-Rays Bay informs me that radio host Dan Sileo of 620 WDAE has a source indicating that the Devil Rays are interested in Buehrle. This doesn't make much sense on the surface with the Rays out of contention. However, maybe Andrew Friedman and Co. will offer players that they value less than the two compensatory draft picks. That could be the main motivation, with the ancillary benefits of sparking the fanbase and having Buehrle around for three months to work with the younger pitchers.