If you resist printing anything this week that isn't a confirmed deal, you'd spend a lot of time sitting on your hands. So it is with that caveat that I report an update from ESPN's Buster Olney on the likelihood of the Indians trading All-Star catcher Victor Martinez on the heels of the Cliff Lee trade. An unnamed AL official told him, "I don't think they'd move one without moving the other." Reports have circulated in recent weeks that the Indians wanted to cut payroll. With Lee gone, that's $8 million less going out. Martinez, hitting .283 with 15 HR and 67 RBIs, may very well be next. He will earn $4.45 million this season and $7 million next year, through an option.
The Red Sox have been in talks with the Indians about Martinez and the buzz seems to be a deal will happen before the deadline.