Red Sox Trade Rumors: 9 Teams That Would Want Josh Beckett

It's almost as if Josh Beckett had two separate seasons in 2011. First there was everything that happened up until September 5th 2011. Then there was everything that has happened since then. 

When Josh Beckett woke up on Labor Day September 5th in Toronto he as ready square off against the division rival Blue Jays. The Red Sox held a solid lead in the wild card race, and Beckett had played a key role in getting them there. He was 12-5 with an earned run average of 2.54. Things were looking good for Beckett, and the Sox had fairly bright prospects as a team as well.

That would all change though.

Beckett would leave the game following an ankle injury after three innings. The Red Sox would lose the game in extra innings. Beckett would return to his starting role, but his effectiveness was limited. He went 1-2 in September and had a season worst 5.48 earned run average for the month—easily his worst of the season.

Once the Red Sox collapse was complete, most observers likely thought the worst had passed for Beckett. Then a spate of stories involving the Sox starting pitching staff specifically Beckett, Jon Lester and John Lackey surfaced. The stories, all of which were sourced anonymously, claimed that the pitchers seemed disinterested in the games during the final month. Stories of drinking, take out food and a lack of commitment to physical fitness all surfaced.

The outrage in Boston was quite intense. Beckett and his teammates were absolutely hammered in the papers and on sports-radio. Many have called on the Red Sox to trade Beckett in an effort to purge the clubhouse of what people now perceive as a negative influence with a questionable work ethic.

Beckett probably isn't going anywhere.

The stories are, for the most part, unconfirmed. The aspects that have been confirmed don't seem to implicate Beckett in nearly as negative a light as the anonymous stories would suggest. It goes beyond that, though.

Even with the putrid September, Beckett finished up 2011 with an earned run average of 2.89, the lowest single season average of his entire career.

On a team that already needs to fill two holes in it's starting rotation, trading arguably their best pitcher would be a ludicrous move. If they did decide to make such a move, though, they'd have no shortage of takers.

What team would want Josh Beckett? It's almost easier to ask which ones wouldn't want him. With that being said, here are ten that would welcome him with open arms.  

Texas Rangers

C.J. Wilson is the No. 1 starting pitcher available on the free agent market this offseason. He's going to cost the team that eventually signs him around 100 million dollars.

Is he worth it?

That's very much open to debate, but what's not open to debate is that Josh Beckett would be a likely trade target for the Rangers if the Red Sox actually made him available. 

Beckett is originally from Texas, so it's unlikely he'd be opposed to a move to Arlington. Adding Beckett to the starting rotation would allow Texas to continue to keep Neftali Feliz in the closer role rather than embarking on a potentially risky transition to starting pitching that could be met with mixed results.

Finally, the Rangers could use another starter. Wilson, Colby Lewis, Derek Holland, Matt Harrison and Alexi Ogando are the current five. Even if Wilson were to return, both Ogando and Harrison are expendable commodities. Beckett would be an upgrade, and with the Texas offense backing him, he'd be fairly successful in Texas.  

Colorado Rockies

Josh Beckett is signed to a fairly lucrative contract. He will make 15.75 million dollars a year through the end of 2014. That's not cheap, but it's less money than snagging a comparable pitcher on the open market would run a cost-conscious team. 

The Rockies have two of baseball's bright young stars in shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez. They also have a very young and inexperienced group of starting pitchers. Esmil Rogers, Alex White and Jhoulys Chacin are all young pitches with varying degrees of potential. Adding a veteran like Beckett could accelerate the team's rate of improvement. 

It's not the most likely of suitors, but stranger things have happened. A Beckett addition would also send a strong message to other Rockies that the team is serious about winning—and doing it sooner than later. 

Chicago Cubs

To all those Red Sox fans that think that Josh Beckett is a difficult player who had a negative impact on the clubhouse, I'd encourage you to go take a look at the track record of the current No. 1 starter on the Chicago Cubs. 

His name is Carlos Zambrano, and he's potentially one of most overtly unstable players in all of baseball. Ridding the Cubs of Zambrano, who is likely entering the last season of a massively bloated five-year, 91.5 million dollar contract, will be one of incoming President Theo Epstein's top priorities. If he can do that, then Epstein will need new pitchers in his rotation. Actually, he'll need that regardless of what happens with Zambrano. 

There never really appeared to be any palpable tension between Epstein and Beckett in Boston. Then again, it's worth noting that Beckett was acquired during Epstein's brief hiatus in the fall and winter of 2005. 

Would Beckett be an upgrade in Chicago? Absolutely. Could the Cubs afford his contract? Yes. Would the Red Sox be willing to give up on him and also give him to their recently departed General Manager? Probably not. 

Washington Nationals

Stephen Strasburg returned from Tommy John surgery and seemed to make a pretty impressive recovery. The No. 1 overall draft pick in 2009, who burst onto the scene with a memorable 14 strikeout outing in June of 2010, returned to the big leagues in September of last season. He appears well on the path to returning as a dominant, young starting pitcher.

One ace does not make a playoff team make though.

The rest of the Nationals starting five is not that impressive. Livan Hernandez is old, and Chien Ming Wang is a total question mark. The other young pitchers, such as Jordan Zimmerman and John Lannan, are solid. Adding Beckett would provide not just a very solid veteran presence, but could also realistically place the Nats into the playoff discussion.

Washington's pitching staff hasn't been great yet, but the future is bright. Beckett could bridge the gap quite effectively.  

New York Mets

Two things we all know about the Mets. 

1. They have some major financial problems. 

2. They need starting pitching. 

Well Beckett isn't cheap, but he can pitch, and in Citifield he'd probably be more effective than in the AL East and Fenway Park. Add to that that Beckett isn't so pricey that the Mets absolutely couldn't afford him, and you've got a somewhat palatable scenario. 

Beckett isn't Roy Holliday or Cliff Lee, but he's healthier than Johan Santana (and nearly half the price).

If he was on the Mets last season, he would have led the team in every single major pitching statistical category except, of course, for saves. 

The big problem, of course, is that the Mets have precious little in the way of genuine trade bait, and no one really knows just how severe the Mets internal financial issues are. The recent spate of layoffs in administrative and scouting jobs is not at all encouraging, though. 

Toronto Blue Jays

Trading Beckett seems unlikely. Trading him in the division seems highly unlikely. Then again, it's not like he's going to the Yankees or Rays—it's just Toronto. 

Beckett might not mind being reunited with former pitching coach John Farrell in Toronto. He'd probably enjoy pitching in a rotation that already features Ricky Romero and Brandon Morrow. Having Jose Bautista providing offensive support wouldn't be the worst either. 

This would be tough on Red Sox fans who would have to endure frequent Roger Clemens flashbacks. It was Clemens who left town following the 1996 season and then returned to dominate the Red Sox the following summer. Beckett, in spite of all of his ups and downs, is a ferocious competitor. Dealing him in the division could make for a series of tough reunions. 

St. Louis Cardinals

Imagine how compelling a story this would be if Terry Francona was made manager of the defending champion Cardinals. 

Beckett would be leaving Boston to go to a city that is arguably as passionate about baseball as Boston is. He'd be going to pitch for the defending World Series Champs. He'd be pitching in a rotation with Chris Carpenter, Jaime Garcia and Adam Wainwright (assuming he returns healthy). Throw in that Francona angle, and you've got a pretty interesting situation. 

The problem is that we still don't really know if there was any tension between Beckett and Francona. Rumors are that there were some players who were overtly disrespectful to Francona, but no one has named names. If that were the case, then a Beckett-to-St. Louis deal would only be possible if Francona were not installed as the new manager. Maybe Tito would end up in Chicago, though, and that would add some more fuel to this rivalry. 

Los Angeles Dodgers

Boston and Chicago have grabbed the bulk of the postseason headlines, but Los Angeles is also in the spotlight as well.

The Dodgers are one of baseball's proudest franchises, but they've fallen on hard times. Their struggles reached a peak this past season when the team was forced to declare bankruptcy. 

Facing mounting pressure from commissioner Bud Selig, embattled Dodgers owner Frank McCourt finally decided to put the Dodgers up for sale this past week. The eventual owner will inherit a team with financial issues, but also some bright young stars. 

Matt Kemp was nearly a triple crown winner on offense this past season, and if Clayton Kershaw wins the Cy Young, no one will be surprised. Hiroki Kuroda is a free agent, so the Dodgers have an opening in the rotation. Still, pitching isn't their biggest need.

That doesn't mean that the Dodgers who, from Drysdale and Koufax to Hershiser and Kershaw, have always had prolific pitching, wouldn't bite on a trade offer if they felt it was the right deal.

If the intensity of Boston has Beckett feeling a bit overwhelmed, then the Los Angeles area might not be a bad spot for him.  Then again, Beckett may very well be a guy that could use a little bit of fan frenzy to add that extra dose of motivation. 

Beckett to the Dodgers? That would be a story. 

Chicago White Sox

Meet new White Sox manager Robin Ventura. He's a legend in Chicago. Ventura was once a bright third base prospect for the pale hose. Then he became an all-star third baseman. Now he's the manager. 

Ventura inherits a team beset by problems both on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. The offense was a bigger issue than the pitching staff last season, but the rotation may be on the cusp of losing veteran starter Mark Buehrle to free agency. That leaves a potential hole in the rotation, and the White Sox may choose to allow one of their younger pitching prospects to take a shot at the opening. 

Then again, maybe they won't? The lineup is saddled with bloated contracts, specifically those of Adam Dunn and Alex Rios. The pitching staff is still relatively inexpensive, and the White Sox still have some money to spend. Chicago is stuck on offense, they can't rid themselves of those players or contracts, so the place they can improve most dramatically is the rotation, and while John Danks and Gavin Floyd and Jake Peavy are all nice pitchers, none of them are as good as Josh Beckett.

Now, if they could just convince the Red Sox to take Dunn or Rios in exchange for him, it would be perfect.