Jon Lester to the A's was just a start of one of the busiest trading days in Red Sox history.
John Lackey was dealt to the Cardinals with minor league pitcher Corey Littrell for pitcher Joe Kelly and INF/OF Allen Craig.
Andrew Miller went to the Orioles for AA pitching prospect Eduardo Rodriguez. (He is their 3rd ranked player in the Baltimore system.)
And to top off the day, Ben Cherington actually found a sucker to take Stephen Drew off his hands: the New York Yankees. The Sox send Drew and cash to New York for infielder Kelly Johnson.
Since the Jake Peavy deal last weekend, here's who has come and gone with the Sox since. (With thanks to Sons of Sam Horn via The Joy of Sox for the listing.)
Leaving
SP Felix Doubront
SP Jon Lester
SP John Lackey
SP Jake Peavy
OF Jonny Gomes
SP Corey Littrell (A+)
RP Andrew Miller
SS Stephen Drew
Arriving
RP Heath Hembree (25, RH reliever, AAA)
SP Edwin Escobar (22, LH starter, AAA)
OF Yoenis Cespedes (28, RH batter, MLB)
SP Joe Kelly (26, RH starter, MLB)
OF/1B Allen Craig (30, RH batter, MLB)
SP Eduardo Rodriguez (21, LH starter, AA)
UT Kelly Johnson (32, LH batter, MLB)
PTBNL from Cubs
Competitive Balance Pick from A's
It's pretty clear that the Sox have punted the 2014 season, and are not blowing up the team, but retooling with proven MLB talent acquired elsewhere. The Sox have one of the deepest systems in baseball, and added some desperately needed offense. They now have only veteran starter in Clay Buchholz, but the Sox clearly will add a couple of veterans to their starting staff by next April. Could one be Jon Lester?
I would assume bringing Lester back is plan A. When he said he would consider a return to Boston if traded, that was it for Lester.
ReplyDeleteThe Sox better have a plan B, because once Lester hits Free Agency, all bets are off.
No question the Red Sox will pursue Lester in the off-season. The big gamble yesterday was they won't be the only ones going after him, especially since there will always be one team out there prepared to make a FA like him an insane offer. (No names mentioned here.) Whether or not they sign Lester, they will go after 2 veteran starters, either by FA or trade.
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