What Rivalry? The Red Sox Traded Alex Verdugo To The Yankees For Three Meh Pitching Prospects

 

    That Mookie Betts trade to the Dodgers continues to haunt the Red Sox as tonight they gave up the one decent part of that deal-outfielder Alex Verdugo-to the Yankees (of all teams!) for three right-handed pitchers that nobody outside of true baseball nerds has ever heard of before now. After four up and down seasons with Boston, Verdugo was moved no doubt because manager Alex Cora and the Red Sox front office were sick of all his unnecessary drama. He was benched not once but twice last season and for a guy that is 27 years old and has been in MLB for seven seasons but never reached a single All-Star Game, you have to cut your losses at some point. Granted, this is only the eighth ever trade between Boston and New York in the Divisional Era (since 1969) so that tells you that the Sox do not think much of Verdugo at this point. 

As always with prospects, I won't sit here and pretend like I know anything about Richard Fitts (NY's #12 prospect according to MLB Pipeline), Greg Weissert or Nicholas Judice. Weissert is 28 and the only one of the three to appear in an MLB game so far: he had a 4.60 ERA over 29 appearances for the Yankees between 2022 and 2023. Fitts who is 23 years old went 18-13 with a 3.57 ERA in 49 career minor league starts over the past two seasons. Judice is only 22 and he was just drafted this past season in the eighth round of the MLB Draft so needless to say, he has not made his MLB debut yet. The way I look at it, these guys are all scratch tickets meaning that there is no way that the Red Sox will hit on all three of them. If they are lucky, two turn out to be serviceable major league arms or one will be really good. 

    Verdugo had the makings of a guy that could have been a star here (well at least when people still cared about baseball and the Red Sox) but he never made that next step beyond just a good player. He is a decent hitter (.264/.324/.745 last season) but he does not possess much power (13 HRs and 54 RBIs in 140 games). He is a good defender-a Gold Glove finalist in left field in 2023-that is versatile enough to play all three outfield positions well. Finally, he has a fiery personality and unique style-two distinct elements which are quite lacking in most MLB players these days. 

    Will Verdugo finally grow up and take the next step in his career with the no fun allowed Yankees? Probably not but it would be so Red Sox for them to bungle this trade with him becoming a better and more consistent player while these three pitchers are never heard from again. The scary part is that Verdugo was one of Boston's top MLB players and the last thing they need is more of a talent drain. Hopefully this is just the start (but I doubt it) for the Red Sox when it comes to making some real moves this winter. Like the Patriots, they have so many issues to address before they can even be considered any type of contender next season and beyond. Good luck, Craig Breslow!

Trade Season Starts For The Red Sox As Enrique Hernandez Gets Flipped Back To The Dodgers

 

    There is a week left before the MLB Trade Deadline (August 1) so it was about time that Red Sox chief baseball officer (the nerdiest title of all-time) Chaim Bloom logged off his computer for a minute and made an actual baseball trade. This afternoon's move was not a blockbuster by any means but at least it was something as Boston (53-47 overall) sent utilityman Kike Hernandez back to where he came from-the Dodgers (57-42)-for a pair of minor league pitchers (Justin Hagenman and Nick Robertson) and $2.5 million cash considerations. Hernandez played six seasons in LA before playing 2.5 seasons here in Boston. This reunion had been rumored since last week and with infielder Pablo Reyes activated yesterday plus shortstop Trevor Story expected to make his season debut shortly, Hernandez was the odd man out. 

    Besides a crazy heater during the 2021 postseason, Kike's Red Sox stay was pretty forgettable. He began this season as Boston's starting shortstop but that was a complete disaster as he made 14 errors and eventually lost the job in mid-June. He is a good defensive outfielder but there was not really a place for him there in this current Red Sox roster and his offense had also gone off of a cliff (.222/.279/.320) with six home runs and 31 RBIs. Red Sox manager and fellow Puerto Rican Alex Cora is a big fan of Hernandez but I am sure that Kike will be happy to return to LA where he still owns a home. 

    It is doubtful that he will get a ton of playing time with the loaded Dodgers who are still one of the top teams in baseball but that is where he won a World Series title in 2020 and there are still a bunch of teammates from that time that he is probably close to. Now we wait to see if Bloom will invest further in this up-and-down team with more substantial moves or if he stays with his usual middling trades like this. I certainly do not believe in this group who entered tonight's series opener vs. Atlanta (64-34 overall) 2.5 games behind Toronto (56-45 overall) for the third and final AL Wild Card. However, the third AL Wild Card winner will likely face the AL Central winner which figures to be the Twins (54-48 overall) or Guardians (49-51 overall)-two similarly mediocre teams to the Red Sox. 

    The bottom line is that this is a huge MLB Trade Deadline and regular season for Bloom who is in his fourth season here. If the Red Sox do not make the playoffs, he should be fired. Enough of running a big market team like they are the Rays (61-42 overall). The last time I checked, Tampa Bay has never won a World Series title so who cares that they can win a bunch of meaningless regular season games on a tiny budget. Boston should be in the mix for Shohei Ohtani and every other star player that is available via trade this next week or in free agency over the winter. If the past is any indication though, Bloom is too infatuated with his own prospects-many of whom will never amount to anything, that is just a fact in baseball-to make any notable transactions. Boston is one of the few good baseball markets left in the U.S. but with so little star power on the Red Sox, it has been very hard to get into the club for most of Bloom's tenure except for the (lucky?) 2021 campaign. We all deserve a better product on the field than this and a better baseball decisionmaker than him.

Former Red Sox 2018 World Series MVP (and future sports trivia answer) Steve Pearce Retires

Hello friends, how are you holding up during the Covid-19 pandemic? On a lighter note, do you remember baseball (or sports in general)? Other than what would have been MLB's opening day a few weeks ago (in late March which is always dumb) and the Fenway opener shortly after that, odds are that you haven't been thinking about the rebuilding Red Sox too much lately with more pressing matters in all of our daily lives. Still, hearing the news that utility/journeyman Steve Pearce had retired today from MLB at the age of 37 (poor guy had his birthday yesterday) took me away for a brief moment to his career highlight and basically the last great time with the Sox-the 2018 World Series victory vs. LA.

We don't have to review the myriad ways that baseball is trending towards irrelevance around the U.S. and especially with younger people but I'm willing to bet that many casual MLB fans outside of Boston have already forgotten that Pearce was the 2018 World Series MVP (and thankfully not that spoiled child David Price who was also nails in the gentleman's sweep of the Dodgers). The fact that a nobody like Pearce-who played for seven MLB teams including all five in the AL East-could capture such a big award is one of my favorite aspects of baseball. The inherent randomness of the game especially when it comes to best-of-five or best-of-seven playoff series is endearing and almost unheard of in the NBA or NHL. Granted, those leagues along with the NFL have plenty of unlikely heroes from time to time but to have that carry through for longer than a game or two only really happens in MLB.

Pearce wasn't a bad player (lifetime .254 hitter with 91 homers and 303 RBIs) but his body could never hold up for the rigors of the typical absurd 162-game regular season. In fact, due to injuries and lack of playing time, he only appeared in over 100 games just once in his entire 13-year MLB career (102 games in 2014 with Baltimore). Of course, we have to note that the Red Sox made a regrettable mistake signing him to a one-year deal worth $6.25 million dollars after his flash in the pan postseason run in 2018. Predictably, he only appeared in 29 games last season for Boston as surprise (!) they couldn't come anywhere close to the franchise-best 119 wins the year before (regular season + playoffs) and he battled numerous ailments.

He wasn't signed by anyone in the abbreviated spring training and with the coronavirus putting the 2020 MLB campaign in serious jeopardy barring any outside of the box idea coming to fruition (all games in Arizona and Florida or Japan), you can't blame Pearce for realizing that now is as good a time as any to officially call it quits. Haha let's not forget how grossly overpaid any half decent baseball player that sticks around as long as Pearce can be. For his professional career (this is where you grab the nearest barf bag), he made just under $30 million dollars ($29,435,000). I'd argue that it's harder to make it to MLB than any other professional sports league in America simply because of all the minor league levels you have to get through to reach the big leagues but maybe that should serve as a reminder to those with young boys to try and get them into baseball. Then again, that ship has probably already sailed and they prefer the excitement of basketball, football, soccer, lacrosse or hockey over the boring slog of baseball.

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Just Another Day in Boston Sports: Betts Is Traded to the Dodgers & Bruins Blank the Canucks 4-0

When you have lived in the Boston area for so long, I have to admit that at times you forget just how much our local pro teams tend to dominate the national headlines. For example, tonight the Bruins (32-10-12)-the first-place team in the Atlantic Division-took on the Canucks (30-19-5)-the first-place club in the Pacific Division-at TD Garden. By itself, that is a big-time matchup (at least when it comes to the dog days of the NHL regular season) and more than worthy of your attention on what normally would be a quiet Tuesday night. The B's came through with an impressive 4-0 victory but all that anyone could talk about afterwards was the blockbuster Red Sox trade that went down during the Bruins game: Mookie Betts and David Price were flipped to LA for outfielder Alex Verdugo and Boston also got Twins pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol as part of the three-team deal. Wow!

Putting aside the depressing reality of a Betts-less Red Sox club that has been a sheer disaster this entire offseason (a major cheating scandal and manager Alex Cora fired topped off with trading their best player), the Black and Gold should give us plenty more smiles like the ones that they provided this evening. With the win, the B's are only one point behind Washington (36-13-5) for the most in the NHL (77). Boston has returned from its extended break with three wins in a row (at Winnipeg and at Minnesota over the weekend) which coupled with their two points against Vegas (27-21-7) two weeks ago-their last home game-means that they have put together a four-game win streak. With less than three weeks (Feb. 24) until the NHL Trade Deadline, the Bruins have the look of a Cup contender that dare I say (with some more good luck on their side) could find themselves yet again competing in May and June.

Obviously with his third shutout of the season and 48th of his NHL career, you'd assume that Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask (25 saves, 19-4-6) had a phenomenal performance but truthfully, he didn't have to do too much heavy lifting. This sounds like troll-speak but Vancouver's goaltender Jacob Markstrom (38 saves, 20-14-3) was almost more impressive in terms of the high quality stops that he made. Of course, the Bruins still found a way to beat him four times so there is that hard-to-ignore fact. From the obscure stat department: Rask extended his home point streak to 17 games (11-0-6) which tied Gilles Gilbert's club record home point streak from the start of a season (16-0-1 in 1973-74).

There were many promising signs for the B's as four different guys (Charlie Coyle, Brad Marchand, David Krejci and Karson Kuhlman) scored goals for them, only two had to play over 20 minutes (Charlie McAvoy had a team-high 20:42 time on ice and his defensive partner Zdeno Chara was close behind at 20:20) while everybody played at least 10:12 (Chris Wagner) for the home team. This was key since they headed straight from the Garden to their charter flight to Chicago as they visit the Blackhawks (25-21-7) tomorrow night (8, NBCSN) in primetime. It was also nice to see them not rely so much on their power play (1-for-6) or David Pastrnak (game-high 7 shots on goal but 0 points) which are both brilliant but shouldn't have to produce all the time to win. Boston's penalty kill was flawless (3-for-3) and they even almost scored a pair of shorthanded tallies as Wagner and Coyle were both stopped on breakaways when they had a teammate in the penalty box.

The first goal for the Bruins looked like it would surely be overturned at first glance (as Vancouver's head coach Travis Green challenged it) since Sean Kuraly appeared to be offsides when McAvoy stickhandled over the blueline. It turns out that Coyle's goal (coming on a rebound) counted since McAvoy had waited to touch the puck again before Kuraly was properly in position. It was the 10th goal of the season for Coyle, assisted by McAvoy and Anders Bjork at 14:24 of the first period for the 1-0 Bruins lead. McAvoy somehow still doesn't have a goal this season but his initial shot forced a kick save by Markstrom and Coyle was untouched in front of the net and able to make a move and decide where to shoot the puck by him.

Boston outshot Vancouver 13-6 in the first period and led 1-0 before the barrage of rubber continued on Markstrom. The B's outshot the Canucks 17-9 in the second and were able to double their lead at 15:35 thanks to Marchand, Bergeron and McAvoy. It all started with an offensive rush to the net by McAvoy, the puck was knocked away from him but Bergy was there to pass it to Marchand who buried it for his 23rd goal of the season. Markstrom continued to give his team a puncher's chance of stealing a point but it was not to be as Krejci put this one away with a 4-on-4 goal at 14:09 of the third period. His 13th goal of the season was assisted by Sean Kuraly and Brandon Carlo. Krejci found space in the slot and while he whiffed on his first shot attempt, his second was a snipe to the top corner. Kuhlman's goal (which came on the power play in garbage time) was where a fortunate bounce came into play for the B's-not that they needed it at that point-because his deflection was actually kind of terrible but it went off Vancouver's defenseman Troy Stetcher's skate and into the net. Kuhlman's first goal for the Bruins since the Stanley Cup Final in June was assisted by Coyle and Matt Grzelcyk-the BU connection.

Jaroslav Halak (13-6-6) will get the start in Chitown and thankfully, the Blackhawks played tonight as well (a 3-2 loss in OT at Minnesota) and had to travel too so there won't be any additional rest factor on Chicago's side who is four points behind the Golden Knights for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. Could it be another spring without playoff hockey for the Blackhawks? After that, Boston returns home to host the Coyotes (27-21-7) on Saturday afternoon (3, NESN) and then they go to Detroit (12-38-4)-the worst team in the NHL-for a Sunday matinee (12:30, NBC). It's a busy stretch for the Bruins but some very winnable contests all around them ending with a meeting with Montreal (25-23-7) next Wednesday (7:30, NBCSN) at the Garden followed by hosting the same crapbag Red Wings next Saturday (1, NESN).

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In His 1st Year on the Ballot, Pedro Martinez (91.1%) Cruises Into Baseball's Hall of Fame

I am fairly certain that I will never see a Red Sox pitcher as dominant as Pedro Martinez was in his prime. Therefore, today became the perfect time to reminisce about Martinez's incredible career in Boston (1998-2004) since he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame along with Randy Johnson, John Smoltz and Craig Biggio.

One of the great things about Pedro is that he has so much personality and he was so lights out for long stretches that while we all remember particular special moments (17 Ks/one-hitter vs. Yankees, 1999 All-Star Game, coming out of the bullpen to beat Cleveland in playoffs, winning 2004 World Series) we can each cherish specific starts or less heralded occasions that were still so memorable to each of us.

Fresh off his Cy Young award with the Montreal Expos in 1997, Martinez was part of a blockbuster trade to Boston for Carl Pavano and Tony Armas. Haha what year do you think that those guys will be elected to Cooperstown? He was a smash success immediately with the Red Sox (which was never easy to do especially back then before they had broken their absurd World Series drought). After going to two All-Star Games with Montreal, he made four as a Red Sox and picked up back-to-back Cy Youngs in 1999 and 2000. If baseball writers hadn't been so stubborn and backwards thinking (crazy, I know), he would have won AL MVP in 1999 as well but he finished second to Ivan Rodriguez.

Pitching in the height of the steroid era, Pedro put together some of the most unbelievable seasons that have ever occurred in modern times. 1999's numbers don't even seem real: 23-4, 2.07 ERA, 0.923 WHIP and 313 strikeouts in 213.1 innings. 2002 was his other 20-win season (20-4) and he never suffered more than nine losses in a campaign for Boston. His 1.74 ERA in 2000 is insane and probably my favorite stat out of his million impressive marks. The career line: 219-100 with 2.93 ERA, 1.054 WHIP and 3154 strikeouts.

Not surprisingly for such a small guy (5-foot-11, 170 pounds) with many innings on his fragile body, he started to break down while he was with the Red Sox in the last few years. Other than his freakishly long fingers and extra greasy hair that he really let grow out at the end, there was nothing about him that made you think "genetic freak," that is before he unleashed a fastball in the upper 90s or made your knees bend with a sick curveball. Still, the team managed to give him enough breaks to last for the postseason which he reached four times with Boston. He was 6-2 in the playoffs as a Red Sox and how fitting that his last game for the team was Game 4 of the 2004 World Series in St. Louis where Boston broke their 86-year "curse" by sweeping the Cardinals.

After that, he signed as a free agent with the Mets and played there for four injury-plagued seasons then finished his career in 2009 with the Phillies who ironically enough lost to the Yankees in the World Series. Few probably remember that his MLB career actually began with two years in LA as a Dodger (where his older brother Ramon also pitched) before four years in Montreal where he became a star. Still, I'm sure there is no doubt that he'll wear a Red Sox hat in the Hall of Fame and when he makes what's sure to be an incredible speech, he has to talk mostly about his experience in Boston.

To those that are too young to know or who didn't feel it first-hand, attending a game that Pedro pitched really was like going to a favorite band's concert or a great party. You never knew what was going to happen but you were pretty sure that it was going to be memorable and possibly historic. Add that to the urgency of a team and fan base that was so desperate for a World Series crown and you can understand why there won't be another Pedro in my lifetime. Still, I feel so lucky to have grown up with this icon on my favorite baseball team and cherish all the memories that he brought at a very formidable time in my life. PS, somebody book me a hotel room on July 25 (the night before) in Cooperstown, I need to be there for that speech!

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Red Sox Sign Both Hanley Ramirez & Pablo Sandoval, Because Why The Hell Not?

Two out of the last three seasons, the Red Sox have finished in last place in the AL East. That's not acceptable by any means and the fact that they won the 2013 World Series in between is still nearly impossible to explain. With no salary cap in baseball, an extremely loyal fan base that pays the highest tickets prices in MLB and filthy rich owners, Boston has no excuse but to spend like crazy this offseason to regain their relevance both regionally and nationally.

The Red Sox took a big step forward in terms of wins in 2015 and beyond by signing both shortstop Hanley Ramirez and third baseman Pablo Sandoval. Ramirez, the former Red Sox prized prospect that was traded to Florida in the Josh Beckett deal (November 2005), is reportedly getting a four-year deal worth $88 million with a vesting fifth year worth an additional $22 million. The figures on Sandoval's deal aren't known yet but it is thought to be in the five-year and $90 million range.

Take a breath. The interesting part about this is that while Sandoval was rumored to be coming here for weeks, Ramirez's name wasn't mentioned at all until it was basically signed, sealed and delivered yesterday. They both come with issues: Ramirez has missed a bunch of games the last two seasons with the Dodgers due to various injuries while Sandoval's weight is a constant battle. Ramirez is willing to move away from shortstop which will probably be the case here unless the Red Sox trade Xander Bogaerts (no!). His defense at shortstop wasn't great anymore and as we've seen time and again, any schmoe can play a decent left field at Fenway Park. Sandoval is two years younger (30-28) than Ramirez and while he doesn't have the same tools, he has been a more consistent performer in the postseason (.344 average in 39 games) as he helped San Francisco win three of the last five World Series crowns.

Even before these two moves (the Red Sox will have a press conference to introduce them on Tuesday at 1pm), we knew that the team's biggest need was top of the rotation starting pitching. This certainly improves their lineup but they won't go anywhere without a true ace (Jon Lester?) and a solid number two (James Shields or Cole Hamels?). You worry a bit that both guys have played their entire careers in the kinder, gentler National League, plus they are each coming from California which couldn't be more different than Massachusetts.

The money and risk is worth it because this is the Red Sox who can afford to make high-profile mistakes. I'm not wishing that on them with these guys or predicting it but honestly, what do they have to lose at this point? Ramirez won the NL batting title in 2009 and led the NL in OPS last season (.283, 13 HRs, 71 RBIs, .369 OBP, .448 SLG). Sandoval's regular season numbers won't blow you away (.279 with 16 HRs, 73 RBIs, .324 OBP, .415 SLG) last season) but keep in mind the lack of protection he played with in the Giants' lineup and also what a pitcher's park AT&T has proven to be. Oh and third base was a black hole for Boston last season so anything would be an improvement over that.

There is no question that these two make the Red Sox way better than they were yesterday without them and isn't that ultimately what this is all about? Sure we might not be in love with the player (on paper at least) or the contract (remember it's not our money) but you have to appreciate Boston's attitude here: they are going for it, again, after some truly awful years that should rarely happen to them.

UPDATE 11/25: It's a five-year deal for Sandoval-the 2012 World Series MVP-with an option for 2020.



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Let The Red Sox Fire Sale Begin, Enjoy Your Duckboat Jake Peavy!

We've known for weeks, maybe months, that the 2014 Red Sox were circling the drain and there would be no postseason baseball this fall for the defending World Series champs. Their recent four-game slide has sent Boston (47-56 overall) back to the basement in the AL East-10.5 games behind first place Baltimore and seven games back in the Wild Card. The non-waiver trade deadline is looming on Thursday so the Red Sox finally made a move as they flipped veteran starting pitcher Jake Peavy to the Giants for minor league pitchers righty Heath Hembree and lefty Edwin Escobar.

He's had some bad luck and no run support for months (2 runs or fewer in his last 8 starts) but the fact is that in 20 starts this season, Peavy is 1-9 with 4.72 ERA and 1.43 WHIP. At 33, he looks pretty washed up but the funny thing is that he could look like a different guy when he gets to the friendly confines of AT&T Park along with the weak West (3 teams at least 10 games under .500) in the JV National League. Plus he has 7.5 years of experience with San Diego so that should count for something.

Peavy will make his Giants (57-46) debut tomorrow night on Sunday Night Baseball (8:07, ESPN) at home vs. Dodgers. Being on a good team in a pennant race should also give him a boost for a few months, similar to what happened basically a year ago when he came over from the White Sox to the Red Sox.

With Brandon Workman waiting in the wings in Pawtucket, Boston probably won't miss anything Peavy could bring anymore on the field. However, not to sound too cheesy here but he seemed like a great dude that everybody loved. This is the same guy that bought a Duck Boat after the World Series win, he immediately embraced his new team and what it meant to play in such a special environment. Those things that you can't measure in endless baseball stats is what the Red Sox and their fans will miss most about Jake Peavy, he is the rare baseball player that isn't a dink.

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Red Sox Prove That The Dodgers Are Overrated (When Kershaw and Greinke aren't pitching)

Before this trip started, I recognized that the Red Sox were lucky to miss both Matt Cain and Ryan Bumgartner in San Francisco then Clayton Kershaw and Zach Greinke in Los Angeles. Boston (77-55 overall, 37-32 away) took advantage of their favorable schedule by going 4-2 on their West Coast swing. They ended their stay at Dodger Stadium with a 8-1 stomping of the Dodgers (76-54 overall, 38-27 home) on Sunday Night Baseball. LA hadn't lost a series in over two months and came in as the hottest team in MLB.

Jake Peavy (10-5) was the story since he improved to 14-2 lifetime against the Dodgers with his 16th career complete game: 3 hits, 5 strikeouts and 1 walk. His only blemish was a solo homer/bomb to former Red Sox great Adrian Gonzalez in the fourth.

Boston's pitching was top notch all series, allowing five total runs to a legit National League lineup (normally an oxymoron) and finally their bats came alive this evening. The Red Sox had 12 hits including three homers and four doubles.

Possibly dating a porn star seems to have reinvigorated (see what I did there?) Mike Napoli's 2013 season. He bookmarked the win for Boston with an RBI double in the first and a two-run homer (his 16th) in the ninth. In between those, Dustin Pedroia (3 hits, double, run) notched a sacrifice fly in the third, Xander Bogaerts (2 hits) recorded his first MLB RBI with a run-scoring double in the fifth then Jarrod Saltalamacchia (two-run homer; his 11th of the season) and Shane Victorino (solo homer; 9th of the season) brought the power in the sixth and seventh innings respectively.

They only went 9-10 but the Red Sox survived a brutal stretch where they played 16 of their last 19 games on the road. Boston originally left town one game up in the AL East on Tampa Bay and ironically enough, they return in the exact same position. Their reward is that their next nine games: 3 vs. Baltimore (70-59 overall, 3rd in AL East), 3 vs. White Sox and 3 vs. Tigers are all at Fenway Park. In fact, they won't play another road game until September 5 (the same night the NFL regular season begins) and don't look now but there are only 30 games left in the regular season.

After tomorrow's much-needed off day in Boston, on Tuesday (7:10, NESN) Felix Doubront (9-6) takes on Wei-Yin Chen (7-6). Wednesday (7:10, NESN) finds John Lackey (8-11) vs. Bud Norris (9-10) with the series finale on Thursday (7:10, NESN): Jon Lester (12-7) against Chris Tillman (14-4).

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Jose Iglesias Named American League Rookie of the Month for June

Let's state the obvious: absolutely nobody (outside of maybe friends, relatives and the man himself) could have expected this start for Red Sox utility infielder Jose Iglesias. We are a few weeks away from the 2013 MLB All-Star Game and he's hitting .415/.463 OBP/.533 SLG in 41 games with 56 hits, 23 runs, nine doubles, two triples, one home run and 10 RBIs. Today, Iglesias was named the American League Rookie of the Month for June.

Showing how few homegrown prospects the franchise has hit on lately, Iglesias is the first Red Sox to receive the honor since Jacoby Ellsbury way back in September 2007. In June, Iglesias hit .395 with .453 on-base percentage. For a guy that looked hopeless at the plate as recently as last season, this start to 2013 (that we all know will end some point soon) has been nothing short of amazing.

He's always been known for his exceptional glove but Jose has also shown his versatility as he started the season at shortstop, was sent to Pawtucket when Stephen Drew was healthy then came back and now he's the third baseman with Will Middlebrooks playing for the PawSox. Scratch that, he's been in his natural position the last few games because Drew is doing what he does best-missing games with iffy injuries.

Another cool part of this is that Iglesias-a Cuban-is also joined by his fellow countryman outfielder Yasiel Puig of the Dodgers who was named the National League Rookie of the Month for June. It's the first time two Cubans have won the award at the same time. For what it's worth, I think that Iglesias has a good shot at the American League Rookie of the Year as well since it is not a particularly strong class. Stay tuned on that.

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The Red Sox Are Giving Out 3-Year Deals Worth $39 Million Like They're Going Out Of Style

The Red Sox are certainly enjoying their time in Nashville for MLB's Winter Meetings. A day after they signed Mike Napoli, Boston inked outfielder Shane Victorino to the exact same deal: three years for $39 million.

Whereas the Napoli signing was almost a foregone conclusion that had been talked about for weeks, Victorino at least initially is way more surprising since it felt like they swooped in and got him in the last few days. After playing the bulk of his career with the Phillies (2005-12), he was moved at the trade deadline last season to the Dodgers.

Combined in 154 games last season (101 in Philadelphia, 53 in Los Angeles), Victorino had the worst year of his career: .255/.321 OBP/.383 SLG with 11 homers, 55 RBIs, 39 stolen bases, 29 doubles, seven triples and 72 runs. Coming off that scares me but his history shows that he's a high quality player: two All-Star game appearances (2009 and 2011) plus three Gold Gloves (2008, 2009 and 2010).

The funny thing is that Victorino has been known primarily as a center fielder and lead-off hitter (he hits both ways). Hmmm, what about Jacoby Ellsbury? For now, the Red Sox are saying that Shane will play the tricky right field at Fenway Park but I'll believe it when I see it. Ellsbury is a free agent after this season and since Scott Boras is his agent, most believe there is no chance he returns to Boston. So why not trade him now for something they can use immediately (pitching!)? Plus, it would be beyond dumb to let him walk in free agency, only to receive a draft pick. He is also coming off a brutal season but he was the runner-up to the AL MVP in 2011 plus he's still young so he has a long fruitful career ahead of him.

Like Napoli, Johnny Gomes and David Ross, Victorino is known around baseball as a veteran leader and a winner. Napoli went to the 2011 World Series with Texas but Victorino trumps that with a World Series title in 2008 with Philadelphia and they returned to the Fall Classic the next season but lost to the Yankees. That is something intangible that the Red Sox have been sorely lacking for years. The most important thing is always production on the field but the hope is that these guys can give them plenty of both-leadership and numbers.

Shane just turned 32 and next spring he will enter his 10th year in MLB. That's plenty of mileage (1076 games and 4295 plate appearances) for a guy that plays such a physical style and he's only 5-foot-9 for what that's worth. If he sticks around, Ellsbury could certainly learn from Victorino about durability. The Flyin' Hawaiian (maybe the best nickname in MLB) has played at least 131 games in his seven full seasons.

For his career, he's scored 616 runs, had 1060 hits including 195 doubles, 65 triples, 90 homers and 409 RBIs with 201 stolen bases. He's a .275/.341 OBP/.770 SLG which is very respectable. He is an interesting guy that plays an exciting, hard-nosed style. So long as he returns to his normal level and not something like last season, Red Sox fans should grow to love him in a matter of mere weeks in 2013.

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The Red Sox Finally Start To Learn From Their Mistakes Over The Last Few Years

If only there was a way the Dodgers could take John Lackey and deploy Bobby Valentine as a clubhouse attendant-a job that's much more his speed these days. Still, getting rid of $262.5 million owed to Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto means that Boston is finally admitting that they needed a big change in terms of players.

James Loney is an average MLB first baseman and who knows if right-hand pitchers Allen Webster and Rubby De La Rosa or outfielder Jerry Sands will pan out for the Red Sox at the Major League level. That's besides the point and obviously, on paper in terms of talent the players that the Red Sox gave up are on a whole other level than the Dodgers.

No, this was a salary dump as the stubborn Red Sox owners and front office were able to get rid of the team's biggest pain in the ass-Beckett. Gonzalez is a fine player but he proved in his year and a half here that he's not East Coast material. He's not a leader and he seems like a guy that only really cares about his personal numbers. If the team wins or loses, well that doesn't matter as much. Bottom line, he's not a winner. He is one of the most skilled first basemen in MLB but that doesn't make him clutch or likable for that matter. He never understood that we care way too much about the Red Sox and we overanalyze everything. He's from California so I'm sure he'll be comfortable in LA. The fans (when they show up) just want to be seen there and have fun, that's all they care about.

As for Crawford, his signing even more than Gonzalez in that ill-fated week in December of 2010 never made much sense. The Red Sox already had a center fielder and leadoff hitter-Jacoby Ellsbury-that is a better all-around player than Crawford. He was wildly overpaid and clearly pressed from day one to try and justify it. Unlike Beckett who is an asshole or Gonzalez who is clueless, Crawford is a decent guy. He wanted fans to like him and with his salary and lack of production, that was probably never going to happen. After last season's nightmare, he couldn't stay healthy this season. I honestly hope he is healthy next season with the Dodgers so he can get back to the player he used to be with the Rays.

What is there left to say about the Texas Toughguy? He morphed into a super villain, the likes of which I can never recall on the Boston sports scene. He kept digging himself into a deeper hole with his terrible performances capped off by ridiculous comments to the media and general surliness. In the last year, he has dragged down many teammates around him, notably Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz. By shipping him out of town and hopefully getting rid of Lackey this winter, there is hope that the Red Sox will start to get part of their soul back.

Maybe the failure of these big-ticket players, along with Daisuke Matsuzaka whose career in Boston is quickly winding down, will make the Red Sox change how they evaluate free agents going forward. It is one thing to have good numbers in Tampa Bay, Florida (now Miami) or San Diego. Those markets are nothing like Boston and the inherit pressures you get by playing here. Boston now has plenty of money to use the next few offseasons. This was a huge step in the right direction, by also moving on from Lackey and Dice-K while (please God) not bringing back Bobby Valentine, the fans will return. We can live with some rebuilding if the team suddenly is likable easy to cheer for again.

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With Rich Harden Legally Dead, The Red Sox Turn To His Left-Handed Equivalent (Erik Bedard)

After the deal for A's pitcher Rich Harden fell threw last night (praise Jesus!), Red Sox GM Theo Epstein might be Ivy League educated (Yale) but he clearly has a pants tent for injury prone starting pitchers who have never really put it all together.

Today, Boston was involved in a three-team trade and they ended up with Seattle Mariners pitcher Erik Bedard and minor league righty Josh Fields (who was a first-round pick in 2008).

The Red Sox sent Double-A catcher Tim Federowicz and right-handers Juan Rodriguez and Stephen Fife to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who dealt OF Trayvon Robinson to the Red Sox. Finally, the Red Sox sent Robinson and Double-A OF Chih-Hsien Chiang to Seattle.

Much like Harden, who I wrote about last night but deleted after he failed his medical check, I can't get too excited about Bedard since he gets hurt all the time and has failed to live up to the potential he showed with the Baltimore Orioles in 2006 and 2007.

He's 4-7 in 16 starts this season with a 3.45 ERA and he just came off the DL on Friday from a sprained knee (and promptly got lit up). Bedard was 15-14 with a 3.31 ERA in 46 career appearances with the Mariners. He missed most of the 2009 season and all of 2010 after left shoulder surgery.

He was 40-34 in five seasons with the Orioles, going 15-11 with a 3.76 ERA in 2006 and 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA the following season.

Fields, 25, the 20th player taken in the 2008 draft out of Georgia, was 2-1 with a 2.77 ERA for Double-A Jackson and 0-0 with a 6.23 ERA in nine games for Triple-A Tacoma.

From what everyone has said, Bedard is tough to deal with and a bit of a headcase. Let's also not overlook the fact that he's never played in a pressure-packed environment (Baltimore, Seattle) so basically we're getting a left-handed John Lackey, who has done less in his career.

Ugh. The truth is that he'll only have to be a fourth or fifth starter going forward as the Red Sox come down the stretch with a little over two months left in the regular season.

Federowicz is nothing special, I've never heard of Rodriguez or Fife but I will say that people who pay attention to prospects say that Chiang is a good one. His numbers this season for the Sea Dogs (.338 with 36 doubles, 18 home runs and 76 RBIs in 87 games) attest to that. Also, Robinson is hitting .293 with 26 home runs and 71 RBIs in Triple-A so he seems like a decent prospect too.

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Thanks for the Memories Manny, Welcome Jason Bay

With the 4pm trade deadline rapidly approaching yesterday, after watching coverage on NESN during lunch with nothing happening (sorry, Ken Griffey Jr. is no longer big news), I took a shower figuring that the Red Sox were going to keep Manny Ramirez for the rest of the season.

When I got out, my phone started to beep with text messages, the unlikely had happened: the Sox worked a three-way trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates. Manny was going to the Dodgers while Pirates outfielder Jason Bay comes to Boston.

Even after preparing for a moment like this for the last few weeks, the actual event is still surprising. Like in 2004 when Nomar Garciaparra was traded, the Red Sox rolled the dice and made a controversial splash.

Without question, Boston gave up a lot to get rid of their Manny-induced headache. They're paying him for the rest of the year and also traded Brandon Moss (who could be the next David Murphy but didn't have a place in the Sox outfield) and Craig Hansen (who is a bust) to the Pirates. Bay is the only player the Sox get in return.

A Yankees killer, one of the most clutch players and all-around best hitters I'll ever see in my lifetime (especially on my favorite team), Manny has created endless positive memories for Red Sox fans the past eight seasons. This was necessary though; both sides needed a fresh start.

It was too much of a risk to hope that Manny would be motivated for the rest of the season (even though he was theoretically playing for a contract).

Playing in obscurity, Bay at 29-years-old is still an unknown commodity. He's a two-time all-star for the Pirates and rookie of the year. He'll play left field and bat somewhere from 3-6. Will he handle the pressure of Boston? That and many other similar questions are impossible to answer at this point. Let's give the guy some time to get his feet wet before we start making the final decision.

Manny's presence on the Dodgers makes them instant contenders, especially in the weak NL West. He's reunited with Nomar and Derek Lowe, the 2003 Red Sox reloaded. It'll be strange to see him in a different uniform, hitting ropes but such is life. Time to move on and move forward.