The epic trade between the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers has a lot of people scratching their heads. The Red Sox sent their best player in Adrian Gonzalez, along with Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto to the Dodgers for James Loney and 4 prospects (pitchers Rubby De La Rosa and Allen Webster, infielder Ivan De Jesus and outfielder / first baseman Jerry Sands). Clearly, the Red Sox shed a huge amount of money from their payroll. The Dodgers took on over $260 million in contracts in this deal, as their new management is showing everyone that they are not afraid to make bold moves they believe to be in the best interest of the team, regardless of any financial implications.
To me, this move signifies the Red Sox throwing in the towel and admitting that something drastic must be done in order for the team to contend in the future. Apparently, something drastic includes trading your best player, a disgruntled pitcher, injured outfielder and utility player for a first baseman and four prospects. The deal also seems to indicate the fact that embattled Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine will be sticking around for a while; he can’t be blamed for them not making the playoffs when such significant pieces have been traded away. The Red Sox are building for the future, and often times you must make your team worse in the present to do that.
I wouldn’t want to go up against any of the Dodgers decision makers in a fantasy league. It seems like they are willing to bring in talent at any cost, and can always find a way to get what they want. This team is going to be dangerous and has as good of a shot as anyone to make a run to a World Series title. The moves they have made in the last few months have completely altered the landscape of the National League.
The Boston Red Sox have turned the page on an era that saw them win 2 championships after decades of disappointment. I will be curious to see how long they remain futile before any of the dividends they received in this trade start to pay off.
You can view all of Carl’s RantSports articles here and follow him on Twitter @CarlConrad81.
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