Red Sox Should Hold on to the Farm This Trading Season

(Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

Rumors of a trade in which the Red Sox would acquire mentally unhinged outfielder Eric Byrnes, he of the mighty .215 batting average and clearly degenerating skill, would admittedly not usually be cause for celebration.

This morning, however, was the exception. For said rumor had the Red Sox sending Julio Lugo to the Diamondbacks in exchange for the wayward wildman. 

In an upset the likes of which the sporting world hasn’t seen since the U.S soccer team toppled Spain last month, that means the Red Sox would actually get something tangible for Lugo, even after they spent the last two-and-a-half seasons showcasing to the rest of the league that he no longer possesses the skill to be an everyday player, at least not in the Boston market.

I’m no ardent Byrnes supporter, but about him I will say this: he’s breathing.  At last check, despite the fact that some of his numbers might suggest otherwise, he’s alive.  That alone is a step in the right direction considering the most logical offer any sane fan could have cooked up for Lugo would have included the rights to Ted Williams’ frozen remains and a player to be dead later.

One has to assume, though, that even if this move is made, it won’t be the most critical swap the Sox are involved in near the trading deadline.

The Sox have made a habit of the “big splash” trade over the last few years, as evidenced by the fact that in three of the last four seasons they have either traded or traded for Nomar Garciaparra, Eric Gagne, Manny Ramirez, and Jason Bay.  They have been anything but gun shy.

But Theo and his entourage have also proved adept at scanning the waiver wire for less-heralded—and less expensive—moves that provide critical depth, adding the likes of Dave Roberts, Bobby Kielty, and Mark Kotsay over that same span.

This deadline season is one of the more interesting in recent memory, given that the Red Sox have been linked—even if just through media chatter—to blockbuster deals involving pitchers (Roy Halladay) and hitters (Adrian Gonzalez, Victor Martinez) as well as under-the-radar pick-ups like Nick Johnson and, more recently, Scott Rolen.

The Sox could blow up the farm system as part of a major shake-up, or glide quietly into August with primarily the same roster they have now.  The rumor mill is churning at full speed, and what it eventually spits out is anyone’s guess.

I, for one, am hoping to avoid the blockbuster route.  The Red Sox are in the enviable—and rare—position where they don’t need, in the literal sense of the word, to add a big piece like a Halladay or a Martinez.  They are among the World Series favorites already.

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