What Will Be The Legacy Of "The Manny Trade"?

Jason Bay has to be ecstatic. 

Here's a guy who was sentenced to career purgatory in Pittsburgh, and he seemed to be staying there until the 11th hour of the trade deadline arrived and the big deal was made. The consensus seems to be that Bay himself is the only winner on the Boston side of the deal. 

I'm not so sure. 

Let's concede a few things first. The lineup has been weakened and the minor league system has been weakened. You can't argue any of those points. In the short term the Red Sox lose. IN THE SHORT TERM. 

Well what can be so good about this deal? First off, it was time for Manny to go. His attitude had been dealt with, though not so well, in spats with the team earlier this decade. He stepped it up a notch this year. Just deciding you are playing out of nowhere cannot be tolerated, and it seemed he might've done it again. That coupled with his drastic reduction in production the last few years sealed his fate in Boston. What else can Boston take away from this deal? 

Bay is six years younger than Manny. He is signed through 2009, so Boston at least has him for that long, and if plays well in the second half I have no doubts Boston will try sign him to an extension this offseason and solidify left for the next five years. That's a start towards winning this deal for the future. 

While losing Moss and Hansen and getting nothing back seems like a huge loss, let's look at the facts on these two. Boston arguably has the most depth on offense in the majors, and no outfield spot was open for Moss, and he wasn't screaming for a spot either with his performance. Hansen has potential, but again Papelbon has locked down the closer spot for years to come, so it seems Hansen was expendable as well. While they no doubt could have gotten a little more, well let's not kid ourselves, a lot more, the major league club was not hugely affected by losing them. This next thing is what really excites me.

Now that the Sox don't have to pay Manny's huge option, they should have some money to spend this offseason, and a couple guys are making me salivate. 

The first guy who should be available is Mark Teixeira. While he seems to not fit anywhere on the club at the moment, I heard a quote on the Griffey deal that seems to fit, "your getting the guy for nothing, take him and fit him in later." While Tex will cost some major dough, they wouldn't be losing any prospects or other players like they would have if they picked him up at deadline. I mean, I can see the guy playingtetherball with the Pesky pole and getting huge HR totals while putting him in the middle of Boston's lineup could parallel Manny's RBI totals in his prime. While this seems great, I still understand why his role could be in flux. Which brings me to the bigger fish, CC Sabathia. 

His spot on the team seems a little more easy to find. The Boston starters now are Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jon Lester, Clay Buccholz, and Tim Wakefield. While he isn't kicking the first four out of the rotation any time soon, he could easily take Wake's spot, which would give the Sox a rotation of Beckett, Sabathia, Dice-K, Lester and Buchholz. They then could move Masterson permanently to the bullpen and shore up a need there. If you're any team playing the Sox in the playoffs, tell me you wouldn't be horrified of Beckett-Sabathia throwing at you back to back. The team would be a shoo-in to get past the first round and those two could potentially pitch four times in following rounds, virtually guranteeing a deep playoff run annually.

Sidenote: While this scenario makes me giddy just thinking about it, let's slow down for a second. Right now Big Daddy C is 5-0 with a 1.88 ERA so far with Milwaukee. While they have traditionally been small market, what is stopping them from throwing everything they have and their mothers at him? He seems to love it there and has done nothing but gush about the situation in talks with the media. Can't you see him in this honeymoon period taking a smaller deal that he wanted from Cleveland, realizing they have a strong nucleus of young players with Braun, Fielder, Hart and Sheets and if he stayed he would compete for a ring every year? I can. He seems like a team guy first. Mark my words, I wouldn't be surprised if we hear a deal in the near future. 

One last thing on Bay. Getting him to shore up Manny's vacant spot is really a better move than you think because the other options that were out there for replacements included guys like Jeremy Hermida, Andre Ethier, and Matt Kemp. They have potential, but Bay's production is markedly better right now, and he can be a possible viable replacement right now. Those three wouldn't be. 

We will see what happens with this whole situation. I can tell you one thing, the Sox management hasn't disappointed with personnel moves the last few years.