Andrew Bailey Trade a Key Move for the 2012 Boston Red Sox

Last week, I wept a little bit when the Red Sox and the Oakland A’s were unable to work out a trade for starter Gio Gonzalez. I was drooling over the potential of a rotation including  Beckett, Lester, Buchholz and Gonzalez. How could I not be? I really thought that the Red Sox missed a major opportunity.

But with yesterday’s trade for A’s closer Andrew Bailey, I’m feeling much better. Aside from re-signing David Ortiz, this is far and away the best move the Red Sox have made this offseason.

Here’s why, starting with Bailey’s track record. I’ve already heard the downgrade, downgrade, downgrade talk. In his time in the bigs Bailey has converted a very high percentage of his saves—89.2 percent to be exact. This compares very much to Mariano Rivera’s 89.3 percent and Jonathon Papelbon’s 89.0 percent.

His scouting report is also very similar—a 93-97 mph fastball with excellent control, a devastating cutter and a curve. Sounds like a closer to me.

All of this aside, Bailey has compiled ERAs of 1.84, 1.47 and 3.24 in his three seasons in the majors. He’s already a two-time All-Star, a Rookie of the Year Winner and at 27 years old he seems hungry as ever to join a winning team. All great attributes in my eyes.

Better yet, he’s done all of this after recovering from Tommy John surgery five years ago, so there doesn’t seem to be any lingering issues with regards to that procedure.

This said, I do need to voice some mild frustration with the Red Sox. In trading for Bailey they gave up Josh Reddick, who lit the Red Sox on fire when he joined the team last year. While Reddick cooled off, he was at one point a Red Sox minor league prospect who then showed serious potential at the major league level.

The Red Sox apparently didn’t complete the Gio Gonzalez trade because they were unwilling to trade their top prospects, which is a trend with the team in general. But while I’m all for holding onto the best players in our farm system, the Red Sox show no hesitation in trading away young players who actually make it up to the bigs and show some potential. Josh Reddick is one example, Jed Lowrie is another.

It seems as though once you make it to the majors, they give you a very small window to show that you have a major upside. Otherwise, you’re sent packing. What’s to say any prospect will show the ability at the major league level that Reddick has? It seems as though you are more valuable to the Sox when you are still a question mark at the minor league level.

My grumblings aside, what does this trade mean for the Red Sox in 2012? It means that clearly Ben Cherington’s focus is on bolstering the bullpen rather than the starting rotation, which I can’t say I blame him for.

I have serious reservations about Daniel Bard as a starter, simply because I think if you bring a guy up pitching one inning a game in the majors then suddenly ask him to pitch seven, that’s a major adjustment for any arm to endure.

But at present, the general feeling is that Bard will be a starter, rounding out a starting four of Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and Daniel Bard. I can see why that’s an attractive rotation for sure, although I still think we need to add a piece.

On the bullpen front that means we have Alfredo Aceves, Mark Melancon and Andrew Bailey anchoring the later innings. Those are all damn good options, and they represent significant added depth in the Sox bullpen. Well done, Ben.

I’m really excited to see Bailey pitch, and I think he will become the Red Sox closer. Best of all, and unmentioned thus far in this article, is the fact that he’ll cost the Red Sox next to nothing (he made $465,000 last year). If we can simply land ourselves one more quality starter, I think we’ll have the pitching depth and the offense to go places.

Geoff Roberts is the Founder and Managing Editor of howiGit.com, a Boston sports blog.