Boston Red Sox Make Bold Move, Trade for Adrian Gonzalez

The Boston Red Sox have been after San Diego Padres slugging first baseman Adrian Gonzalez for three years, and their pursuit has paid off. Jed Hoyer, who was named the Padres General Manager in 2009, was the assistant to Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein prior to taking the job. The two had a history, and with the money and prospects at Boston’s disposal, a sensible trade partner became even more so.

Dan Hayes, who writes about the Padres for the North Country Times in San Diego, covered this offseason’s discussions from start to finish, and tweeted that the package for Gonzalez was pitching prospect Casey Kelly, power-hitting prospect and first baseman Anthony Rizzo, and outfielder Reymond Fuentes.

Fox Sports‘ Ken Rosenthal followed by saying a player to be named later would be added to the deal, while MLB.com’s Peter Gammons assured Boston fans this fourth player is not “a prime guy.”

This is a coup for Boston. Kelly was their second-ranked prospect, a lanky 21-year-old righthander with a powerful arm and a near major-league ready arsenal. He struggled stat-wise with the Portland Sea Dogs, the Red Sox Double-A affiliate, this past season, but added to his repertoire and saw his velocity increase. He is the center-piece of the deal.

Meanwhile, Rizzo, 21, put up even more impressive numbers than Gonzalez did at his age, while Fuentes, 19, stole 42 bases in Single-A. Still, Hoyer should have asked for much more.

Knowing Boston’s minor league system, he scoured the farm looking for adequate talent in return. But he didn’t demand major-leaguers in return. No Jacoby Ellsbury, whom Fuentes is compared to. No Clay Buchholz. No Daniel Bard. No Jose Iglesias. No Ryan Kalish or Josh Reddick.

Not even Lars Anderson, one of the Red Sox' best power hitters in the minors. This puzzles me, but I don’t mind. Adrian Gonzalez is a member of the Red Sox for four unproven players hyped solely on potential.

Gonzalez, who is 28 and won’t be 29 until next May, has one year remaining on his current deal. It is widely expected that a contract extension will be agreed to in the coming days, either reminiscent to Ryan Howard’s five-year, $125 million deal with the Phillies or Mark Teixeira’s eight-year, $180 million deal.

That is a substantial amount of money to give to one player, but with all of the money in baseball, he is worth it from a business standpoint.

He hit .298 last season with the Padres, clubbing 31 homers, driving in 101. He had 93 walks to 114 strikeouts, a fairly respectable ratio, and reached base at a 39 percent clip. He managed to hit eleven of his home runs at spacious Petco Park in San Diego, and has displayed tremendous power to all fields throughout his six major league seasons.

As a left-hander, he hit .337 against left-handed pitching, which is incredible. He led baseball with a .407 batting average with runners in scoring position. And with his power, there’s no telling what he can do at Fenway Park, a hitters park with the famed Green Monster in left and a short-porch in right.

Some fans may have a hard time processing the amount of money Gonzalez will get from Boston. Aren’t the Red Sox just doing what the Yankees have done for years? Aren’t they spending an exuberant amount of money on free agents and disregarding their farm system?

In short, yes.

The Giants and Rangers reached the World Series without many high-priced players, relying heavily on young players and castoffs. But Boston doesn’t want to have to rely on anyone but stars. Why put stock in Fuentes when you already have Ellsbury? Why bring up Rizzo or Anderson when you can go out and get Gonzalez and pay him $180 million?

They believe that’s the way to not only win now, but win long-term. They want to keep up with the Yankeees and, unfortunately, in the eyes of many general managers, spending money should translate to success.

I don’t necessarily like the deal Gonzalez will receive, primarily because I believe the amount of money in baseball is hurting the game—especially when it’s given to players in the 28 to 32 age range. But it is what it is. So when he can be had for four prospects who may or may not pan out, the Red Sox had no choice but to say yes.

Boston was able to somehow keep their rotation and lineup intact despite trading for such a star. Their farm system is far from bare. Their offense is bolstered. Their confidence is increased having brought in one of the top players in baseball. They are in position to win. And with this big splash, it’s hard to tell the difference between them and the Yankees—in more ways than one.