The Sox and the Trade Deadline

With the Red Sox swooning and the trade deadline looming, they may be forced to make some moves for the stretch run. With all the rumors of every star player being traded to the Red Sox, will Theo Epstein actually make a move? After last year's blockbuster trade that sent Manny Ramirez away, the organization has proven they are willing to do whatever it takes to make the team better, whether it takes pitching, offense, defense, or - in Manny's case - sanity. Theo should be willing to give up three or four top prospects with future potential for a proven star like Roy Halladay like he did in the off-season of 2005 when he traded Hanley Ramirez and others to the Marlins for Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell.

Fans and the media get caught up in the hype of Minor League players that they have little knowledge of other than where they were drafted. Scouting reports can be misleading as teams sometimes overhype players in an effort to increase their trade value. Very few Minor League players become Major League stars, however they can make great bargaining chips at the trade deadline because of their potential.

The June Draft has produced some great players for the current Red Sox team over the last ten years including Manny Delcarmen, Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Jon Lester, Jonathan Papelbon, Jacoby Ellsbury, Justin Masterson, and Daniel Bard. Overall, the Red Sox have done a great job of holding on to their prospects, as the organization can afford high salaried free agents in the off-season and usually only need to add smaller pieces during the season. Prospects drafted by the Red Sox who became starters for other teams are Freddy Sanchez, traded to the Pirates for Jeff Suppan in 2003, Kelly Shoppach, traded to the Indians for Coco Crisp in 2006, and David Murphy, traded to the Rangers for Eric Gagne in 2007. The most successful Red Sox prospect that was traded away since 2000 is All-Star Short Stop Hanley Ramirez, who was signed by the Red Sox as an amateur free agent in 2000 and traded to the Marlins in the 2005 off-season.

This season, the most talked about Minor League players in the Red Sox system are Clay Buchholz, Lars Anderson, and Michael Bowden. All could be, and possibly should be, traded for either Toronto's Roy Halladay, Adrian Gonzalez of the Padres, or Victor Martinez from Cleveland. As a rookie, Buchholz showed great potential with a 1.59 ERA in four games, including pitching a no-hitter. The next season he faltered as the fifth starter, going 2-9 with a 6.75 ERA and was returned to the minors. This year, he pitched the first half in the minors and dominated the competition, which had fans clamoring for his return to the big leagues. With the injuries to Daisuke Matsusaka and Tim Wakefield, Buchholz was recalled to the majors in July, possibly as a showcase to be traded. Buchholz has the ability to become a third starter in the Major Leagues, but it is doubtful he would ever be as good a pitcher as Cy Young Award winners Roy Halladay or Cliff Lee, this year's big name deadline pitchers.

A look back at some of the best and worst Trading Deadline deals by the Red Sox:

Best:
1997: P Heathcliff Slocumb to the Mariners for P Derek Lowe and C Jason Varitek.
This is the most talked about trade in recent Red Sox history. Slocumb was an All-Star Closer for the Phillies in 1995, saving 32 games. He was traded in the off-season for Ken Ryan and Lee Tinsley which was favorable for the Red Sox. After a similar season of 31 Saves for the Red Sox in 1996, his ERA doubled during the first half of 1997, leading the Red Sox to trade him for the unproven Lowe and Varitek. Lowe was a rookie in 1997, with a losing record and an ERA near 7.00, while Varitek was a mediocre catcher in AAA Tacoma. You know the rest of the story.
1995: P Frankie Rodriguez and a player to be named later to the Twins for P Rick Aguilera.
With no full-time Closer, the Red Sox traded rookie Starter Frankie Rodriguez for veteran Closer Rick Aguilera. The Red Sox won the AL East with the help of Aguilera's 20 Saves, while Rodriguez had just one decent season with the Twins. Ironically, Aguilera would return to the Twins the following season and join Rodriguez in the rotation.
2004: SS Nomar Garciaparra and OF Matt Murton for SS Orlando Cabrera and 1B Doug Mientkiewicz in a multi-team trade. OF Henri Stanley to the Dodgers for OF Dave Roberts.
The media point to the trade of Nomar, who was a negative influence in the clubhouse, as the catalyst for the World Series win. To be fair, Nomar was hurt for most of the first half of the season, and any complaining he did should not have forced the team to trade him. The Red Sox traded Nomar, their most productive offensive player over the previous seven seasons, for two Gold Glove winners. Roberts, a backup Outfielder and pinch-runner, stole the most important base in Red Sox history.

Worst:
2003: 2B Freddy Sanchez and P Mike Gonzalez to Pirates for P Jeff Suppan.
The Red Sox lost on all three counts in this trade. They traded for Suppan who had 10 Wins at the break for the Pirates which was quite a feat. Suppan won just three games with a high ERA for the Red Sox after the trade. The Cardinals signed him as a free-agent and he went on to win 16 games in each of his first two seasons with the team. Sanchez won a batting title in 2006 and has a career Average of .300, while Gonzalez saved 24 games in 2006 and has a career ERA of 2.71.
2007: OF David Murphy and P Kason Gabbard to the Rangers for P Eric Gagne.
Gagne was a record-setting Closer earlier in his career, saving 152 games in three seasons with the Dodgers before injuries nearly ended his career in 2005 and 2006. He rebounded with 16 Saves and a 2.16 ERA for the Rangers before the Red Sox traded for him. With Papelbon as the Closer, Gagne was put into the set-up role where he failed miserably, posting an ERA of 6.75. Murphy has put up similar numbers to J.D.Drew in his year and a half for the Rangers.
1996: P Jamie Moyer to the Mariners for OF Darren Bragg.
The year before the Slocumb trade, the Mariners got the better of the Red Sox. Bragg played two full seasons with the Red Sox before the emergence of Trot Nixon. Moyer, who was 7-1 at the time of the trade, would go on to win 145 games for the Mariners including two 20 Win seasons, and 45 more for the Phillies.