MANNY TO DODGERS IN BLOCKBUSTER
In a three-way deal, the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired outfielder Manny Ramirez from the Boston Red Sox; The Red Sox acquired outfielder Jason Bay from the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pirates acquired outfielder Brandon Moss and pitcher Craig Hansen fro
What does it give the Los Angeles Dodgers
L.A. has struggled all season to score runs, and gets a big boost in
the NL West race by acquiring a pure hitter and RBI-machine. Dodger
Stadium is a tough place to hit (just ask L.A.'s last big superstar
acquisition, Andruw Jones), and it might take time to adjust to a new
set of pitchers, but Ramirez has proven by now that he can hit almost
anywhere. The rest of the outfield now has some issues: will Manny be
able to adjust defensively, where he's not all that great to begin
with, from the small area in front of the Green Monster to the
spacious outfield in Chavez Ravine? Who will suit up center and right,
with Jones, Juan Pierre, Andre Eithier and Matt Kemp all pining for
playing time? Still, considering that Boston's paying for Ramirez's
contract this year, the two prospects they gave up aren't a bad gamble
for a two month rental. As a part of the negotiations, it's understood
that the Dodgers will not pick up Manny's option years, and he'll
become a free agent after the year. You never know though: he could
end of loving L.A..
What does it give the Boston Red Sox
This isn't an especially great trade for Boston, but simply getting
rid of the headache that is Manny was reason enough to make it. From
this season's point of view, they did well; Jason Bay is nearly as
good a player as Manny is, especially when the improved defense in
leftfield is considered, and should fit very well amongst David Ortiz,
Mike Lowell, J.D. Drew and the rest. He's also exceedingly affordable,
at only $7.5 million for next season, though the question of how he'll
handle the intense pressure of the Boston spotlight has to come up.
The Red Sox also had to part with what looks to be two future
major-league regulars to make this happen, and they'll reportedly pay
the remaining $7 million on Manny's salary this year.
What does it give the
The Bucs may have gone with quantity over quality here, as none of the
four prospects they received come as touted as Florida's Jeremy
Hermida, who was involved in the original three-way trade rumor. They
do all have upside though, especially Andy LaRoche. He has hit for
power and average at every level thus far, and could be a star third
baseman. The team already has blue-chipper Pedro Alvarez in their
system at third (this year's second overall draft pick), but he's
still a few years away while LaRoche could enter the everyday lineup
immediately. Moss is probably also headed straight into the lineup,
either to replace Bay or as part of a platoon. He's not a star but can
play both corner outfield positions and still might develop some pop
in his bat. The pair of pitchers are less certain; Hansen has
struggled to be an effective reliever in the majors though he could
benefit from switching leagues. And the 21-year old Morris has shown
off a live arm in with Dodgers' low-level Class-A team, while
returning from Tommy John surgery. All in all, Pittsburgh needs a lot
of help and got at least three players who should make some form of
immediate contributions this year and beyond. That alone might be
worth one and a half more years of Jason Bay.
Fantasy impact
