And so, finally, the end is nigh. One of the most dizzying stretches of the decade for the Red Sox will reach its conclusion around 4 p.m. EST on Friday, when the deadline for trades not requiring waivers will finally pass.
The Sox remain aggressive in pursuit of a deal that will change their complexion, not just for the rest of 2009 but beyond. The same names keep surfacing as apples of the team’s eye: starter Roy Halladay of the Blue Jays, catcher/first baseman Victor Martinez and first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.
It would be difficult to identify an area of primary need for the Red Sox at the moment. Though the team often suggests it is important to avoid overreacting to short stretches of the season, the dreadful start to the second half (5-8 record) has exposed numerous limitations.
Among them: the lineup has been wildly inconsistent. Both Jason Bay and Kevin Youkilis are amidst season-long downward trends (as documented in Thursday’s Five Things We Learned).
David Ortiz, despite yesterday’s vintage performance, is also a question mark over the longer haul.
Yet the needs do not stop there. The rotation has its fair share of question marks due to age (42-year-olds John Smoltz and Tim Wakefield), health (there is not yet a timetable for Wakefield or Daisuke Matsuzaka’s return), inconsistency (Brad Penny) and youth (Clay Buchholz).
The defense, meanwhile, has rated as one of the worst in the game this year.
So what to prioritize? The answer seems straightforward enough: everything.
Padres first baseman Gonzalez is a Gold Glove defender with big-time power. Despite his West Coast obscurity, his game is described as being very similar to that of Mark Teixeira, the player whom the Sox tried to sign this past offseason.
Gonzalez is hitting just .252, but his OBP is a hearty .394 with a .536 slugging mark. He’s already hit 28 homers, a remarkable total given that he plays his home games in the homer graveyard of San Diego’s Petco Field.
“I think he’d be an MVP candidate if he were in a different park,” said former teammate Scott Hairston, who was traded from San Diego to the A’s just before the All-Star break. “His numbers would definitely be better. You could probably tack on another 10 home runs to his stats, and RBIs, about 20. His average would probably go up 20 points as well. It really plays a difference because Adrian hits a lot of deep flyballs. I think people are starting to realize that.
“His glove work at first base is great, too. It’s really consistent. He makes a lot of plays that other first baseman don’t make. He was kind of overshadowed by the ballpark. He’d be a superstar in a lot of other cities.”
Gonzalez is also ridiculously affordable, as he is owed roughly $12 million between now and the end of 2011. If the 27-year-old is indeed a player like Teixeira, he is not paid like him: the Sox were prepared to pay the Yankees first baseman roughly $40 million more between now and the end of 2011 than they would have to unload for Gonzalez.
If there is a player for whom you skim the cream of a prospect pool crop, it is Gonzalez: cheap, able to impact a club for several years, able to positively impact the Sox’ run prevention and run scoring. With all due respect to Halladay – who would unquestionably represent a rotation upgrade – and Martinez – who would help the offense but do little for the defense – they simply don’t offer comparable value to Martinez.
Naturally, the Sox retain flexibility in their explorations. If either Halladay or Martinez is available for a price the team deems reasonable and Gonzalez does not enter that category, then a deal for an alternative player might become more likely. But no acquisition would so dramatically impact the Sox in the short- and long-term as Gonzalez.
Some additional thoughts:
YOU ONLY GET A CHANCE TO DO THIS ONCE EVERY FEW YEARS
If a deal becomes available – perhaps for, say, Martinez – that does not require the Sox to part with their top prospects, and instead allows them to offer a package of quantity just beneath their elite surface, they can act with little hesitation about
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