Kuzul

As the Boston Red Sox now sit at home for the third consecutive postseason, it feels like decades ago since the storied franchise was one of baseball’s elite teams.

While remaining relatively competitive since the 2009 campaign, it is evident that the Red Sox have lost their way since their last World Series triumph. Finishing last place in the AL East for the first time since 1992, the Boston Red Sox must now endure a rebuilding process that is several seasons in the making.

Following the collapse of September 2011 and the departure of Red Sox staples Theo Epstein and Terry Francona, a decade of dominance came to a disappointing conclusion.

Pitching was nowhere near the level it once was, and Boston was primarily focused on “feeding the monster” as opposed to making smart baseball decisions. As a result, Ben Cherington took the reins as the new general manager, and Bobby Valentine was hired as the new skipper.

Although Boston was never expected to be a true competitor in 2012, it was nearly impossible to believe the team would finish in last place. Plagued by injuries, struggling with inconsistency and facing a “toxic” clubhouse, Boston suffered and had one of the worst seasons in franchise history.

There is no question this will be a very busy offseason for Cherington, as the rebuilding process is now under way.

It will be intriguing to not only see how the team rebuilds on the field, but off the field as well. The following slides are my suggestions as to how the Red Sox can once again see relative success in the near future.

All stats courtesy of baseball-reference.com

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Well, it’s now official.

Now confirmed by USA Today and several other media outlets, the Boston Red Sox have completed a monster trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers that will send Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett, and Nick Punto to LA in exchange for James Loney and four prospects.

In a deal first reported by Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston, Boston will be shipping off four of their top players to the very aggressive Dodgers’ ownership in exchange for Loney, prospects and $260 million in salary relief.

For the Red Sox, this is an active pursuit for GM Ben Cherington to rid the Red Sox of some of the worst contracts in franchise history, as well as to build the farm system. As for the Dodgers, this is a crowd pleasing move that will potentially help the Dodgers make a serious championship run.

However, what I am here to evaluate is what exactly the Boston Red Sox received in return and what the potential value is to the organization. While Boston did not walk away with potential ace Zach Lee, the Red Sox did walk away with some potential value for the upcoming years.

Regardless, this is an exciting time for Boston as the rebuilding process has officially begun. Let’s take a gander at the newest members of the Red Sox organization.

(All stats are accredited to Baseball-Reference)

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With all of the injuries this season, the Boston Red Sox have been, arguably, the least fortunate team in the MLB. However, the biggest disappointment has come from the perfectly healthy Adrian Gonzalez.

Gonzalez, 30, is currently in the worst slump of his career. He’s hitting only .267 with five home runs, 35 runs batted in and just 18 walks (one intentional). These stats are absolutely the worst of his career, although his 2009 season wasn’t all that much better. It is easy to say that the $154 million dollar man has yet to live up to his expectations. 

Now the big question is, what is wrong with Adrian Gonzalez?

When signed, Gonzalez was projected to increase his power numbers greatly, especially seeing as he was transitioning from a pitcher-friendly ballpark in Petco Park, to the smallest one in the league, Fenway Park. The change didn’t seem to shake up Gonzalez too badly in 2011, as he set several career highs, despite losing a significant amount of home runs.

As of now, he is not on pace to come close to any of his usual statistics, leading many to speculate what his issue is. In a time of such need for consistent bats, Gonzalez has been shockingly bad. In his last ten games alone, he has a .231 batting average with one home run and a mere nine hits (9-for-39).

Some may blame the transition from the National League, but that is invalid. Otherwise, Gonzalez wouldn’t have had the tremendous season he had last year. Even in the prior two seasons in San Diego, Gonzalez produced like he did in 2011.

Others, such as Kevin Dupont and Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe, have speculated it may be a result of the lack of production from David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia, as well as the absences of Jacoby Ellsbury, Cody Ross and Carl Crawford. That possibility also seems very unlikely, as Gonzalez was a one-man show during his tenure in San Diego.

He has carried a team on his back before, so it is not as if he is new to the responsibilities that come with being such a power bat.

Could it be the pressure of Boston? The lack of morale and motivation? Gonzalez surely does lack the fire that other Red Sox players, such as Dustin Pedroia, seem to have. While Gonzalez has been a team player all year, as evidenced by his voluntary move to the outfield, he has lacked the fire and intensity he once had. Could his quiet personality be keeping him from being a killer at the plate? Who knows? He’s always been incredible at the plate, quiet or not.

Unless there is a distinct injury that we are unaware of, Adrian Gonzalez is an enigma to the Red Sox. This has happened once before, in 2009. At this point of the season three years ago, Gonzalez had almost identical numbers, before going off to have a phenomenal rest of the season. At this point, that is the only reason we have to believe he will bounce back. 

Without any injuries or controversy surrounding Gonzalez, it seems as though Boston fans will have to tough it out and wait for Gonzalez to explode at the plate. It seems as though this is just a career slump, and he will eventually have to break out of it on his own.

He is simply too talented to keep this slump going. Unless, again, there is something Boston is unaware of.

Only time will tell when Gonzalez will break out of his terrible streak. There’s little doubt that he’ll come out of it sooner or later. There is nothing to blame his poor performance on, other than just bad luck. Red Sox Nation, however, should not be demanding his head on a silver platter yet, as we are only halfway through the season.

Give it time.

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It seems as though Theo Epstein has finally found a suitor for struggling veteran outfielder, Marlon Byrd. Reported by ESPN Chicago, Byrd is apparently shipping up to Boston. 

The trade is reported as “imminent” and may be officially announced at any time now. This deal would mark the first major in-season trade for Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer’s administration in Chicago as well as Ben Cherington’s first in Boston.

Byrd, a 35-year-old center fielder, has struggled this season, much as he did at the end of his 2011 campaign, after a hit-by-pitch sidelined him with a face injury midseason.

He only has three hits in 43 at bats thus far, all of them singles. Ben Cherington will hope a new environment will help Byrd turn around.

With Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford on the disabled list, as well as Jason Repko injuring himself on Friday, Boston is in dire need of outfield depth. As of now, their outfield is primarily composed of back ups and Triple-A caliber talent. The acquisition of Byrd provides Boston with at least more experience in the outfield.

Throughout his 10-year career, Byrd is a .278 hitter with some power. An All-Star in 2010 with the Cubs, Byrd actually had his best season in 2009 when he hit 20 home runs and had 89 RBI with the Texas Rangers. In 2011, he battled with injuries, but when he was on the field, he hit fairly well.

While exploring other options, most notably speedster Scott Podsednik, Boston really had little to no options on the open market or in the farm system. This is likely the worst possible time to trade for Byrd, who is currently hitting .071.

The deal seems more and more likely by the hour, as Ken Rosenthal deems the trade “probable.” Also, according to the Boston Herald, manager Bobby Valentine responded to the rumors.

“The talks have been good talks, from what I gather,” Valentine said. “Ben [Cherington] will try to get as good a player as he can get.”

The Red Sox skipper’s words ring true here. The best possible option at the moment for the Boston Red Sox is Marlon Byrd, whether anyone likes it or not. Options are scarce and there is hope that he does pick things up with a change of scenery. He may not be the ideal replacement out in center field, but bringing him in is a must at this point.

While it is unknown what Chicago will get in return, it will likely be a left handed arm in the bullpen from Boston’s major league squad or Triple-A level. Needless to say, they will not receive a whole lot for Byrd.

Update: 2:30P.M. According to Ken Rosenthal’s latest Tweet, it seems likely that the Chicago Cubs will pay a chunk of Byrd’s contract. There are currently “timing issues” between both sides, pushing the deal to take longer. Also, Michael Bowden is the assumed pitcher to be sent to the Cubs as part of the deal.

Update: 6:03 p.m. Previously Tweeted by Bruce Levine of ESPN, Marlon Byrd has confirmed that he has been traded to Boston. The deal is now official and details will be released following the Red Sox game against the Yankees.

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As reported over the past few days, it is now confirmed that now former Red Sox shortstop, Marco Scutaro will be headed to the Colorado Rockies, according to ESPNBoston. The Rockies look like they’ve found their solution at second base.

Scutaro, who is 36 years old, has been on the Red Sox since 2010. He has proven to be a very consistent part of the bottom of their lineup, hitting .275 in 2010 and .299 in 2011, Scutaro’s option was supposedly picked up from Boston, meaning he’d have earned $6 million in 2012.

However, it seems that Ben Cherington had other plans. Thus, the Rockies found their man.

In return, the Boston Red Sox acquired a former first-round sandwich draft pick in 2007, Clayton Mortensen. Mortensen, in three MLB seasons, has a career earned run average of 5.12 to go with a 4-8 record. He’s coming off of a 2-4 record with a 3.86 ERA last season. He has worked both as a starting pitcher and a relief pitcher throughout his career.

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe tweeted that Mortensen will be viewed as a starting pitcher competing for a rotation spot at spring training. He will join the ranks of Aaron Cook, Vincent Padilla, Alfredo Aceves, Daniel Bard and Carlos Silva as potential starting pitchers.

Scutaro, on the other hand, will be the Rockies new starting second baseman, a position he has been playing inconsistently.

Evaluating this trade from the Red Sox perspective, you can’t help but scratch your head in confusion as to why they would trade their starting shortstop away. To answer anyone who is unaware, this trade simply rids the Red Sox of a $6 million contract to make room to sign either Roy Oswalt or outfielder Cody Ross.

On the surface, it seems to be a smart acquisition, but it is hard to be excited about leaving another gap in your lineup and depth chart. Much like the right field position, the shortstop position will now be occupied by Mike Aviles and Nick Punto, until Jose Iglesias is ready to join the club toward the end of the season.

This would not be as problematic if the right field position was already in serious question, being given to Darnell McDonald, Aviles and eventually Ryan Kalish.

Leaving two question marks in your field is not something of admiration, especially if it is only to bring in another starting pitcher, Roy Oswalt. If Scutaro’s trade leads to a new outfielder joining the fray, it will not be as bad.

However, do not get your hopes up for a breakout year for the average Clayton Mortensen. Despite being picked 36th overall in 2007, Mortensen brings an average presence to the table, despite having a good sinker.

With time and training, he could be a reliable asset, but hopes shouldn’t be high for him to make much of a difference in 2012.

Determining whether this was a good trade for Boston will all depend on what is next. Do they go out and bring in another starting pitcher or do they go out and fill the right field spot with a cheap quality player?

Honestly, if this is all to make room for Oswalt, I can’t help but be upset that we got rid of such a quality shortstop in Scutaro.

This move will be what Ben Cherington makes of it. He made some space financially and whatever the Red Sox end up signing is essentially what they get in return for our shortstop.

If the Sox can get an option better than Scutaro offensively for the outfield, it will be a pretty smart trade, but adding another pitcher would be a head-scratcher of a move, if not anything else.

It will certainly be interesting to see where Cherington goes from here, but if it is anywhere but where I mentioned, this was not a good trade by any stretch of the imagination.

Follow me on Twitter @Str8edgerallo

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For the first few months of the Cubs new administration, it has been relatively quiet on the forefront despite being in the running for several free agents throughout the offseason. However, yesterday Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer acquired first baseman Anthony Rizzo and Zach Cates, a 23-year-old pitcher from the San Diego Padres in exchange for Andrew Cashner and Kyung-Nin Ma according to MLB.com writer, Carrie Muskrat.

Although this trade is not in the same league as signing Prince Fielder, nor does this mean that Rizzo will be the projected starting first baseman for the Cubs this season, but Rizzo is undoubtedly a promising prospect that will be a serious component in the Cubs future. It seemed evident Rizzo would be on his way out of Chicago after the Padres traded for Yondo Alonso. With this move, Epstein and Co. were able to jump and grab a premier prospect. 

Rizzo was called up to play for the MLB squad in San Diego last season, but flopped by only hitting .143 in only 35 games. In response to this, Jed Hoyer claimed on an interview with MLB.com that, “It was too early and a mistake on my part, and I don’t think I did Anthony any favors there.”Hoyer of course, was the one who decided to call Rizzo up last season, as he serves as the general manager for the Padres. Despite his lousy start, Hoyer believes that Rizzo is the future of the Cubs.

When asked about thoughts on Rizzo and his future with his new organization, Hoyer said that, “The way we see it is Bryan had a terrific year last year in Triple-A and has been terrific this year in Venezuela. We see him as our first baseman. It’s likely Anthony will start the year in Triple-A.” The Cubs have seemingly found their first baseman for the upcoming years, which is a very spectacular start to the re-building of the Cubs farm system, which has been beyond depleted for quite a while.

Alongside Rizzo, the Cubs also acquired a 23-year-old, Zach Cates, who went 4-10 with a 4.73 ERA in his first ever professional season within an organization. While he may not be the premier pitcher for the system, he seems to have some potential with a lot of time to develop before reaching the MLB level.

In return for these two prospects, the Cubs gave up Andrew Cashner, who was plagued by injuries and thought of by Theo Epstein as a reliever at best for the remainder of his career as well as Kyung-Nin Ma, a solid bat, but only a 20-year-old, who is far from reaching the big leagues. To say Rizzo was well worth it would be a massive understatement.

Disregarding his stint in San Diego, which is not going to do any hitter favors, Rizzo had a phenomenal tenure in Triple-A, hitting .331 with 26 home runs and 101 RBIs. While he will not be the starter this season, Rizzo definitely has a future on the Cubs. Without giving up too much, Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer re-acquired a bat they have loved, but gave up for Adrian Gonzalez while serving in Boston last offseason.

Rizzo is a quality bat and with the right training in Triple-A to start the season, Rizzo could prove to be the most underrated acquisition in the Epstein/Hoyer era. While San Diego technically didn’t lose anything, seeing as they have more faith in the abilities of Alonso, the Cubs did gain a very quality bat who could be a solid asset in the middle of Chicago’s lineup for years to come.

Follow DJ Rallo @Str8edgeRallo

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