 Ryan L. Fox Well another MLB Trade Deadline has come and gone. Unfortunately for Red Sox Nation, Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom pretty much stood pat the entire time while other teams made trades to improve their teams. The few trades that he actually made, however, made some people face palm and wonder what was going on (i.e. trading for an injured OF Kyle Schwarber instead of addressing the need for a 1B). Although the team was mildly active at this trade deadline, in year’s past they made similar moves in year’s past that paid off both in the short term and in the long term. Some of these trade moves even helped propel the team into the World Series. So let us dive into these moves and see what they were and how they helped the Red Sox in years past.  5.) Bye Bye Manny, Hello Bay (2008)
Well sometimes addition by subtraction can prove to be beneficial, especially when comes to dealing with disgruntled players as was the case back in 2008 with OF Manny Ramirez. Up until that point, Ramirez was a linchpin within the Red Sox organization. He signed with the team back in 2000 as a free agent and was a very powerful hitter within the lineup (274 HRs, 868 RBIs, and a .312 batting average in 8 years with the team) and helped them to two World Series titles (2004 & 2007). But in 2008, Ramirez went from being 'Manny being Manny' to 'Manny being an A**hole.' He openly complained about his contract (wanting more money), got into a few arguments/fights with teammates, and even violently shoved Red Sox traveling secretary Jack McCormick, which drew the ire of fans, media, and players. So on July 31, 2008, Red Sox GM Theo Epstein concocted a 3-team trade at that year's MLB Trade Deadline with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates. The Red Sox would send Ramirez to the Dodgers, the Pirates would send OF Jason Bay to the Red Sox, and the Pittsburgh Pirates would receive minor leaguers from each team. The trade proved to be more beneficial for the Red Sox. Although Bay wasn't as big as a power hitter as Ramirez, he was able to carve out his role with the Red Sox. He played in 49 games that year, amassing a .293 batting average with 9 HRs and 37 RBIs to go with a OBP/SLG/OPS line of .370/.527/.897 and was instrumental of helping get the Red Sox to the 2008 ALCS. Bay would also his 36 HRs and 119 RBIs in the following season and be named an All-Star.  4. Peavy to Beantown (2013)
After a historic collapse in 2011 followed by a tumultuous, drama-filled 2012, the 2013 Red Sox burst onto the scene like gangbusters right out of the gate to prove the previous two seasons were anomalies. The team was mixed with young talent and savvy veterans as well as had a well-seasoned pitching staff that included SP Jon Lester (15-8, 3.75), John Lackey (10-13, 3.52), and Clay Bucholz (12-1, 1.74). But in early June, Bucholz went on the injured list due to a neck strain as the Red Sox were looking for somebody to shore up the backend of the rotation. So a day before the 2013 MLB Trade Deadlines, GM Ben Cherrington swung a 3-team trade involving the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers. The Red Sox shipped SS Jose Iglesias to the Detroit Tigers as well as minor league prospects to the White Sox and received RHP Brayan Villarreal from the Tigers and SP Jake Peavy from the White Sox (the White Sox also received RF Avisail Garcia from the Tigers). Peavy turned out to be a key contributor for the Red Sox during the second half of the 2013 season. He appeared in 10 regular season games with the Red Sox, going 4-1 with an ERA of 4.04 and had 45Ks. Peavy also appeared in 3 postseason games with the Red Sox, going 0-1 with a 7.11 ERA and had 8 Ks. This also included two no-decisions (against the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS and St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series) were Peavy pitched well in (the Red Sox ultimately won both those games).
3. Little Risks, Big Rewards (2018)
During his tenure as 'President of Baseball Operations' with the Boston Red Sox, Dave Dombrowski made some significant trades (i.e. SP Chris Sale & RHP Craig Kimbrel) to bolster the team. However that came at the expense of emptying out the Red Sox farm system of their top prospects. But there were a couple of trades (arguably two of his best) that Dombrowski pulled off that not only proved very beneficial for the Red Sox but came at a very little cost (i.e. didn't have to trade away top prospects for them). These two trade came during the 2018 season where the Red Sox were starting to make their push for what would eventually be a World Series championship. First on July 25, just 6 days before the 2018 MLB Trade Deadline, the Red Sox swung a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays sending minor league LHP Jalen Beeks in exchange for RHP Nathan Eovaldi. Then a few days later on July 28, just 3 days before the trade deadline the Red Sox swung another trade with an AL East divisional rival. This time, they sent INF prospect Santiago Espinal to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for 1B/OF Steve Pearce. At first glance, these were not the 'sexy trades' that many fans and some Boston sports media people were calling for. Both Eovaldi and Pearce were both MLB journeymen, bouncing from team-to-team over the course of their career with Pearce even playing on every team in the AL East (Rays, Orioles, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, and now the Red Sox) for at least a season. Not to mention there some uneasiness with their health, especially when it came out that Eovaldi had Tommy John surgery twice. Still, they came to Boston with nothing more than to just fill out the roster and contrinute to whatever minor role they may have. But instead, both Eovaldi and Pearce became key contributors to the team that year. Eovaldi slid into the 5th starter role in the starting rotation, appearing in 11 games (starting all of them) while going 3-3 with an ERA of 3.37 and had 48 Ks. Pearce ended up platooning with then starting Red Sox 1B Mitch Moreland, appearing in 50 games in that role while hitting .279, had 7 HRs and 26 RBIs, and slashed .394/.507/.901. When the Red Sox made the postseason, both Eovaldi and Pearce played major roles during the team's championship ruin. With Eovaldi, he appeared in 3 games (2 starts, 1 relief appearance) and went 2-1 with an ERA of 1.61. This also included pitching 6 innings in relief during the 18-inning marathon Game 3 of World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers (Eovaldi got tagged with the loss after Red Sox 2B Ian Kinsler made a costly error that gave the Dodgers the game-winning run). With Pearce, he hit a collective .289 with 4 HRs and 11 RBIs during the championship run. This also included a World Series performance where he hit .333 with 3 HRs, 18 RBIs, and slashed a line of .500/1.167/1.667 which won him the MVP of the World Series. Dombrowski may not have always hit on his trades, but he struck gold when it came to Eovaldi and Pearce and nobody can deny that.
2. Two Future Stars with One Trade (1997)
I'm pretty sure a majority of today's Red Sox fans were unaware of the state of the team prior to their 2004 World Series Championship. All they've been accustomed to is winning World Series every 3-5 years. But older, veteran Red Sox fans know what the team was like back in the day. Prior to 2004, it was just season after season of seeing the team either do poorly or get their hearts broken in the postseason. Still, fans rooted for their team as loud as they could and hoped that management would put together a team that would one day win a World Series within their lifetime. Then came 1997. For those who followed the team, 1997 was the year that the team made one of the biggest swindle MLB trades in not only Red Sox history but in all of MLB history when they sent a few minor leaguers to the Montreal Expos in exchange for SP Pedro Martinez, who would not only carve his name into the annuals of Red Sox history but as well as MLB history and make it into Cooperstown years later. But that trade came in November of '97, which technically was the 1998 MLB offseason. But prior to that, during the actual '97 MLB Season, the Red Sox swung a trade at the '97 MLB Trade Deadline that ultimate proved to be just a big of a steal as the Pedro trade. That it brought over two players, one of them would considered the 2nd greatest catcher (behind Carlton Fisk) to ever don the Red Sox uniform, who would become key contributors to the 2004 Red Sox championship run that would break the 'Bambino Curse'. The trade was that the Red Sox sent RHP Heathcliff Slocumb to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for RHP Derek Lowe and a minor league prospect C named Jason Varitek. At the time, Tek was just tolling in the Seattle Mariners' minor league system while Lowe was pitching at the majors, appearing in 12 games with the Mariners (9 starts) while going 2-4 with an ERA of 6.96 and had 39 Ks. The two players were shipped up to Boston for a right-handed reliever in Slocumb, who appeared in 49 games with the Red Sox that year, comprising an 0-5 record with an ERA of 5.79 and 36 Ks in 46.2 innings. Slocumb ended up pitching with the Mariners for another season (1998) before bouncing around over the next couple years with multiple teams. Lowe, got moved into the Red Sox bullpen and was used primarily as a long inning guy. He had multiple years of having an ERA under 3.00 and had an All-Star appearance (2000) as a reliever. It wasn’t until 2002 when Lowe got moved into the starting rotation as in his first year as a starter, he comprised a 21-8 record with an ERA of 2.58 and had 127 Ks. Although his ERA ballooned a bit over the next two seasons, Lowe still had 30+ start, 10+ wins, and 100+ Ks. Varitek, on the other hand, played just 1 game with the Red Sox in ’97. The then following year, he was platooned with then starting Red Sox C Scott Hattenberg before winning the starting job in 1999. From there, the Captain manned behind home plate until his retirement in 2011. When Varitek retired, he was a 3x All-Star, Gold Glove Winner (2005), a Silver Slugger winner (2005), and had 2 World Series to his name (2004 & 2007). He was also in the top 20 in franchise history in at-bats, plate appearances, runs scored, hits, total bases, and home runs while in the top 10 in franchise history in games played. But their biggest accomplishment came in 2004, 7 years after they were traded to the Red Sox, when they helped the team win its first World Series title in over 86 years, breaking the infamous ‘Curse of the Bambino’. For all their accomplishments with the Red Sox, both Lowe and Varitek were both voted into the team Hall of Fame. No doubt that the Lowe/Varitek ’97 trade is considered to be one of the best trade deadline move by the Red Sox in franchise history. But there was one trade deadline move (or rather moves) that changed the franchise forever and set them on a path that they are now on today.  1. The Trades That Broke a Curse (2004)Trade #1
Trade #2
There are some trade deadline moves that change the course of an entire franchise for years to come, for better or worse. It could be trading for a superstar who would have an immediate impact on the franchise or it could be trading away a disgruntled star in exchange for various role players that would help the team in the short term. In the case of the 2004 Boston Red Sox, the latter was the case. Before fans were fawning over the likes of Xander Boagerts, Mookie Betts, and even David Ortiz, the big superstar on the Red Sox from 1997-2003 was SS Nomar Garciaparra. The former 12th overall pick in the 1994 MLB Amateur Draft was the guy that many Red Sox fan kids tried to be like. But then in 2003, the Red Sox shocked everybody when they tried to trade for SS Alex Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers. To clear space for Rodriguez, the Red Sox were ready to ship Garciaparra to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for OF Magglio Ordornez. The Rodriguez trade ultimately failed but the damage had been done as Garciappara felt betrayed by management. Red Sox management felt that because of that, they were uncertain if their All-Star shortstop would be willing to sign with the team after his contract expired after the 2004 season. During the 2004 season, Garciappara became disenchanted with the team. It also didn't help that an Achilles injury that he suffered earlier in the year began to affect his defensive abilities and required frequent days off, which then GM Theo Epstein looked at as a liability. With tensions mounting on both sides and the team not wanting to let Garciappara walk without getting anything back for it, a trade had to be made. So on July 31, 2004, the Boston Red Sox grabbed headlines all over the New England area and on the national level when they announced that they were trading away Nomar Garciaparra in a 4-team trade with Chicago Cubs, the Minnesota Twins, and the Montreal Expos. The Red Sox would send Garciappara and an oufielder prospect to the Cubs. In return, the Cubs would send multiple players and prospects to the Expos and Twins respectfully. Both those teams would, in turn, each send a player to the Red Sox (SS/2B Orlando Cabrera from the Expos and 1B Doug Mientkiewicz from the Twins). At the same time of this multi-team trade, the Red Sox swung another trade, The sent minor league OF Henri Stanely to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for OF David Roberts. When the dust settled, the Red Sox were a completely different team. They had gotten multiple role players to go with their current roster but at the same time, each newcomer was a defensive upgrade. Cabrera platooned with Pooky Reese at shortstop (before eventually taking over as full-time starter), appearing in 58 games while accumulating a batting average of .294 while hitting 6 HR, 31 RBIs, and slashed a line of .320/.465/.785. Mienkiewicz helped spell starting 1B Kevin Millar, appearing in 49 games while hitting .215 with 1 HR and 10 RBIs while slashing .286/.318/.603. Dave Roberts appeared in 45 games while manning multiple outfield positions, hitting .256 with 2 HRs and 14 RBIs while slashing .330/.442/.772. But in the postseason, all the newly acquired Red Sox players were able to contribute to the team's title. This included making the biggest comeback in MLB history when they were able to comeback from being down 3-0 to the New York Yankees in the ALCS and win the series 4-3. That comeback was started when Roberts stole 2nd base in the bottom 9th in Game 4 against Yankees CP Mariano Rivera, which he was able to score on the next ensuing pitch, tying the game 4-4 as the Red Sox went on to win in 12 innings, 6-4. From there, the Red Sox were able to move onto the World Series where they ended up sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in 4 games with Mienkiewicz snagging a ball thrown to him by Red Sox closer Keith Foulke to complete the 1-3 groundout play for the final out in Game 4. Although the trades ultimately proved to just be just a one-year deal as all the newly acquired Red Sox players ended up leaving the team in the offseason in free agency (Cabrera to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Roberts to the San Diego Padres, and Mienkiewicz to the New York Mets). But nevertheless, both the Garciaparra and the Roberts trades had lasting impacts for the Red Sox franchise. The Red Sox were finally able to claim that elusive World Series title after decades upon decades of disappointment and falling short. That 2004 victory propelled Boston back into the discussion of a baseball destination, attracting players and free agents who want to go there for a chance to win a World Series. The Red Sox were able to win 3 more World Series titles later on (in 2007, 2013, and 2018 respectively) but nothing was as special as the 2004 Championship. As much valuable as Nomar was to the Red Sox, they probably would not have won the 2004 World Series if they had not made those trades. Read More 990WBOB |
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An Independent Media Outlet.
The views opinions and thoughts expressed do not reflect those of 990WBOB, its management or its staff. All Rights Reserved 990WBOB.com 2007-2020
Contact WBOB HERE