Trades In The Making

Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe tweeted last night that Jacoby Ellsbury is supposed to be activated on Friday and Clay Buchholz on Saturday, and that the Sox are looking to trade an outfielder, preferably Sweeney. We all knew this would be happening, even with the rash of injuries that the Sox have accumulated. Darnell McDonald is now a Yankee, and Youkilis is with the White Sox. Change was going to happen, but how much change will happen is the question.

No doubt that Sweeney makes the most sense for a trade. He’s young, shown a lot of patience at the plate, though he doesn’t have much power. He’s a go-getter with fielding, having crashed into walls more than my liking. Though he’s been on the disabled list twice this year (once on the 7-day DL for a concussion and once on the 15-day DL for his broken toe), he’s remained durable for Sox standards, always returning and ready to play at full-force.

I like Sweeney; he’s an Iowa-boy, afterall. But, with the Sox on the borderline of mediocre and playoff-bound, things need to change. Would it make much sense to send Nava (who’s come back from oblivion) back to Triple-A? No. When Podsednik comes back, it wouldn’t make anymore sense to have him in Triple-A either. My guess is Sweeney and Podsednik will be traded, and possibly Nava too depending on how much faith the Sox have in Kalish.

I was on the MLB Trade Rumors earlier this week, and they were discussing teams in need of outfielders. The Reds were listed as one of these teams, with the Sox lining up nicely with them. (Maybe my uncle is a psychic and predicted a Sox trade with the Reds for Arroyo?) Matt Garza’s name has been floated around a lot to, in terms of potential trade targets for the Sox. The Sox need pitching, so they need to go with who’s available.

I fully admit that I don’t like change; I don’t like the unknown. However, I do know when change is needed, and these Red Sox need a change. The Red Sox bigwigs held a meeting on Monday to discuss the season thus far, and they’re supposed to be making some decisions (are they buyers or sellers?). There’s a team workout scheduled for Thursday, and roster moves could come down then.

There’s also been some chatter about the Sox trying to trade Lester and/or Beckett. I think the theme here is that these two, plus Lackey and Buchholz, seem to have formed an alliance and are still regarded as “card carrying members of the chicken and beer brigade.” Yes, I brought it up. Lester and Beckett are supposed to be the top of the rotation, but their pitching performance seems to be regarded more as mid-to-lower order of the rotation. Lester, without a doubt, is pitching way below his normal caliber; and while Beckett has also struggled, his pitching performance is better than his 4-7 record.

(On a side note, another thing to consider with Beckett is that this is an “even” year, as in 2012. If you look at Beckett’s stats, he seems to do better in “odd” years. Seriously, I don’t know why this is, but it’s true. Next year, he should be back to “normal” Beckett. So, do the Sox trade him? I think not, plus he’d have to approve any trade thanks to 10/5 rights.)

I’m sure there will be much more discussion about trades as the end of the month quickly approaches. My guess is the Sox trade 1-3 outfielders for a starting pitcher, relievers will be traded and traded for, Mark Prior will emerge from Triple-A for the first time since 2006, and the Sox will end the year with a winning record, though still a disappointing season.