July 31, 2009, at 4:39 pm
Victor Martinez was one of the few premium bats available in this trade crop and he is now going to be the everyday first basemen for the Boston Red Sox.
Martinez adds a ton of pop to a lineup that doesn’t have a lot of it right now. Jason Bay has slowed down after a crazy first half, David Ortiz is a shell of his former self and Dustin Pedroia is not the player that he was last season. The Sox needed another bat, and they got it with Martinez who is currently raking to the tune of .284/.368/.464.
In exchange the Red Sox send P Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone, and Brian Price. All three of these guys are middle of the rotation types. Fangraphs suggests that Masterson has upside like Gil Meche. That maybe a little overly ambitious. Hagadone is a big lefty who has the most upside in this deal, but also has the lowest floor.
Nevertheless, I think that the value in this trade is about even. The three pitchers that Cleveland got back are all nice pieces, and they shed some salary and piece that is not in their future plans. For the Sox, They get a nice bat without giving up top prospects like Clay Bucholz.
With the gap at first base filled, the Sox then sent recently acquired lefty Adam LaRoche back to his original team, Atlanta Braves. The Braves gave back their current first basemen Casey Kotchman.
Kotchman was one of the prized pieces of the Angels’ crazy good farm system from a few years ago, and has been solid with a line that looks .272/.340/.412. He plays average defense which is saying a lot considering that LaRoche is an absolute butcher at the easiest position in the game.
Atlanta wanted the extra power in the lineup with LaRoche, but are losing a good player in the process. Ultimately, Fangraphs says that they are similar players and the swap doesn’t help either team. I think Kotchman will be a nice piece for the Red Sox stretch run.
Check out our complete MLB trade deadline recap.
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