Epstein Comes Out Dealin'

The Red Sox made a trade today shipping OF Coco Crisp to Kansas City for RP Ramon Ramirez.


Red Sox:

The bullpen represented Boston's most obvious weakness going into this year's offseason. This trade adds Ramon Ramirez who had a 2.64 ERA with a 70/31 K/BB ratio. He is only 27 and is a cheap strikeout setup man who doesn't give up the long ball. He is a righty killer who throws 94 with a hard slider. His numbers against righties are excellent, but he will need to learn to get lefties out or avoid facing them all together. He should compete with Hideki Okajima for the top setup man job in spring training.

The addition of Ramirez allows the Red Sox to possibly move Justin Masterson into the rotation. This option provides insurance in case Clay Buchholz is traded or can not bounce back from a dissapointing rookie season. Unfortuantely this move robs Boston's outfield depth. Crisp was Boston's fourth outfielder last year and filled in honorably when injuries hit Drew or Jacoby or when Manny decided he didn't want to play that day. That safety net will no longer be available when the inevitable Nancy Drew injury strikes. The Sox will certainly look to add a fourth outfielder, probably through free agency. Obvious targets include Mark Kotsay, Rocco Baldelli, or the old favorite Trot Nixon.

Royals:

The Royals obviously believed that they had a glut of good young relievers because this is the second straight trade in which they have exchanged a young reliever for offense. In terms of the rebuilding process, developing relievers would not be a high priority. Instead of adding payroll, maybe the Royals should have been more interested in a high upside position prospect. The addition of Crisp hints that the Royals might try to compete for a playoff spot next year.

At this point in his career, Crisp offers more in the form of defense than offense, but should be Kansas City's opening day center field. Adding Crisp allows them to move David Dejesus to left and leave Jose Guillen in right. This move makes Mark Teahan available, and I have read that the Cubs have shown interest.