Has the evil empire turned into a green monster? The Boston Red Sox added two big names to their lineup by using the Yankees playbook. Boston went out and made one big trade by acquiring Adrian Gonzalez and signing a free agent, Carl Crawford.
Adrian Gonzalez
Boston sent three prospects, minor league right–hander Casey Kelly, first baseman Anthony Rizzo, outfielder Reymond Fuentes and a player to be named later to San Diego, for the big first baseman Gonzalez who said “I’m very excited to start this new phase and look forward to a lot of world championships.” This is not the first time the Red Sox perused the slugger but this time they were willing to give up enough young talent to the San Diego Padres. The impact that Gonzalez brings to small Fenway Park will be huge and he might surpass his homerun total of last season (31) by the all-star break.
Carl Crawford
After Jayson Werth signed with the Washington Nationals for seven years $126 million, Crawford who is a all around better player than Werth would demand much more money. The Red Sox were able to comply and made Crawford the second highest paid outfielder in baseball history (Manny Ramirez is first) by signing him to a seven year $142 million dollar deal. Without a doubt this makes the Red Sox the fastest team in the major leagues and a defensive force in the outfield. Crawford not only hits the ball out of the park but will bat over .300. Will Crawford still be worth the kind of money he will make toward the end of this contract? This makes the deal a bit of a gamble because as a player gets older his speed, a big part of Crawford’s game, gets slower.
Aftermath
After losing catcher Victor Martinez and third baseman Adrian Beltre to free agency, the Boston Red Sox were in danger of falling far behind the New York Yankees. In a span of 72-hours the Red Sox turned the table on the Yankees who are still trying to sign Cliff Lee. These moves not only make the Red Sox the favorite to win the American League East but the World Series. If these moves make the Red Sox the new evil empire then what will the Yankees do to reclaim that title? In the mean time the rest of the 28 baseball teams look in anger.
