Gio Gonzalez an Interesting Trade Option for Red Sox
Last year’s version of the Red Sox starting rotation fell apart down the stretch and with changes promised during this offseason, one area that will needs to be improved is the starting five. While the free agent market doesn’t have a whole lot of superstar, big name pitchers, the new GM, Ben Cherington could upgrade his staff via the trade route.
One of the names that could be a nice fit for Boston is the Oakland A’s lefty, Gio Gonzalez.
A report by Ken Rosenthal a few days ago looked at how the A’s are willing to listen to trade offers on almost anyone, inluding Gonzalez. With Boston in need of some upgrades to the rotation, perhaps this is a deal that should get done.
We know this much about who will be starting for the Red Sox next year; Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and Josh Beckett (baring some bizzare twist of fate and he gets dealt this winter) appear to be the top three, not necessarily in that order. After that it gets a little thin. John Lackey is out for the year with Tommy John Surgery, Daisuke Matsuzaka won’t be available until after the All-Star game and veteran Tim Wakefield is a free agent who may be finished in Boston.
Prospects Andrew Miller and Kyle Weiland proved they weren’t ready for the fulltime role and Alfredo Aceves or Daniel Bard could make the transition to starter, but it would leave a depleted bullpen even more sparse for quality relievers.
This is where the Gonzalez deal could make sense for the Red Sox. At 26-years of age, Gonzalez is approaching the prime of his career. Last season, he threw over 200 innings for the second straight season and compiled a record of 16-12 with an ERA of 3.12 (a career best). He struck out 197 batters, had a WHIP of 1.37 and a WAR of 5.0. Pretty good numbers for a guy that would likely slide into the number four spot on the rotation in Boston. When you look at his numbers versus what Beckett and Lester did this year, well they are just as good, considering Gonzalez played for the lowly Oakland A’s.
So what would the A’s want in return for the 2011 all-star, Gonzalez? Well it’s been known that they are seeking more offense after a disapointing season from free agent signings of Josh Willingham, David De Jesus and Hideki Matsui. Of course they’ll want a player that is still relatively young, someone they can add to their core of players they plan to build a team around, should they get permission from MLB to move to San Jose.
Right away a player like Josh Reddick comes to mind to send the other way. At 24-years old, Reddick is still considered to be a top prospect, despite playing almost a full season with Boston. He doesn’t provide the power that a Kevin Youkilis does, but Reddick does have tremendous potential.
Another prospect such as Lars Anderson, who has become expendable when Adrian Gonzalez came to Boston last winter is another possible option. It was Anderson who was set to go to Oakland at last season’s trade deadline when Theo Epstein was set to pull the trigger on acquiring Rich Harden. It’s likely that Oakland would want Anderson, a 24-year old first baseman that has known power that could inherit the everyday job over at first base. Especially considering how thin the A’s are at first.
Gonzalez for Anderson straight up may not be enough for A’s manager, Billy Beane to pull the trigger. Another prospect would likely have to be be sent to Oakland in order to make this happen. But both Anderson and Reddick appears to be a little rich for just Gonzalez, considering he’s only had two year’s of 30+ starts. Granted he has won a combined 31 games in those two years, so perhaps he is a little more valuable than one realizes.
Gonzalez is eligible for arbitration this year after making $420,000 last season and you know he’s going to get a nice raise.
Is it worth trading for Gonzalez? Given his age, his fine performances for the last two years and how badly the Red Sox need someone to bring up the back half of their rotation, then yes he is. This deal would make more sense than spending around $10 million on a veteran guy like Roy Oswalt or Mark Buehrle. Sign Gonzalez to a four or five-year deal and you’ve got him for his prime years versus the other two mentioned.
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