SOX TRADES: Morales may move to rotation with Breslow acquisition

Acquiring lefty reliever Craig Breslow from Arizona could allow LHP Franklin Morales to move back to the rotation and, with Beckett leaving his start tonight with back spasms, it may prove a timely move.

The Sox sent righty reliever Matt Albers and outfielder Scott Podsednik to the Diamondbacks.

But, the real disappointment for the Sox was their inability to trade Beckett for anyone that might have improved their Wild Card chance; the Sox are still saddled with an injury-prone former ace, who has faded to a #3 starter with a huge contract [$52.5 million from 2012-2014].

Lars Anderson finally got out from under Adrian Gonzalez and will not get a chance to play 1b for the Indians, where is competition is a lightweight quartet: C. Kotchman , C. Santana, S. Duncan and J. Lopez.

The Sox got knuckleballer Steven Wright, who is 9-6, 2.49 ERA in 20 starts for Double-A Akron this season. He has 101 strikeouts and 62 walks in 115 2 /3 innings. He has held opponents to a .207 batting average, which leads the Eastern League; he has given up one run or fewer in 14 of his 20 starts. He was assigned to Double-A Portland.

“It seemed liked the most logical thing to happen, given the circumstances,” Anderson said. “I’m pretty thrilled and ready for a new scene. I’m thankful for the Red Sox for every opportunity I’ve gotten. I think it’s a pretty good time for me to go to a new place.”

Red Sox GM Ben Cherington was the vice president of player personnel for the Red Sox when Anderson was drafted.

“Bittersweet,” Cherington said of the deal. “We all like Lars and have known him for a long time. We go back to signing him out of high school and it was a big decision for him to sign as opposed to going to Cal. A big part of it for him was to come to a place where he was comfortable. Just sometimes you get to a point where a fresh start is probably good and there are guys ahead of him here, obviously, on the big league roster. We hope this is a good opportunity for him and wish him well, but good for us to get a guy who has an opportunity to start.”
[Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/red-sox/post/_/id/21409/anderson-ready-for-a-new-scene]

Breslow, who turns 32 in eight days, is 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA this season has struck out 42, walked 13 and allowed five home runs in 43 1/3 innings.

“Very excited to return to Boston,” Breslow told MLB.com. “Some things have changed since my last stint, but one thing that hasn’t is the commitment to winning. I look forward to meeting new teammates, rejoining old ones and doing my part to help the organization.”

Albers, 2-0 with a 2.29 ERA in 40 outings, said the trade was unexpected and that the club he leaves behind was “definitely the most talented I’ve ever been on.”

“I have a lot of good memories from playing in Boston,” said Albers, who signed with the Sox prior to last season. “A little surprised. I really didn’t, wasn’t really expecting it. I don’t really read the trade rumors, ’cause obviously a lot of it’s just you never know whether it’s actually going to go through or not. … Nothing I can do. It’s a done deal now. I can’t think about what it was like here. It’s over with.”

Signed as a free agent, Breslow tossed 13 games for the Red Sox in 2006. He was 0-2, 3.75 ERA, in 12 innings. He stayed in the organization until the Indians claimed him off waivers in March ’08.

When Breslow teams up with fellow Yale alum, Ryan Lavarnway, it will likely be the MLB battery with the highest combined [college entrance exam] score in history, noted Red Sox announcer, Dave O’Brien on this evening’s game broadcast.

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