A trade can make or break a GM’s career and they are made for all types of reasons. Some are straight salary dumps, some are meant to boost clubhouse morale and some hopefully improve the rotation. Whatever the reason, a trade is made with the idea that it will improve your club.
So, as we sit here looking at the mounds of snow, we figured we’d take a look at the top nine trades made during the Theo Epstein ERA:
1. November 28, 2003
The Red Sox send Casey Fossum, Brandon Lyon, Jorge de la Rosa, and Michael Gross to the Diamondbacks for Curt Schilling.
One of the biggest trades in Red Sox history. Schilling came to the Sox and instantly made them a favorite. Schilling’s herorics in the 2004 post season are the stuff of legend and Red Sox Nation will forever remember the bloody sock and the gritty performance he turned in during game 6 of the 2004 ALCS where he held the mighty Yankees to 1 run over 7 innings playing on one leg.
2. July 31, 2009
The Red Sox send Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone and Bryan Price to the Indians for Victor Martinez.
Good hitting catchers are a rarity in major league baseball and V-Mart was a good return on investment. The Sox gave up little to make this happen. Masterson is a good young pitcher, but he had no future with the Sox. His value was better served as a trading chip and the Sox capitalized on it.
3. & 4.
July 31, 2004 ( A date which will live in infamy)
In a three team deal, the Red Sox send Nomar Garciaparra and Matt Murton to the Cubs and receive Orlando Cabrera from the Expos and Doug Mientkiewicz from the Twins.
A trade that showed everyone that Theo Epstein will do anything to win. Nomar had been the face of the franchise for years, but was clearly on his way out in 2004. Theo was able to flip whatever value he had left for two pieces the club desperately needed to strengthen itself and make a post season run. Nomar was never the same after the trade bouncing around the league spending more time in the trainers room than on the field.
The Red Sox send Henri Stanley to the Dodgers for Dave Roberts.
Roberts was acquired literally minutes before the trade deadline and was just seen as a minor move as everyone was still dissecting the Nomar trade. Roberts will be forever known for one of the greatest plays in Red Sox history. Entering the game after Kevin Millar worked a walk in the 9th inning of the 2004 ALCS, with the Sox down 3-0, Roberts did something everyone knew he was going to do. Roberts stole second and eventually scored on Bill Mueller’s single and the rest is history. Stanley made it as far as AAA, but was out of baseball after 2005. Side note: This move happened only because the Dodgers had acquired Steve Finley earlier making Roberts expendable.
5. July 31, 2008
In a three team trade, the Red Sox send Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers, Craig Hansen and Brandon Moss to the Pirates and in return receive Jason Bay from the Pirates.
The move had to be made as the Manny being Manny show was beginning to have a negative impact on the club. The Dodgers essentially got Manny for nothing and the Red Sox could not have been happier. Bay was decent for the Sox, but this trade was more about addition by subtraction.
6. February 15, 2003
The Red Sox send cash to the Marlins for Kevin Millar.
An inspirational leader of “The Idiots” for sure. Millar was a decent/average first baseman for the Marlins and rose to fame during his three years with the Sox. Millar hit .282, 52 HR’s and 550 RBI’s during his time with the Sox, but will be most remembered for the 5 pitch walk he drew against Mariano Rivera in the 2004 ALCS. The “Cowboy Up” slogan and the rally karaoke guy movement of 2003 are a close second and third.
7. January 27, 2006
The Red Sox send Andy Marte, Kelly Shoppach, Guillermo Mota and Randy Newsom to the Indians for Coco Crisp, Josh Bard and David Riske.
A trade of epic proportions at the time turned out to be much less as time went on. Crisp was meant to replace Damon in center and did a fine job defensively, however, he could never get it going at the plate and eventually was traded due to the emergence of Jacoby Ellsbury. Marte was a big time prospect, but never lived up to his potential, Shoppach was decent but not spectacular and Mota was injured for most of his stint with the Tribe. All in all, the Sox got a decent return considering what they gave up.
8. December 12, 2002
The Red Sox send Josh Thigpen and Tony Blanco to the Reds for Todd Walker.
Theo’s first trade as GM of the Red Sox. A classic example of turning nothing into something. Thigpen never made it to the majors and Blanco had a seven game cup of coffee with the Nationals in 2005. Walker hit .280, 13 homeruns and 85 RBI’s as the teams’s starting second baseman. Walker ended his only season in Boston by hittng .370 and 2 HR’s in the 2003 ALCS against the Yankees.
9. July 7, 2005
The Red Sox send Ramon Vazquez to the Indians for Alex Cora.
On paper this was just really a swap of light hitting middle infielders. However, Cora brought much more to the table with his ability to play multiple positions and serve as an on the field manager for Terry Francona.
Note: The Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, Hanley Ramirez trade would rank high on the list but it was actually made by Jed Hoyer and Ben Cherington following Theo Epstein’s resignation after the 2005 season.
So let us know what you think, would you rank anything differently, move the order, add something we did not? Let us know.