Manny to LA, Bay to Boston

That was fun, but I'm very thankful it only happens once a year. A breakdown of the big trade from the perspective of each team:

Red Sox
Get: OF Jason Bay
Give up: OFs Manny Ramirez and Brandon Moss, RP Craig Hansen, $7MM

Boston's end of the trade is difficult to quantify, since we don't know what kind of production--or effort--Ramirez would have given the Red Sox down the stretch. What we do know is that Manny's bat, giving 100%, is slightly better than Bay's at this point. The defense is tough to gauge, since Ramirez has "learned" how to play the wall in Boston over the years, but Bay is certainly an upgrade there. So they're not losing much, if anything, in that portion of the deal.

They also get an extra season out of Bay, but at a cost. They'll pay Bay just $7.5MM in 2009, which is a great value. But that doesn't tell the whole story, since they'll have to pay all of Ramirez's remaining salary. If you think about it as paying $14.5MM for Bay next year--which seems like a reasonable estimate of how much he's worth--then it makes sense.

In Moss, they give up a guy who probably wouldn't have developed into a starting outfielder for them. And Hansen has been a huge disappointment since they drafted him in the first round of the '05 draft--he's walked 23 in 30.2 innings this year, with a 5.58 ERA.

The Red Sox had two things they needed to do before 4pm this afternoon--trade Ramirez for an immediate replacement, and upgrade the bullpen. They've done the former, but they traded a reliever rather than acquiring one. A lot of attention will be paid to Manny's replacement in left, but Boston's playoff hopes may rest on whether their their bullpen can hold things together in front of Papelbon.

Dodgers
Get: OF Manny Ramirez, $7MM
Give up: 3B Andy LaRoche, RHP Bryan Morris

Peter Abraham is also reporting that Manny has agreed for the two team options to be removed, and will decline arbitration. So you can add two draft picks to their haul.

LaRoche was destined to end up somewhere else, as the Dodgers just never gave him a chance. That doesn't mean he's without value though, as he could be a very good third baseman, with an excellent OBP, for years to come. Morris had Tommy John surgery last year, but is still just 21 and has a 72:32 K:BB ratio, with only five home runs allowed, in 81.2 single-A innings. The two draft picks have value, but the guys they're giving up are worth significantly more.

Of course, it's not a two-for-two swap; they get two months of Manuel Aristides Ramirez. If they play it right, and Manny is taking playing time from Pierre/Jones, that's a huge upgrade, even with his defense. I like this trade for the Dodgers, especially since they don't have to pay any of Ramirez's salary.

Pirates
Get: 3B Andy LaRoche, OF Brandon Moss, RHPs Craig Hansen and Bryan Morris
Give up: OF Jason Bay

All four prospects have been covered above, one way or another. Assuming the choices were doing this or getting Brignac/Niemann from Tampa--and who knows, really--then Pittsburgh looks to have made the right choice here. LaRoche immediately becomes their starting third baseman*, and Moss can replace Bay in left. Hansen may be a mess at the moment, but I'd think he still has the potential to be a late inning reliever. And Morris is far away, but could end up in their rotation in a couple years.

It's better than Tampa's offer, and it's probably better than what they could've gotten if they waited until the offseason. Doesn't seem like you could ask for much else from the Pirates' perspective.

*Mientkiewicz has played 27 games at 3B for them? Seriously? I have no idea how I missed this.