Old Time Family Baseball

(Photo by Stacy Lucier)

Had to squeeze in the alliteration. I haven’t hijacked a Wednesday with Red Sox posts in some time, so bear with me here. Boston picked up closer Andrew Bailey and Ryan Sweeney from Oakland in exchange for right fielder Josh Reddick, Single A first baseman Miles Head, and Single A right-hander Raul Alcantara. I don’t know much about either minor leaguer. From what I’ve read, they’ve both flashed some nice numbers but are still a few years away from the majors.

Ben Cherington has made a smart move here, shoring up the bullpen and appeasing Red Sox fans who called for blood once the team let Jonathan Papelbon sign with the Phillies. Bailey is a former Rookie of the Year, 27 years old, and under team control through 2014. In giving up Josh Reddick, who looks more like his ceiling is “solid every-day player,” as the centerpiece, Boston avoided further depleting a prospect system that really couldn’t afford to take a hit after last season’s trade for Adrian Gonzalez. Bailey’s injury concerns surely drove his price down, and he’s definitely worth taking a chance on with a career WHIP of 0.95 and career ERA of 2.07.

As for the Sweenster? I doubt Cherington is comfortable putting him in a position that gave the Red Sox so little last year in terms of offense. But he’ll hit for a higher average and get on base at a higher clip that Reddick. And Bill James has him hitting a whopping four home runs in 2012, so there’s that.