October 23rd, 2013 at 6:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka There is little argument that last years blockbuster 9-player trade between the Dodgers and Red Sox remains one of the biggest trades in recent history, if not ever. The trade, seen as a huge salary dump by the Red Sox and a major acquisition of all-star caliber players by the Dodgers, was clearly a win-win situation for both teams and played a huge role in their respective 2013 seasons.
The money that the Red Sox saved in their blockbuster trade with the Dodgers allowed them to sign several key free agents and re-sign several of their franchise players, including David Ortiz. (Photo credit – Greg M. Cooper)
But when all is said and done, who got the better end of the deal?
The way I see it, there are two very distinctive yet two very different aspects to the trade.
The first aspect is that the Red Sox were able to unload a mind-boggling $262.5 million in payroll that they had tied up in Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto, all of whom (except Punto) were considered disappointments and even malcontents by the team and the fans alike. Dumping this much money allowed the Red Sox to go out and sign several big name free agents such as Jake Peavy, Ryan Dempster and Shane Victorino, and to re-sign several of their franchise players such as Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz; while also receiving James Loney, Ivan DeJesus Jr., Rubby De La Rosa, Allen Webster and Jerry Sands from the Dodgers. And how did this work out for the nine players involved in the trade?
Red Sox:
- James Loney was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays where he had the best year of his 8-year MLB career hitting .299 with 13 home runs and 75 RBIs in 158 games and is a strong candidate to win a Gold Glove.
- Ivan DeJesus Jr. was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates where he never made it above the Triple-A level.
- Rubby De La Rosa appeared in 11 games for the Red Sox, all as a reliever, and went 0-2 with a 5.56 ERA. He spent most of the 2013 season with the Triple-A Pawtuckett Red Sox.
- Allen Webster appeared in 8 games for the Red Sox (7 starts) and went 1-2 with an 8.60 ERA. He spent most of the 2013 season with the Triple-A Pawtuckett Red Sox.
- Jerry Sands was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates where he never made it above the Triple-A level.
Dodgers:
- Adrian Gonzalez hit .293 with 22 home runs and 100 RBIs in 157 games.
- Carl Crawford hit .283 with 6 home runs and 36 RBIs in 116 games.
- Josh Beckett started 8 games for the Dodgers going 0-5 with a 5.19 ERA. He underwent surgery in which he had a rib removed to help treat a condition known as thoracic outlet syndrome. He is expected to be fully recovered in time for spring training 2014.
- Nick Punto hit .255 with 2 home runs and 21 RBI’s in 116 games and is now a free agent.
Although they paid dearly for it, it’s hard to argue that the Dodgers didn’t come out ahead in last year’s blockbuster trade with the Red Sox. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
Every indication is that the Dodgers came out ahead in the deal – way ahead, in fact.
…which brings us to the second and painful aspect of the trade.
The Red Sox are in the World Series and the Dodgers are not.
Posted in 
@Think_BlueLA looks like none of the dodger players are in the Red Sox roster… Bosox!
Great point, Ron. Really the only thing Boston did was shed salary. It only allowed them to keep good players that were resigning and pick up a few free agents (Victorino is still just irritating to me, so good luck with him in the long run).
Always rooted for Jerry Sands and loved Rubby’s electric stuff when he came up to the Dodgers. Webster, once a highly touted prospect, looks like a total disappointment for the Red Sox. It shows how difficult it is to gauge talent that will work on the MLB level.
My eldest son and I always decide together who we are going to root for in the World Series (my son is only 9 so no recent opportunities for the Dodgers!). My brother and his family are all Cardinal fans and be attending the games in STL. My son calculated quite quickly that he would go for Boston — as he said the Cardinals hurt Hanley and made fun of Puig. That was enough for him. It was a pretty good summary.
It looks to me the Red Sox got the better end of the deal because they won the American League Pennant and possibly the World Series. The Dodgers fell two games short of the World Series.
Whether it was because of the blockbuster trade or not, is hard for me to tell.
But this is just as far as 2013 is concerned, because I feel that the trade could still help the Dodgers in the future.
I think the answer to that question will come down the road a bit. Right now – 2013 – it is the Red Sox(last to first) as they have a chance to win the WS and the Dodgers don’t.
Check again in three/four years for the final answer. I say three/four years as the acquired Dodgers are getting older with longer contracts and after that production may fall off. We also don’t know if Rubby and Allen Webster become what we hoped they would. We should know in three years as they will be 27 and 26 respectively at that time. I still hope they are good.
The Red Sox got more than a few players. They got to revamp their roster and added small ball guys like – Mike Napoli, Koji Uehara, Stephen Drew, Johnny Gomes along with Peavy, Victorino and Dempster. The four little guys all made VG contributions. I would say excellent work by their GM for those acquisitions. The Red Sox got basically 7 players for 4 as they could sign 7 for almost the exact amounts of the contracts of Adrian, Nick, Josh and Carl.
The Red Sox have freed up money down the road. Committed money for them now is $110M in 2014, $41M in 2015 and $13M in 2016. Dodgers committed money is $163M next year (without Clayton factored in or Guerrero), $122 for each of following three years, again without Clayton and Alexander.
IMO, and as noted above, it was a win win situation. The Dodgers for the players they got and the numbers they represented the 2013 and Boston for the team they were ultimitly able to develop from the salary dump. Different Leagues, different managements and different locations created different needs. Both got what they were looking for.
Who made more money?
Obviously this has worked well for both teams. Who did better? Does it really matter? Neither team would take the trade back. The Dodgers lead all of MLB in attendance, both on the road and at home. They were one horrible slide and one fastball to the ribs away from mopping the field with the St. Louis Cardinals.
I’m happy with it. And in my recliner, that’s all that really matters.
I, too, am happy with it, RC – and in the long run I believe that it was a trade that will lead to several return trips to the post season for the Dodgers. And while the actual personnel moves to the Red Sox may not have made a difference for them, the salary dump certainly did.
I’m sorry – I tried to answer the question. I didn’t know it was rhetorical? LOL. Anyway – what does Gary know about it? I expect wait 3/4 years is a pretty good political answer, eh!
I don’t think we’ll have to wait 3 or 4 years to see, Harold – I think the results will be seen in 2014. As you know, I don’t do well with that WJHTWAS thing.
I do Ron for a full assessment of the trade. That is, what happens in 2014, 2015, 2016 with the Dodgers? Three rings, 2, 1, none, etc. What happens with Allen and Rubby – two strong pitchers, nothing, etc. The Dodgers made this deal for long term stability so we will see down the road how that worked.
Oh Harold your just pissed because my crystal ball knows more then your’s
I have the ultimate weapon. Don’t get yourself in a jam, eh!
Speaking of jam – thanks, Harold!
Great discussion! One element that has not been broached is Farrell as the first year manager. The guy is not flashy but as a manager he is good. Getting rid of Valentine was the best move this team made.
Farrell is like Mattingly, in his third year. I watched him as Blue Jay manager for two years. Before being Blue Jay manager he was a pitching coach in Boston. Prior to that he served as Cleveland’s director of player development. Like Mattingly he seems to be a player’s manager.
Great point bigbluebird.
Farrell’s background makes him a far more experienced manager than Mattingly – and it is blatantly obvious.
I based my answer above on 2013 results but maybe I was shortsided, so let me say that, I agree with those of you who say that both teams benefited from the trade as the Dodgers are a far better team now than before it was made.