Boston Going Gonzo: Adrian Gonzalez Traded to Boston Red Sox

Boston Going Gonzo: Adrian Gonzalez Traded to Boston Red Sox

Ryan Kelley
12/5/10
8:44 PM EST

Although no deal has been officially announced, numerous reports indicate that All Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez will be traded to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for a package of top prospects that includes pitcher Casey Kelly first baseman Anthony Rizzo, outfielder Reymond Fuentes and one other mid-range prospect-- possibly pitcher Drake Britton.

Early Sunday afternoon, Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman reported (via Twitter) that a deal between the Red Sox and Padres for Adrian Gonzalez had fallen through; just hours later he reported that a deal was being finalized between the two teams. Heyman also stated that a press conference announcing the trade is scheduled for tomorrow.

With the acquisition of Gonzalez, Boston will likely leave the running for former Phillies outfielder, Jason Werth, and will move to sign their new slugger to a more lucrative new contract. This could also mean that Adrian Beltre’s time in Boston is over, and that Kevin Youkilis will move from first base back to the hot corner next season.

Casey Kelly was Boston’s top pick—drafted 30th overall—in the 2008 MLB Amateur Draft. Drafted as a two-way player, Kelly had spent much of his first two professional seasons playing both shortstop and pitcher, but was eventually moved to full time duty on the mound. Once he focused solely on pitching, Kelly’s stock exploded as he blew South Atlantic and Carolina League hitters away with his plus command and impressive repertoire. However, last season, as one of the youngest pitchers in the Eastern League, Kelly struggled and attracted some questions about his fastball velocity and his eventual ceiling.

Despite his struggles last year, Kelly is still viewed as an eventual above-average starting pitcher in the MLB. This past November, Baseball America rated Kelly as Boston’s top prospect heading in to 2011 season.

Reymond Fuentes and Anthony Rizzo are both mid-range prospects with much less projection. Rizzo, the better of the two, won Boston’s Minor League Player of the Year Award (along with catcher Ryan Lavarnway) and could eventually become a solid player in the MLB. His power was rated by Baseball America as the best in Boston’s system for 2011.

Fuentes has plus speed and stole 42 bases in the South Atlantic League in 2010. While he is still very raw in terms of development, Baseball America ranked him as Boston’s 6th best prosect for 2011.

The addition of Adrian Gonzalez will give the Red Sox much needed power in the heart of their batting order. While David Ortiz, the teams’ clean-up hitter and top power source since 2003, showed some resurgence last year after a disappointing 2009 season, his numbers have sharply declined since his years on the MVP ballot (2004-2007).

The addition of Gonzalez, whom has been the National League All Star Team’s starting first basemen for the past three years, will also help to fill the void left by the departures of Adrian Beltre and Victor Martinez. A former number one overall pick (2000), Gonzalez has a career .875 OPS and has won two Gold Gloves at first base. Still only 28 years old, he is considered to be one of the top players in baseball and he finished forth in MVP balloting this past November.