Red Sox Acquire Victor Martinez for Masterson, Hagadone, Price
In exchange for Martinez, the Red Sox are sending Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone and Bryan Price to Cleveland.
The deal is a success for the Red Sox in terms of hanging on to their most-valued prospects. The Red Sox were able to keep Clay Buchholz, Daniel Bard, Michael Bowden, Casey Kelly, Lars Anderson and Ryan Westmoreland. All of those players' names had come up at some point in rumors heading into the deadline.
Martinez, 30, owns a career .297 average, 103 home runs and 518 RBIs in 821 games. This year, he's hitting .284 with 15 homers and 67 RBIs.
Playing against the Red Sox in the 2007 ALCS, Martinez hit .296 with a homer and three RBIs.
The Red Sox also traded newly acquired first baseman Adam LaRoche to Atlanta in exchange for first baseman Casey Kotchman. It's not yet clear if the Red Sox, given the new logjam at first base, intend to trade Kotchman to another team.
Martinez is being paid $5.7 million this season and will be paid $7 million next season.
Masterson, 24, was called up to Boston last year, going 6-5 with a 3.16 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 88 1/3 innings. In nine postseason appearances against the Angels and Rays, he went 1-0 with a 1.86 ERA.
This season, Masterson is 3-3 with a 4.50 ERA, registering six holds and blowing one save.
Hagadone, 23, is coming off Tommy John surgery in June of 2008. This year with Single-A Greenville, he went 0-2 with a 2.52 ERA. He ranks as the Sox' third-highest prospect, according to Baseball America.
Price, a right-handed pitcher, was drafted by the Red Sox in the first round of the 2008 draft. The 22-year-old from Texas has appeared in 31 games combined for Single-A Salem, Greenville and Lowell, posting a 5-11 record and 4.42 ERA. He is not in the Sox' top 10 prospects, according to Baseball America.
The deal was originally reported by USA Today and later reported by FoxSports. Earlier, FoxSports reported that the Red Sox wouldn't send Buchholz or Bard to Cleveland in a deal.
More to come …
