The Los Angeles Dodgers aren't fucking around. Just weeks after snatching budding star Hanley Ramirez from the Miami Marlins, they've just claimed Boston's two best players off waivers in first basemen Adrian Gonzalez and starting pitcher Josh Beckett. The Dodgers are trying to get a deal done that would bring Beckett, Gonzalez, utility player Nick Punto and outfielder Carl Crawford to LA in exchange for a shitload of propects—Crawford is having Tommy John surgery on his elbow and will be out for the rest of the season. They have until the August 31 waiver deadline to get a deal done or the players involved will stay in put. If the Dodgers go through with this, they'll be bringing in a staggering $253 million in salary. The Red Sox do reserve the right to pull Beckett's and Gonzalez's contracts back, but that doesn't seem likely.
This is a sudden change of heart for Boston. They'll be trading away Gonzalez and Crawford, two key free agent signings of the last two years, and admitting failure. Beckett, on the other hand, has been struggling all year with a 5-11 record and a 5.23 ERA. The Red Sox have been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately and are looking to clean house.
Wouldn't it be easier to just fire the manager?
[via Sports Illustrated]
