Yo Adrian! Red Sox Welcome Gonzalez to Boston

Back in December 2008, the Red Sox thought they had done it. They thought that their 8 year, $170 million dollar contract proposal would be enough to woo the biggest 1B slgugger on the market to Fenway Park. They didn't think that any other team would come in at the eleventh hour and top that offer, not even the New York Yankees (or as Larry Lucchino refers to them, the "Evil Empire"). The player they sought, Mark Teixeira, would be a cornerstone of the franchise for the better part of the next decade, filling the void in the middle of the lineup after Manny Ramirez's unceremonious departure in July of that year. Red Sox fans began to get big dreams with Teixeira in the middle of the order....

One can hope Gonzalez makes us forget Teixeira's status as "the one that got away".

Of course, we know how that one turned out. Tex would indeed sign in the Bronx for an offer not all that larger than Boston's, at 8 years, $180 million. There has been a great deal of controversy over how exactly the Sox let Tex get away. Some say his agent, Scott Boras, didn't bother telling the Red Sox of the Yankees rebuttal. It's also been said that owner John Henry put the kibosh on the signing, refusing to go upwards of $10 million more to deliver Teixeira to Boston.  We may never know exactly how it all went down.

But today, nearly two years after the Teixeira debacle, the Red Sox have found themselves a franchise cornerstone at 1st base. And he just might be, dare we say it, better than Mark Teixeira to begin with. Adrian Gonzalez now plays for the Boston Red Sox.

Believe it or not, this will be Gonzalez's 4th different organization in his career. After being drafted with the no. 1 overall pick in the 2000 draft by the Marlins, he was traded to Texas in 2003 for--wait for it--closer Uggie Urbina, who helped the Marlins win the World Series that year but currently is serving time in a luxurious Venezuelan prison for attempted murder. Draw your own conclusions on that one.

A "luxurious" prison is a purely subjective statement. Urbina will be 47 when he's released from prison.

While Gonzalez put up solid numbers in the minors while playing in the Texas farm system, the Ragners had no place for Gonzalez down the line. He was being blocked at 1B, ironically, by Mark Teixeira. So the Rangers dealt him to the Padres after the 2005 season in a multi-player deal.

It is in San Diego where Gonzalez blossomed into a star. During 5 seasons with the Padres, Gonzalez belted 161 home runs, with 525 runs batted in, all while compiling a .284/.368/.507 line (batting average, on-base, slugging). Including his limited time in Texas, Gonzalez has averaged 32 home runs and 99 RBI per season over the course of his career. To bot, Gonzalez has also won 2 gold glove awards in his career ('08, '09), and recently finished 4th in the NL MVP vote.

With limited financial resources, the Padres had no choice but to explore trading Gonzalez before his contract expired so as to get something substantial for him. His performance had priced him out of San Diego's payroll plans for the future,--they ranked 29th out of 30 teams last year--, so once they realized signing him to a long-term extension was not an option, Gonzalez went on the market. Rumors of the Red Sox interest in Gonzo date back to last winter, but the Padres were hesitant to deal him at that point with fears of alienating the fan base. After surprisingly contending in the NL West last season, where they weren't eliminated from post-season contention until the season's final day, the Red Sox feared that the Padres would be less willing to deal Gonzalez, and rather try to give it one more shot to win with him next season and taking draft picks as compensation after the season.

Gonzalez considers playing in Boston "a second dream".

Ultimately, the Red Sox were the perfect trade partner for the Padres. San Diego GM Jed Hoyer was previously employed by the Red Sox, thus possessing a great knowledge of their farm system. As mentioned earlier, the Sox have been searching for that thumper in the middle of the order since Manny's departure, and as a big market team, the Red Sox can afford to pay Gonzalez the bills he'll want. And after the trouble with Teixeira, team Theo knew that he had the perfect opportunity to atone for the sins of letting Tex slip away. It just made the most sense.

With Gonzalez in the fold, it looks as though Adrian Beltre is officially a goner, as Kevin Youkilis will slide back across the diamond to play 3B to accommodate Gonzalez. If the Red Sox decide to stand pat, their lineup should look something like this in April:

CF Ellsbury

2B Pedroia

1B Gonzalez

3B Youkilis

DH Ortiz

RF Drew

LF Cameron

C Saltalamacchia/Varitek

SS Scutaro/Lowrie

Nothing against Mike Cameron, who's had a fine career, but Boston would be wise to find someone else to man the Green Monster next season. With Jayson Werth off the market in a hilariously bad deal with Washington (7 years, $126 million to a 31 year old who's only been an everyday player for 3 years), do the Red Sox turn their efforts to Carl Crawford? Or do they take a flier on a lesser free agent still available, such as Magglio Ordonez? Do they do the unthinkable and bring back Johnny Damon or Manny Ramirez? Maybe take a flier on someone via trade, such as Carlos Beltran? It's all pure speculation, but I wouldn't bet on Cameron being the opening day left fielder in 2011.

It warrants mentioning that the Red Sox did give away a great amount of talent in this deal. In Casey Kelly and Anthony Rizzo, Boston dealt away two of its top three prospects, not to mention 19 year old Raymond Fuentes, ranked 16th in the Boston organization. That being said, when you have the chance to add a franchise bat and glove for (hopefully) the next 7-10 years, you have to do it, regardless of the price tag. Expect a contract extension to be worked out with Gonzalez at some point over the remainder of the winter.

Add it all up, this is perhaps Theo's finest trade since acquiring Curt Schilling from Arizona over Thanksgiving, 2003. Will it result in a subsequent World Series title? Stay tuned. There's plenty left for Boston to accomplish this off-season.

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And about that football game tonight. Patriots don't lose to Jets twice in a season. Period. Especially at home, where Tom Brady hasn't lost a game since I only had my learner's permit to drive. Patriots 24, Jets 14.