« Another 1-0 game! | Main | Brady Clark signed; Ellsbury on DL »
History lesson?
According to various reports, baseball’s trade deadline marketplace appears to be a seller’s dream, with many more teams looking to acquire Major League talent than are trying to give it up.
What does that mean for the Red Sox? That remains to be seen as we tick down the final days before the July 31 deadline. But if the last two seasons are any indication, the Sox could be running into prohibitively steep prices as they shop for a deadline addition.
The last big deadline move by the Red Sox came in 2004, when Theo Epstein traded Nomar Garciaparra in a blockbuster that ultimately resulted in the team’s first championship in 86 years. Over the last two seasons, the Sox have been relatively quiet, ultimately deciding that prices were too high.
After last year’s deadline, Epstein talked of not wanting to give up prospects for a short-term fix.
``We have a long-term plan, and as much as we desperately wanted to do something to help our big-league team, it would have been shortsighted to sacrifice that long-term plan in order to incrementally increase our chances this year,” Epstein said last July 31.
``We were asked over and over again for a lot of our good young players -- good young players at the Major League level who are part of our long-term plan -- and it just wasn't worth it.
In 2005, the Sox appeared very close to dealing away Manny Ramirez at the deadline (you might remember his famous “Manny being Manny” quote after delivering a game-winning hit on July 31), but again ultimately did not pull the trigger on a blockbuster (they did deal for Alex Cora and Chad Bradford). In answering questions after that deadline passed, Epstein said that potential trading partners were asking for the team’s top prospects.
''I think it was the ultimate sellers' market," Epstein said at the time, ''and if you're a buyer and you're in the ultimate sellers' market, it's hard to make a fair deal. It's hard to make a deal that doesn't hurt you more than helps you.
''I kind of liken it to if you need a carton of milk and put five bucks in your pocket and go to the store to get some milk, and all of a sudden milk is 100 bucks, you may walk out of that store without some milk. That's what we did."
This time around, with the Sox farm system stocked with nearly Major League-ready talent like Jacoby Ellsbury and Clay Buchholz, Epstein will probably be faced with a similar dilemma.
What do you think he should do: Protect the kids at all costs or deal away a valuable chip in the pursuit of a championship in 2007? Cast your vote here.
For the latest trade deadline rumors, check out The Buzz.
