Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Great Salary Dump of 2012
August 25, 2012. As the news dropped, I think everyone’s jaws dropped along with it. The Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers made a trade, and, boy oh boy, what a trade it was!
The deal was as follows: Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, Adrián González, Nick Punto and cash to the Los Angeles Dodgers while the Boston Red Sox receive Iván De Jesús, James Loney, Allen Webster, and players to be named later. The Dodgers then sent Rubby De La Rosa and Jerry Sands to complete the trade.
Boston was in the middle of a very successful run by 2012. The Red Sox finally got their World Series title in 2004 after 86 years and scored another one for good measure in 2007. They had the personnel in place … a great group of guys who could turn in multiple runs of success, but something went horribly wrong. They blew a nine-game lead for the Wild Card spot in 2011 and decided Terry Francona was no longer the person they wanted in charge moving forward, so in comes Bobby Valentine. I think you could hear the collective head scratch on that signing throughout Boston. Valentine wasn’t known for his great relationship with players, coaches, or the media. The Red Sox brass must have thought having a player’s manager wasn’t what they have in mind when it comes to success, even though Francona’s two rings might have something to say about that.
In Boston, 2012 was just a disaster on many levels. Well publicized off the field incidents, poor play on the field, just a whole host of errors that lead them to a last-place finish.
So who won the 2012 trade between the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers?
The answer is simple: The Red Sox got their third title the next year. Dumping salary and players who were lackluster (to say the least) were jettisoned for a team. A group of guys who could play as a cohesive unit. If you give anyone that decision, you’re going to get a correct answer 100 out of 100 times, but let’s look at the players who went back and forth. Was there anything the Red Sox got in players that helped? How about the Dodgers?
For the Dodgers…
Josh Beckett: After the trade, he did pitch well for the rest of the season (2-3 with a 2.93 ERA) but injuries robbed him of most of 2013 and 2014, although he did pitch a no-hitter against the Phillies on May 25, 2014. He retired after that year. I would say that’s pretty much a bust.
Carl Crawford: Looking at his 2013 and 2014, it looks like Crawford revitalized his career a bit (averages of .283 and .300 respectively) although his absolutely scary speed seemed to be a memory at that point. 2015 and 2016 were forgettable, but those first two seasons weren’t all that bad. Can’t really call this one a bust on the stats, but that salary … yikes!
Adrián González: 100 percent the best piece in the deal. He had some really nice seasons in L.A. and got some hardware: A Silver Slugger, A Gold Glove, an RBI title and another All-Star berth. I think three years of 20+ HR and four years of 90+ RBI is a win in anyone’s book.
Nick Punto: I don’t think anyone was expecting much here, since Punto was a spare part. Was great at walk-off celebrations. They called him “The Shredder.”
The Dodgers as a whole started a run of eight straight divisional titles, so nothing really hurt them.
Now it’s time for the Red Sox:
Iván De Jesús: This one is easy. 8 ABs, 0 hits, struck out in six of those at-bats. Bust times 1000. Side note: They did get Brock Holt for him in a trade later that year, so I’ll take that.
James Loney: You just knew he wasn’t staying at the time of the trade and that was correct. 100 at-bats and left via free agency.
Allen Webster: Almost feel bad to post any of his stats. How about just one? ERA+ of 48 in 2013. Says enough.
Rubby De La Rosa: 4-10 with Boston in two seasons, easy one. Bust. Did win 14 games in Arizona in his only good season (2015).
Jerry Sands: Never played a game in Boston.
It’s so obvious that money was the central point in this trade. Salary relief allowed the Sox to have that magical 2013. Aside from González, there was not a single player involved that really made a huge contribution for his new team.