Who Got The Best of the Manny Deal?

In one of yesterday's most shocking trades, the Boston Red Sox sent enigmatic left fielder Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-way trade that also involved the Pittsburgh Pirates. Boston also sent reliever Craig Hansen and outfielder Brandon Moss to Pittsburgh, who, in return, traded left fielder Jason Bay to Boston. The Dodgers gave up third baseman Andy Laroche and pitcher Bryan Morris to the Pirates. This is how the Manny trade will impact each of the three teams:

Los Angeles Dodgers: The Dodgers have instantly vaulted themselves to be the favorite to win the weak National League West. Manny Ramirez is one of the greatest right-handed hitters of all-time, and is turning in a fabulous offensive season even at the age of 36. Ramirez hit .299 with 20 home runs, and 68 RBIs for the Red Sox this season. He had a .398 OBP and a .529 SLG. He should instantly make a huge impact in a lineup that ranks 9th in the NL in batting average (.256), 13th in runs (450), 13th in OBP (.321), 15th in SLG (.376), and 14th in OPS (.697).

However, the acquisition of Manny also brings about so major question marks for the Dodgers. There are now five outfielders on the Dodgers roster that expect to be starting. Joe Torre has to find playing time for Andruw Jones and Juan Pierre without sacrificing playing time for young and talented Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier. Also, Torre must handle Ramirez well, as there is no gurantee that Manny will play hard at all. If he handles Manny wrong, the Dodgers could be in for a long last 2 months of the season. However, if Ramirez plays hard, the Dodgers have likely vaulted themselves into the playoffs.

Pittsburgh Pirates: The Pirates received four players from this trade. However, they did not receive an impact player that a team normally would acquire when the trade a player the caliber of Jason Bay. Sure, Andy Laroche will end up being a very good third baseman. But other than Laroche, the Pirates did not acquire any players that they can plug in the middle of their lineup or at the top of their rotation.

Instead, the Pirates acquired players that have very uncertain futures. Bryan Morris is a former first round pick, but is just a year removed from Tommy John Surgery. He is just 21 years old and has the potential to be a number 1 starter, but as he has already had Tommy John Surgery, there are no gurantees he will be able to stay healthy. This season in Single-A, Morris is 2-4 with 72 strikeouts in 81.2 innings, a 1.29 WHIP, and a 3.20 ERA. He could end up being a key member of the Pirates rotation in a few years, but he has just as good a chance of never living up to his potential. He has plenty of upside, but is a very risky prospect.

Craig Hansen is also a former number 1 pick that has struggled in his time in the Major Leagues. This season, Hansen is 1-3 with a 5.58 ERA, a 1.70 WHIP, and 25 strikeouts in 30.2 innings. When he was drafted, he was supposed to be the closer of the future for the Red Sox. He has never lived up to those expectations, but will be given another chance in Pittsburgh. He could end up being their closer if all goes well, but those chances are very slim.

The final player Pittsburgh acquired was outfielder Brandon Moss. Moss could be an average starting outfielder in the Major Leagues. In part-time duty this season, Moss was hitting .295 with a .337 OBP, a .462 SLG, 2 home runs, and 11 RBIs. He is not the type of player that can replace Jason Bay, and likely will end up being a fourth outfielder in Pittsburgh.

Overall, the Pirates likely acquired a solid starting third baseman, a future starter, a fourth outfielder, and an average reliever. They did not receive any sure-fire impact players to replace their only star, Jason Bay. In this trade, they went for quantity instead of quality in an effort to add depth to their farm system.

Boston Red Sox: The Red Sox gave up a lot to get Jason Bay. Jason Bay is a really good player, but he is no Manny Ramirez. The Red Sox will sorely miss Manny's presence in the lineup. He was a game-changer, and provided protection for David Ortiz as part of baseball best 3-4 combination. Now, teams can afford to pitch around Ortiz more because there is no hitter behind him that is of the same caliber as that of Manny Ramirez.

On the other hand, this trade is addition by subtraction for Boston. The Red Sox get rid of his awful attitude in an otherwise united clubhouse. The Red Sox improve themselves defensively as well. And even though Jason Bay doesn't make pitchers sick to their stomach when he steps up to the plate like Manny Ramirez does, he is still a solid hitter and will always give 110%. Bay hit .282 with a .375 OBP, a .519 SLG, 22 home runs, and 64 RBI.

This trade is similar to the one made by Red Sox GM Theo Epstein in 2004 when he traded away a popular icon in Nomar Garciaparra. Garciaparra was a cancer in another united clubhouse and trading him away allowed the Red Sox to focus on their goal and win the team's first World Series championship since 1918. This year's Red Sox are hoping that trading away Ramirez, who was very detrimental to the team's attitude, will allow them to focus on their goal of defending their World Series Championship. They have good reason to believe they will be playing for a lot in October.