Emergency Alert: Adrian Gonzalez Deal Near Completion

You can only imagine how joyful I felt when I woke up this morning, hopped on my computer after a refreshing shower, and saw the headline: "Red Sox, Padres Agree to Adrian Gonzalez Trade" right up there on mlbtraderumors.com! Finally, after practically a year of waiting, the Red Sox have come the closest they ever have to acquiring the Padre's premier and perennial superstar.  Gonzalez is an actual angelic offensive presence on the field, a superstar first baseman who will likely provide the greatest spark to the offense the Red Sox have seen since having a young David Ortiz or a young Manny Ramirez in the lineup.  In 2010, Gonzalez batted a superlative .298, backing that up with 31 homers and 101 RBIs, as well as sporting a .393 OBP and a .511 slugging percentage.  He hit 33 doubles and had 176 hits, while drawing 93 walks and striking out 114 times.  As another huge positive, Gonzalez collected a .995 fielding percentage in 2010 at first base, and won the Golden Glove there in 2009.

I suppose this is the second coming of Jason Bay to the Red Sox; a slugger who provides immediate and needed help to a slowing offensive attack.  This trade could be announced later TODAY, and I'm thinking of either having my birthday party being Adrian Gonzalez-themed, or going down to Fenway and chanting "Thank you Theo" for hours upon hours.

Now it's time to talk about what the beloved Red Sox would lose in this impending trade.  Thankfully, it isn't Daniel Bard or Jacoby Ellsbury, or even Jed Lowrie.  The package, according to mlbtraderumors.com, is likely made up of Casey Kelly and Anthony Rizzo, superstar prospects.  It will likely be composed of 4 or 5 minor leaguers, so the Red sox will boast a lineup with Ellsbury and Gonzalez, and have a bullpen with Bard, and also have a bench with Lowrie! Now the Red Sox can intensify their run at Carl Crawford, moving Ellsbury back to center as sources say they will.  This team will be absolutely amazing, with or without Crawford, and playoff dreams will return to Boston.

My only concern about this trade is that Gonzalez may not be signed to an extension after the 2011 season, and the Red Sox may end up with one year of him for 4 of their best prospects.  However, they may be able to sign him to an extension after the deal, or within the deal, as was done with Roy Halladay in the 2009 offseason.  I am very confident about the success of this trade; hallelujah rings around Boston right now, for Adrian is actually in the city right now!

Cheers!



Information, headline, statistics sourced from mlbtraderumors.com and espn.com