Yesss... The Sox may have been the bridesmaid on the Gio Gonzalez deal, but they put together the right compliment of players to acquire closer Andrew Bailey from the Oakland A's, as well as Ryan Sweeney. The Sox give up Josh Reddick & 2 minor leaguers in the 3 for 2 deal.
Getting Bailey is a huge feather in Cherington's cap & has to be viewed as his best signing to date. The 27 year old closer is under control for several more years & gives the Sox much needed flexibility with Aceves & Bard.
With Melancon & Bailey at the back-end of the bullpen now the Sox could try both Bard & Aceves in the #4 & #5 spots in the starting rotation, leaving Bobby Jenks & Frank Morales to compete for the 7th inning job.
As Peter Gammons says, the Rays success has been predicated upon the number of innings pitched by their starters. More innings by starters equates to less innings by the bullpen. Less bullpen innings means you don't need to have the best guys out there since you can switch them up every batter or two as necessary to get a favorable matchup. The Sox bullpen pitched way too many innings last year.
This trade for Andrew Bailey is huge for the 2012 Red Sox. I'm getting ready for Spring Training now.
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