Closing time by Jared Carrabis
Red Sox acquire closer Andrew Bailey from A's in exchange for Josh Reddick, prospects


You should probably be over your Jonathan Papelbon blues by now, but if not, this trade should do the trick.

After weeks of discussions, the Red Sox have finally acquired their replacement for Papelbon in the closer's role by sending a package that includes outfielder Josh Reddick to the Oakland A's in exchange for right-hander, Andrew Bailey.

While many had been campaigning for the Red Sox to sign former Phillies closer Ryan Madson to a deal that likely would have cost Boston upwards of $40+ million, Ben Cherington trades for a closer that will be under team control at an affordable rate through the 2014 season.

Bailey is eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason, and will likely be awarded somewhere between $3-5M, a considerable increase from the $465,000 that Oakland was responsible for paying the closer last season.

In Bailey, the Red Sox get a battle-tested closer who, when healthy, is among the most effective relievers in baseball. In his Rookie of the Year season of 2009, Bailey posted a mark of 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings, while issuing just 24 walks in 83.1 innings.

Last season, Bailey suffered from a forearm strain which affected his productivity, but the 27-year-old was still able to rack up 24 saves, which was right on pace with his career averages, given that he was closing out games for a weak Oakland club.

According to ESPN's Buster Olney, the Red Sox also send third baseman Miles Head and right-hander Raul Alcantara who at 18 years old spent time with the Lowell Spinners last season.

To me, this looks like a big steal for the Red Sox if Bailey can prove to be healthy and return to his 2009 form. Obviously Reddick is a loss for Boston, but with Ryan Kalish having the higher ceiling of the two, it was obvious that one of them would eventually become expendable, and we now learn that it was Reddick.

Although the Red Sox will likely not name Kalish their starting right fielder for the 2012 season any time soon, it's apparent that his chances of winning over the job in spring training have greatly increased upon Reddick's departure.

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Published on December 28, 2011

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