I am late to this. I was very disappointed that Boston decided to trade Youkilis on one hand, but on the other, it was clearly time to move on. Youkilis had not been playing well this season and there were really no indications that he would start anytime soon. With his salary, he could not simply ride the bench. But yet Adrian Gonzalez, David Ortiz, and Will Middlebrooks all deserved to play, meaning there was nowhere to play Youkilis.
Youkilis was one of my favorite players and had been since his debut. So it is weird seeing him in another uniform. It is even worse seeing him do so well for the White Sox while Middlebrooks has been going through some growing pains in Boston.
The worst part about all of this is that Boston did not really get anything worthwhile from the White Sox in the trade. Brent Lillibridge and Zach Stewart came over and Boston contributed money in the deal. Lillibridge had a 13 home run season last year in part time work but was struggling this year. His best asset is his versatility as he can play in the infield and outfield. He played in ten games with the Red Sox before being designated for assignment. He hit .125/.125/.125 with two singles in 16 plate appearances. Thus far he has not been picked up by another team, so hopefully there is a chance at salvaging him. Stewart was once considered one of the best pitching prospects in the majors. He has been traded a couple of times in the last few years. In five games since the trade, he is 1-1 with a 3.81 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 28.1 innings with six walks and 31 hits allowed. Not great numbers, but reasonably promising. It is clear Stewart is the "prize" such as it is in this trade.
So, Youkilis is gone now and it is disappointing. He has brought Red Sox fans a lot of fond memories.
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