A Bunch of Trades

Just putting a few trades together in one post here. 

1.  Eduardo Rodriguez.  E-Rod is having a great year this year.  Unfortunately, it's for Arizona.  He was always one of my favorites.  I thought after his 19-win, 200+ strikeout season in 2019, he was finally going to break out, but he missed the 2020 COVID season and was good but not great in 2021 and 2022 before leaving as a free agent.

2.  Jeter Downs.  Downs was a casualty of the lost 2020 season.  Losing an entire year of development was brutal for him.  He was supposed to be the top prospect in the Mookie Betts trade.

3.  Masataka Yoshida.  Yoshida is quietly having a nice season.  He has one more year on his contract, which has largely been a miss.

4.  Garrett Crochet.  Crochet has been injured most of the season, but the team has survived with the emergence of Payton Tolle in particular, as well as great seasons from Sonny Gray and Ranger Suarez.

5.  Nomar Garciaparra.  I am very curious to see how Nomar does on an Eras Committee.  I think he is close to being eligible.  Maybe by the time the next Today's Game Era Committee meets again.  

1.  Triston Casas.  Casas hasn't played since early in 2025 and hasn't played a whole season since his rookie year in 2023.  It's a shame.  His power could really come in handy on this team.

2.  Pedro Martinez.  It's always fun to add another Martinez card.

3.  Cy Young.  I like it when card companies dip back into the turn of the 20th century for players.  I would love to see a company release a set with throwback designs and cover all players from this era.  Let's see Bill Dinneen, Buck Freeman, Chick Stahl, Jimmy Collins and other great Boston players from that era.

4.  Chris Sale.  I think it is safe to say that Sale is back on track for the Hall of Fame.  The question is which hat will he wear on his plaque?  He seems like a good one to have a blank cap because he has been great for three teams.  This card celebrates his strikeout of Manny Machado to win the 2018 World Series.

5.  Manny Ramirez.  Ramirez was the 2004 World Series MVP, the first Red Sox player to win the award.

6.  Kristian Campbell.  Campbell has been showing up a lot in my posts lately.

1.  John Valentin.  Valentin remains one of the most underrated players in Red Sox history.  He was never an All Star, though he did win a Silver Slugger.  He probably should have won a Gold Glove.  For Boston, he hit .281/.361/.460 with 121 home runs as an infielder.

2.  John Valentin.  Yep, two Valentin cards in one trade.

3.  Brian Rose.  Another reason to be skeptical of prospects.  There was a time when Brian Rose was Boston's top prospect.  He had a 5.86 ERA in his Major League career.

1.  Tanner Houck.  Houck is another player whose Major League career has been on hold for over a year.  He had Tommy John surgery last year.  He might be getting close to a return.  He was an All Star in 2024.

2.  Joe Wood.  Smoky Joe Wood has one of the greatest pitching seasons in Red Sox history in 1912 when he was 34-5 with a 1.91 ERA and 258 strikeouts in 344 innings pitched.  Unfortunately, arm injuries (most likely stemming from overuse) derailed his career.

3.  Josh Taylor.  Taylor was a great southpaw in the Red Sox bullpen in 2019 and 2021.  He was traded to the Royals for Adalberto Mondesi (Raul Mondesi's son), but the trade was a bust for both teams.  Taylor was terrible in Kansas City and Mondesi never played for the Red Sox due to injuries.

4.  Wade Boggs.  Boggs is obviously a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but he was actually kind of underrated.  Modern analytics would have identified him as one of the best players in the game, but because he played in the 1980's, his lack of power kept him out of that conversation.  He had an OPS of .890 during his time in Boston.

5.  David Ortiz.  An All Star card of Ortiz.  He was an All Star ten times.  All with the Red Sox.

6.  Payton Tolle.  I think I am going to be getting a lot of Tolle cards from now on.  I just really like him.  I'm definitely glad Boston kept him.  He has a lower floor, but a higher ceiling than Connelly Early.

7.  Jarren Duran.  I want Duran to succeed, but I do think it would be better for all parties if he is traded this offseason.  Boston could use the roster spot and Duran could use a fresh start.

Closing things out with a Ceddy mini.