Red Sox Trade Lester And Gomes To Oakland For Cespedes

Well, it's done.

The Red Sox have traded Jon Lester and Jonny Gomes to the Athletics for left fielder Yoenis Cespedes.

I'm not happy that they traded Lester but if the team had come to the determination that they could not (or would not) meet Lester's asking price when he became a free agent, they did well to add a talent like Cespedes.

At a time in which power hitters are hard to find in baseball, Cespedes is a true masher.  The 28-year-old Cuban hit 23 home runs as a rookie in 2012, 26 last season, and has 17 so far in 2014.  Keep in mind that hitting in Oakland's spacious O.com Coliseum, Cespedes' home run totals are probably lower than what they could potentially be when he's playing half of his games at Fenway Park.  He's also the two-time defending home run derby champion at the All-Star Game.

Assuming no more major trades are made today that impact the Red Sox lineup, here is the probable Red Sox lineup going forward:

1. Holt, RF
2. Pedroia, 2B
3. Ortiz, DH
4. Cespedes, LF
5. Napoli, 1B
6. Drew, SS
7. Bogaerts, 3B
8. Bradley, CF
9. Vazquez/Ross, C

Adding Cespedes' big bat is the silver lining for the rain cloud of dealing Lester.  Losing a home grown All-Star pitcher who has professed a desire to stay in Boston is not a good move for the Red Sox but adding a young impact hitter for the heart of their lineup does keep this from being a total loss.

Next up for the Red Sox seems to be trades of John Lackey - another move I'm not in favor of - and any of their relief pitchers, with Andrew Miller likely to bring back the best return.