Red Sox Could Take Advantage of Dodgers Situation

The personal problems and financial issues of Frank McCourt have forced Bud Selig and MLB to step in and take control of the day-to-day operations of the Los Angeles Dodgers.  It is a sad situation for one of baseball's marquee franchises but that doesn't mean the Red Sox shouldn't move in for the kill.

Even as the Red Sox start to wake up from their early season slump, there are a few areas that need to be addressed.  One is the situation at catcher because right now neither Jason Varitek or Jarrod Saltalamacchia is getting the job done.  The other is the number of lefthanded bats in the lineup with J.D. Drew, Adrian Gonzalez, David Ortiz, Carl Crawford, and Jacoby Ellsbury hitting from the left side.

In trying to take advantage of the situation in Los Angeles, the Dodgers can not be of help behind the plate.  Rod Barajas and A.J. Ellis would not be upgrades and if I'm going to propose a mythical trade, it will be one that will make the Red Sox a significantly better baseball team.  Where the Dodgers can be of help is providing more balance to the Boston lineup.

I am proposing that the Red Sox ship Jacoby Ellsbury, Lars Anderson, Ryan Kalish/Josh Reddick, and Brandon Workman to the Dodgers in exchange for Matt Kemp.  Kemp would give the Red Sox a blue chip center fielder and a premium right handed bat to balance out their lefty heavy lineup.  Ellsbury gives the Dodgers a replacement in center field, Anderson gives them a potential replacement for James Loney (who can exit L.A. after 2012), Kalish/Reddick gives them a potential replacement for Andre Ethier (who can join Loney in walking after 2012), and Workman adds a second-tier pitching prospect to further entice the Dodgers/MLB to pull the trigger on the deal if they choose to take Reddick over the higher rated Kalish (if they were to choose Kalish they would lose out on the pitching prospect).

The Red Sox benefit by getting the best player in the deal, a 26-year-old star who can hit, run, and field.  The Dodgers benefit by adding a very good player in Ellsbury and two or three young, cheap prospects who can play a role in the rebuilding of one of baseball's great franchises.

Kemp's bat would settle nicely into the heart of the Red Sox lineup that would look something like this:

1. J.D. Drew, RF (L)
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B (R)
3. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B (L)
4. Kevin Youkilis, 3B (R)
5. David Ortiz, DH (L)
6. Matt Kemp, CF (R)
7. Carl Crawford, LF (L)
8. Jarrod Saltalamacchia/Jason Varitek, C (S)
9. Jed Lowrie, SS (S)

I know that I rarely make a lot of sense when it comes to proposing trades but that is a deal that makes the Red Sox significantly better and also gets the Dodgers moving in the right direction on their road to recovery.