Frank LorenzoThe Boston Red Sox gave away two of their veteran pitchers this Thursday in a couple of trades to secure a few players for the future; John Lackey goes to the St. Louis Cardinals, and Boston receives outfielder Allen Craig and right-hander Joe Kelly, but also they sent pitcher Jon Lester and outfielder Jonny Gomes to the Oakland Athletics, and get Yoenis Cespedes.
The Boston Red Sox gave away two of their veteran pitchers this Thursday in a couple of trades to secure a few players for the future; John Lackey goes to the St. Louis Cardinals, and Boston receives outfielder Allen Craig and right-hander Joe Kelly, but also they sent pitcher Jon Lester and outfielder Jonny Gomes to the Oakland Athletics, and get Yoenis Cespedes.
Both deals came in place in the last hours of the trade deadline. Lester was 4-0 with a 1.07 ERA in his last eight starts with the Red Sox; he recorded 54 strikeouts, and allowed just one home run in 58 2/3 innings.
Cespedes is a slugger with a tremendous future in Major League Baseball, but he didn’t enjoy a good month on July. Gomez goes to a contender and with the right mind to play and fight for the World Series championship.
“I’m in a situation right now where I’m getting packaged up with the best pitcher in the game, heading over to the team with the best record in the game,” Gomes said in a phone interview with Boston sports radio station WEEI. “I’m a little bit excited there, but at the same time, you talk about a soft spot in my heart, soft spot with some of the relationships I’ve made in Boston and this chapter, for the time being, has come to an end.”
Oakland leads the American League West division with 66 wins and 41 losses, and Boston is at the bottom of AL East with 48 wins and 60 losses.
