Manny Ramirez Traded from Boston Red Sox to the Los Angeles Dodgers

Ending speculation that has been brewing for what seemed like years, the Boston Red Sox finally parted ways with Outfielder Manny Ramirez. The rumors had been going around a lot, but late Thursday afternoon, on the same day the Major League Baseball trade deadline was set, Manny Ramirez was finally traded. In the deal Manny Ramirez will head to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 3-way deal that will bring them Jason Bay from the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates will also get pitcher Craig Hansen and outfielder Brandon Moss from the Red Sox, as well as third baseman Andy LaRoche and pitcher Bryan Morris from the Dodgers. The 3-way deal took a lot of finangling, but finally made it through just before the 4pm Eastern trading deadline.

In an odd twist of fate, Manny Ramirez will now be playing under manager Joe Torre for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Torre is the former manager of the New York Yankees, who were the chief rival of Ramirez and his Red Sox for many years. The trade is a bit of a surprise, as talks had Ramirez heading to Florida, and it seems like giving up LaRoche is a big step for the Dodgers who are looking to capitalize on a their week division this season. It's also surprising to sports fans that the Red Sox would trade the player who has arguably been their best hitter over the last 10 years. Rumors have been going around ever since Ramirez signed a 10 year $160 million deal in 2001, but his production since then has surely been worth the contract (if any player is). Together Ramirez and the Red Sox have won two World Series titles since he came to them from the Cleveland Indians, and his trade to the Dodgers could be exactly what Los Angeles was looking for.

Manny Ramirez made the all-star team 8 times as a Red Sox player, where he also had 6 years where he have 30 or more home-runs and 6 more where he had more than 100 RBI.On the other end of the trade, Jason Bay has had a lot of success, but it looks like Pittsburgh is trying to go younger again, and obtaining 4 good prospects is exactly the direction they wanted to go. Only time will tell who comes out ahead in this trade, but you can be sure that Red Sox management is ready to not have to deal with Ramirez and his antics anymore.

Source:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/07/31/manny.sweepstakes/index.html?cnn=yes