Be sure to read Mullet’s recently posted Nats preview, I just want to post my reaction to yesterday’s deal.

Just so we are clear on what the Red Sox have managed to acquire, here is my summation of Wily Mo’s past, present and future.

What Wily Mo Pena Has Been To Date:

- A below average hitter with out-of-this-world power (he has hit a home run every 15.53 plate appearances since 2004).
- A free-swinger that lacks any sort of sensible approach at the plate (he sports a career .303 on-base percentage)
- A brutal outfielder. One of the very worst in baseball according to many of the advanced metrics.
- A lefty masher. He has hit .276/.347/.536 against southpaws since 2003.

What Wily Mo Pena Is at the Moment:

- 24 years old.
- Big, strong, fast and possessor of one of the very best outfield arms in baseball. And yet, a terrible fielder.
- The best platoon partner the Sox have ever had for Trot Nixon.
- Cost controlled
- In need of development in order to become an average everyday ballplayer.
- In need of serious development in order to become a good everyday ballplayer.

What Wily Mo Pena Can Be:

- Just check his comps. Jesse Barfield, Rocky Colavito, Bobby Bonds, Harmon Killibrew? Pena could well be a superstar.
- A total flameout, niche role player who could never develop enough patience at the plate or enough of a clue in the outfield to become a good Major League Baseball player.

As for the value aspect of the deal, I love it. Boston dealt from a position of strength in order to acquire something of which they had very little, right handed power. Bronson Arroyo is a valuable entity, but the Sox had a bunch of guys that can do what he does. The most compelling part of the deal is just how many areas of the team this trade addresses. They have Trot’s platoon partner now, and by extension, one of the best right field situations in baseball. They have someone with experience in leftfield and centerfield as well so when Manny and Coco need breathers, Terry Francona has a viable option. There has been talk about Pena playing some first too, but I don’t see it. He’s raw enough as is and to ask the guy to learn a whole new position may be too much. Finally, Pena may very well be their righty masher of the future.

More than ever, Francona has to be flexible with his roster. He doesn’t have the etched-in-stone nine he had in 2004 or that he thought he had in 2005. His disinclination to utilize Roberto Petagine and Kevin Youkilis last season was disappointing, but he has another deep roster in 2006 and has a chance to show he can grow as a manager. If Alex Gonzalez comes up in a critical, late inning situation, pinch hit for crissakes. If an opposing manager gets his LOOGY to face Trot, counter with Pena. There is an extra burden in this respect as well because if Pena is going to develop, he needs to play. Nothing would be more harmful to his future than Francona stubbornly deciding not to platoon Trot, the injury prone Nixon somehow staying healthy and Pena finishing up the season with 150 plate appearances. The guy needs to play, chiefly because he can help and secondarily because infrequent playing time will stunt his progress.

Anyway, kudos to the management guys in the basement. Now it’s time for the management guys in the dugout to make it work.