The Red Sox claimed outfielder Brian Giles off of waivers from the San Diego Padres yesterday, and now have roughly 24 hours to work out a trade to acquire him.

Why would they do this? The main reason is the disappointing .319 OBP in 705 plate appearances from both Jacoby Ellsbury and Coco Crisp combined, and the horrifying .314 OBP from all Red Sox lead off hitters this season. Brian Giles, on the other hand, has hit .315/.404/.447 away from the Petco Park pitchers’ haven, and would be an ideal hitter to use at the top of the order for the Red Sox.

He’d be strictly a 2+ month rental, a 37-year-old hired gun for the stretch run. Giles likes playing in San Diego, and would likely try to return there after his contract expires this season. Still, adding Giles to the Sox (who currently lead the AL in OBP with .355) would transform a decent offense into a great one for the final critical weeks of the season.

Some Obstacles:

• The no-trade clause. Giles has a clause in his contract which allows him to veto a trade to Boston (among a handful of other cities), which presumably the teams and Brian’s agent are working on at the moment. Some concessions will probably have to take place, such as the Red Sox promising not to pick up his team option for 2009.
• What do the Padres want in return? Talks have been relatively quiet, but I assume this is going to cost the Sox a prospect. Not a blue chipper (names like Anderson and Bowden are likely safe), but someone who would probably crack the middle or lower half of a Top 20 list. However, if Giles turns out to be a Type A free agent, the Sox would receive an extra draft pick, which would help to cancel out the loss of a prospect.
• What roster move to make? The smart money is on Ellsbury being sent to AAA Pawtucket. It won’t be very popular with his fans or his sponsors, but it certainly does appear that he could work on a few things at McCoy Stadium, plate discipline especially. He’d likely be recalled when the rosters expand from 25 to 40 on September 1st, and will serve in a similar capacity as his role in 2007.
• And the biggest issue here: how will this work defensively? Giles cannot play first base, which would keep him from taking Mike Lowell’s place in the lineup should the Silver Fox need a 15 day vacation. Both J.D. Drew and Giles have a little experience playing center field (mostly in their younger days), and I think you would see J.D. getting most of the time there.

Let’s face facts, an outfield of Bay-Drew-Giles has the potential to be brutal defensively, especially at Fenway Park. But, upgrading from a .300 OBP to a .400 OBP in the batting order would be more than worth the occasional blooper reel moment in the outfield.

Hopefully this deal gets done.

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