Sox Acquire Adam LaRoche
Some breaking (and incomplete) news to report. The Red Sox have acquired first baseman Adam LaRoche from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
There’s no word yet on exactly what was given up for LaRoche in the trade, but hopefully it isn’t much.
LaRoche, 29, is a lumbering left-handed hitter with decent power and solid plate discipline. Offensively, he’s like a left-handed Kevin Millar; he’ll come through with a walk and a HR here and there, but he’ll also provide his fair share of Ks and GIDPs. He’s mired in a bit of an off-year, and will be playing in the American League for the first time in his career.
While the other moving parts in this trade have yet to be revealed, it looks like LaRoche has some value as a platoon mate for Mike Lowell:
- Lowell vs LHP: .903 OPS
- LaRoche vs RHP: .833 OPS
The trade may involve Mark Kotsay being shipped away, since LaRoche would presumably take Kotsay’s place on the roster, but that’s just speculation on my part. I doubt that any notable prospects will be involved in this deal.
The deal gives a small offensive boost to a team whose bats have been performing an Oscar-caliber impersonation of Terri Schiavo since the All-Star break.
Stay tuned.
****UPDATE****
Pittsburgh is getting 2 minor league players in return: Argenis Diaz (SS) and Hunter Strickland (P). Both guys are fringe prospects (ranked #29 and #38 in the organization by Soxprospects.com, respectively).
Diaz was a favorite of mine; I had seen him play once in Portland and was impressed with his defense. This was during one of Julio Lugo’s prolonged lapses in fundamentals at SS, and by contrast Diaz looked like Ozzie Smith. However, the rise of Yamaico Navarro and the international SS free-agent binge the Sox front office recently engaged in made Diaz redundant and expendable.
Seems like a reasonable price for a guy like LaRoche (who might be a Type B free agent next year).
[...] The House That Dewey Built » Sox Acquire Adam LaRochePittsburgh is getting 2 minor league players in return: Argenis Diaz (SS) and Hunter Strickland (P). Both guys are fringe prospects (ranked #29 and #38 in the organization by Soxprospects.com, respectively). Diaz was a favorite of mine; … Read more [...]
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[...] The House That Dewey Built » Sox Acquire Adam LaRocheSome breaking (and incomplete) news to report. The Red Sox have acquired first baseman Adam LaRoche from the Pittsburgh Pirates. There’s no word yet on exactly what was given up for LaRoche, but hopefully it isn’t much. …Read More [...]
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[...] Red Sox Acquire Adam LaRoche – New York Yankees Fan BlogSome breaking (and incomplete) news to report. The Red Sox have acquired first baseman Adam LaRoche from the Pittsburgh Pirates. There’s no word yet on exactly what was given up for LaRoche, but hopefully it isn’t much. … Read more [...]
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[...] the other moving parts in thisRead more at http://www.deweyshouse.com/archives/2009/07/22/sox-acquire-adam-laroche/ Tags: Acquire, Adam, Blog, G4tv.com, LaRoche, Million, News, One, Sox, Texas, the « [...]
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[...] The House That Dewey Built » Sox Acquire Adam LaRoche (deweyshouse.com) – July 22, 2009Pittsburgh is getting 2 minor league players in return: Argenis Diaz (SS) and Hunter Strickland (P). Both guys are fringe prospects (ranked #29 and #38 in the organization by Soxprospects.com, respect… [...]
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