It’s been a busy 36 hours to say the least for the Boston Red Sox. Early Wednesday morning they found out they lost the Jon Lester race to the Chicago Cubs. Ben Cherrington and his staff wasted no time however, making two trades and one free agent signing since Wednesday night.

Acquisition 1

Trade to Arizona: SP Ruby De La Rosa, SP Allen Webster

Receive from Arizona: SP Wade Miley, also another minor leaguer included in the deal.

It seems like an interesting deal and a head scratcher at the same time. Wade Miley comes in already establishing himself in the MLB, his numbers are solid and he didn’t play on the best team either. Plus their is talk that is upside is higher than both Webster and De La Rosa. However, it seems only time will tell who exactly is the winner of this trade. Both pitchers the Sox are sending away are still young, Ruby had seen significant time with the Sox this last season, impressing at times. Webster has had some great numbers in the minors as well.

Acquisition 2

Trade to Detroit: OF Yoenis Cespedes, Alex Wilson, Gabe Speier

Receive from Detroit: SP Rick Porecello

Well, this is about what we expected with Cespedes. It was rumored for awhile now that the Sox would try and move him to land better pitching. I don’t know if we exactly had Rick Porcello in mind, but the Sox are adding strength in numbers in the rotation now. Porcello has a lot of experience, six years of starting in Detroit under his belt and he’s still just 26 years of age. Cespedes was a pawn since the first day he was acquired for Jon Lester. A crowed outfield already for Boston, Cherrington decided to make the move to strengthen his starting rotation.

Acquisition 3

Free agent signing: SP Justin Masterson

Well this one should sound familiar. Masterson pitched for the Red Sox from 2008-2009 until Boston dealt him to Cleveland. Masterson has had an up-and-down career to this point. After an all-star campaign in 2013 Justin fell apart in 2014 his ERA ballooned to almost six. He was signed for just one season by Boston. Masterson was seeking only a one-year deal in effort to build his value back up for next year’s free agency. Masterson credits his struggles from last season due to a knee injury.

Final Thoughts

Well it doesn’t look like the Red Sox will be getting that big name aced they had set out for. Jon Lester got away from them, they thought they could low-ball him and expect to sign him back for 20 million less than his best offer. Ben’s backup plan was to establish a rotation of solid starters, which he has definitely done. The Red Sox aren’t going to be an easy team to play a series against, as opposing teams will be taking on a talented starter every night. The rotation is now filled with 4 guys who have won at least 14 games in a season. Cole Hamels is still out there on the trade-block, the Red Sox could make a push in July for him, depending where they are in the standings.

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