Thanks, Jed

As if no one saw this coming eventually...

The Red Sox reportedly are on the verge of acquiring Adrian Gonzalez from San Diego. In return, the Padres snag a couple of the Sox top prospects, including pitcher Casey Kelly and first basemen Anthony Rizzo.

After some thought, I ultimately do agree with acquiring Gonzalez. Sure, he is entering the final year of his contract. But if the Sox were to wait a year, they would have been without a third basemen this season, as Adrian Beltre more than likely would have wanted a multi-year deal.

Another argument is the amount of prospects being dealt. The initial reports earlier this fall were saying that several Major League ready players were part of the deal. The fact that the only thing Theo had to give up was potential is incredible. Casey Kelly could be a good pitcher someday, and same for Rizzo at first base. But we know what we got with Gonzalez, 29, who enjoys spraying the ball to all parts of the field. Wall ball doubles will be very frequent, and if the right field fence is moved in, his home run total will increase.

Not to mention he was playing his home games at PETCO Park, probably the biggest pitcher's park in the MLB.

So let's not only thank Theo on this. Let us extend our gratitude to Jed Hoyer, former Sox assistant general manager and current Padres GM. Jed could have easily sucked all the talent out of Boston in exchange for the heart of his line-up. But this deal seems to work extremely well for both squads.

Now, let's look at our current Sox line-up:

LF Jacoby Ellsbury
2B Dustin Pedroia
1B Adrian Gonzalez
3B Kevin Youkilis
DH David Ortiz
RF J.D. Drew
CF Mike Cameron
C Jarrod Saltalamacchia
SS Marco Scutaro

And, here's a potential line-up with Carl Crawford in it:

CF Jacoby Ellsbury
LF Carl Crawford
2B Dustin Pedroia
1B Adrian Gonzalez
3B Kevin Youkilis
DH David Ortiz
RF J.D. Drew
C Jarrod Saltalamacchia
SS Marco Scutaro (or Jed Lowrie)

I like this. Make it happen, Theo.

Thanks again, Jed.