So the Red Sox needed a bat...

And they got it. Say hello to Victor Martinez...

AVG.
.284

HR
15

RBI
67

I wonder since Martinez is a catcher/first baseman if we'll see Varitek see less playing time. He is the captain of the team but he's not a force at the plate. Then if Martinez plays first and they shift Youkilis over to third, what happens to Mark Lowell?

By the way, this is a good problem to have.

They also got first baseman Casey Kotchman, who's stats look like this:

AVG.
.282

HR
6

RBI
41

In all this wheeling and dealing, they had to ship off Adam LaRoche (who had been in Boston for a week), Justin Masterson and a couple of prospects but I like how the Sox are buying. This is just what Boston needed and even though they now have something like four possible first basemen, he'll add a little pop to the lineup.

For most people this is garble, for me I'm geeking out slightly.

And how about the Mariners? Not only are they selling - getting rid of Washburn (who, honestly, is having a fluke year) - but they're getting some goods in return with Luke French and Mauricio Robles. Here's the USS Mariner's reaction to the trade:

Awesome. French is Washburn – a strike throwing flyball lefty who fits Safeco perfectly and should slide in as a nice back-end starter. He just doesn’t cost any money, and we have him for the next six years. That they threw in Robles, a 20-year-old lefty with a ton of strikeouts in A-ball, is just gravy.

This is a fantastic deal. The M’s didn’t even get worse. It’s 50-50 on who pitches better the next two months, French or Washburn. And, of course, we get to keep French next year without paying anything for him.