The Boston Red Sox are incredibly busy during on this trade deadline day. After acquiring Yoenis Cespedes from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for staff ace Jon Lester, the Red Sox have dealt another veteran starter. Multiple reports suggest that Boston has sent John Lackey to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Joe Kelly and Allen Craig.
red sox expected to get ML ready OF and pitcher back for lackey from @STLCards. @GordonEdes 1st mentioned lackey trade
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 31, 2014
The 35-year-old Lackey is 11-7 with a 3.60 ERA in 21 starts on the season. He joins recently acquired Justin Masterson as new members of the Cardinals rotation, which has been ravished by injuries to both Michael Wacha and Jaime Garcia.
For the Red Sox, it’s apparent that they are throwing in the white flag of surrender in what has been a disappointing season.
Sox get Kelly, Craig for Lackey
— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) July 31, 2014
This is a really nice haul for the Red Sox. Craig, a former All-Star, is hitting just .237 with seven homers and 44 RBI’s on the season. However, he is coming off back-to-back .300-plus seasons with 90-plus RBI’s.
Kelly put up 10 wins with a 2.69 ERA in 37 games (15 starts) for the Cardinals last season. He made the transition to a full-time starter this year and has a 4.37 ERA in seven starts. The 26-year-old righty is considered a middle-of-the-rotation starter.
Boston also gave up mid-tier pitching prospect Corey Littrell, who was a fifth-round pick back in the 2013 draft. He is 5-5 with a 3.60 ERA in 18 starts for Single-A Salem this year.
Photo: CBS Sports