MLB

Holy Crap, The Red Sox And Dodgers Look Like They’re Actually Doing This Monstrous Trade. Here’s Why.

If you thought the MLB trade deadline on July 31 came and went without enough moving and shaking, uh, good news: the Red Sox and Dodgers might be on the verge of pulling off a waiver deal that dwarfs not only anything that happened at this year’s deadline, but also the events of many, many deadlines before it.

Earlier today, the Red Sox placed first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and pitcher Josh Beckett on waivers. The Dodgers claimed both players. And that circumstance, as of this writing, looks like the lead-up to as monumental an in-season deal as we’ve seen in some time. In it, the Red Sox would send Gonzalez, Beckett, and outfielder Carl Crawford, and utility man Nick Punto to the Dodgers. In return, they’d reportedly receive five players from L.A., among them James Loney and various player to be named later.

As for what it means: for one, the Red Sox are blowing this thing up. Gonzalez and Crawford are each in just their second years with the Red Sox – the second years of long-term, expensive deals worth almost $300 million combined that were expected to make them franchise cornerstones for the foreseeable future. And Beckett, while he’s not under contract for quite as long as the other two, is still signed through 2014.

But it’s easy to understand why the Sox might want to get rid of these guys, especially Crawford and Beckett – the deals haven’t worked out especially well. Gonzalez is having a solid but unspectacular season, while Beckett is underperforming (5.23 ERA) and Crawford had a terrible season last year and has barely played in 2012 due to injuries (he just had season-ending Tommy John surgery). The Red Sox’ disastrous 59-66 record speaks to the fact that a lot of the team’s big moves haven’t panned out, to the point Bill Simmons (jokingly) tweeted earlier today he wanted the Dodgers to take Beckett, Crawford and John Lackey off the team’s hands in exchange for Gonzalez. He’s on the verge of getting 2/3 of his wish.

So if this deal makes so much sense for the Red Sox, why would the Dodgers do it? Well, while the trade would equal massive salary relief for Boston, the major established talent in the deal would almost all be heading to the Dodgers. Gonzalez is an excellent player. Beckett still has the potential to pitch well, judging by his 2.89 ERA last year. Crawford won’t play again in 2012, but he’s only 31, so he should have some good baseball left in him too. If money’s no object – and for the Dodgers, judging by this deal, it must not be – the deal provides some nice potential pieces for a team in the thick of the playoff race.

Still, even if the deal can be explained from both sides (though not everyone agrees it’s a good idea for both sides), the fact that a trade this big – and therefore, this subject to being undermined by the various moving parts – actually looks like it’s going to happen boggles the mind. (Beckett and Crawford need to sign off for the trade to happen.) It’s such a sensory overload that it has actually been compared to porn. And let’s not forget the Dodgers already swung deals for Hanley Ramirez and Shane Victorino. Is this the most aggressive late-season push for the playoffs baseball has ever seen? It has to be up there… thanks to – if it goes through, of course – one of the craziest trades in baseball history.

Getty photo, by Otto Greule Jr.