Yankees' Lonn Trost thinks Red Sox made a great trade
Yankees COO Lonn Trost arrives at the New York Commission on Public Integrity office in Albany, N.Y. (Aug. 17, 2012) Credit: AP
TRENTON, N.J. -- Count Yankees chief operating officer Lonn Trost among those who consider the Red Sox winners in their recent megatrade.
Boston shed more than $260 million in salary when it dealt Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto to the Dodgers for James Loney and four minor-leaguers.
"I think you'll find many people who will tell you the Red Sox made a great deal," Trost said Thursday at Waterfront Park after a news conference to announce a deal that will keep the Trenton Thunder as the Yankees' Double-A affiliate through 2022.
"There was no way Boston could move Beckett," Trost said. "Is [Crawford] worth it in their minds? Twenty-million a year for five years, coming off Tommy John and his legs are getting older. Then you have [Gonzalez] . . . Maybe his stats are going down."
The Dodgers were willing to take that risk. Entering last night, Los Angeles was 31/2 games behind San Francisco in the NL West race and 11/2 games out in the race for the second wild card. The Dodgers, who added former All-Stars Hanley Ramirez and Shane Victorino before the trade deadline, have been aggressive spenders since changing ownership this season.
"They're making a run at it," Trost said. "They've got new management; they're looking at their television future and whether or not they can build their numbers."
The Dodgers are seeking their first pennant since 1988. The Red Sox (62-69 entering Thursday's play) are effectively out of the race.
"They have four young players coming in," Trost said. "They weren't going to win with what they had. They didn't last year. They weren't this year. They certainly weren't going to do it next year. I'm not so sure Boston isn't doing the right thing."
