The club’s biggest move - the selling of middle reliever Ramon Ramirez – served more to show the front office’s expectations for the post-season as it was a strategic move.
Though trading a non-descript middle reliever may seem innocuous, it was quite the strong signal from a team that is used to adding – not selling – Major League pieces.
Drafted out of The Citadel in the 2009 amateur draft, Red Sox prospect Chris McGuiness had at age 21 what could be termed a successful transition to pro ball with a .255/.374/.434 line in 196 at-bats for Single-A Lowell.
Playing first base, McGuiness admitted the process that landed him with Boston was stressful. "As a player, you are unsure of and really have no choice on who picks you and in what round."
The who? Boston. The round? 13, which was high enough for McGuiness to forego his senior year at The Citadel, a five-minute drive from where he grew up.
Ryan Westmoreland was drafted in the fifth round of the 2008 draft. He has been compared to Rocco Baldelli, given that both hail from Rhode Island. For Low-A Lowell, 'Westy' is hitting .298/.398/.491 with seven home runs, three triples and 15 doubles in 218 at-bats. He has 19 stolen bases and zero caught and is ranked the seventh best prospect in the organization by SoxProspects.com.
He got on the radar for casual Sox fans this year who heard that Westmoreland was deemed untouchable by the Red Sox during trade talks. Westmoreland first talked to Fire Brand exactly a year ago today. Let's check in...