Headlines

  • Orioles Extend Samuel Basallo
  • Astros Sign Craig Kimbrel
  • Pirates Promote Bubba Chandler
  • Evan Carter Diagnosed With Fractured Wrist
  • Blue Jays Activate Shane Bieber
  • MLB, ESPN Nearing Deal Involving MLB.TV And In-Market Rights For Five Clubs
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2026-27 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Trades Of The Decade: Hanley Ramirez For Josh Beckett & Mike Lowell

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 13, 2009 at 3:25pm CDT

The only sure thing the Marlins obtained on Thanksgiving Day 2005 was salary relief. Yes, they acquired Hanley Ramirez, Jesus Delgado, Harvey Garcia and Anibal Sanchez, but none of them were considered certainties. For the four players, the Marlins gave up Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell and Guillermo Mota.

The Marlins had to shed payroll, but they weren't going to relinquish Beckett in a deal that didn't include a top prospect. Hanley Ramirez fit that description perfectly. Baseball America named Hanley Boston's top prospect every year from 2003-05 and they considered him one of the game's most promising players.

But Hanley hit a pedestrian .297/.352/.430 in the minors, never tallying more than eight homers in a season. So Baseball America's Jim Callis described him as "something of an enigma" at the time of the trade.

"He has the bat speed, raw power and pitch recognition to hit .300 with 20-plus homers per season," Callis wrote. "But he has yet to show the focus and preparation to get him there."

Beckett, meanwhile, had already graduated from top prospect status to become one of the game's best young pitchers. In his last season with the Marlins, Beckett, then 25, pitched to a 3.37 ERA in 29 starts, lighting the radar gun up with a fastball that helped him strike out nearly three times as many batters as he walked. It didn't hurt that he was named 2003 World Series MVP after pitching the Marlins past the Yankees.

Beckett had a history of blister problems, but the Texan still drew interest from a number of teams, including the Rangers. He was two years away from free agency, set to make $4-5MM in arbitration.

In just one season, Mike Lowell had become a major hindrance for the Marlins. After averaging 25 homers per season in the five years preceding 2005,  Lowell stopped hitting. He managed just a .236/.298/.360 line with just 8 homers in 150 games. He was due to earn a total of $18MM in 2006 and 2007, so the Marlins couldn't afford his contract 

The Red Sox, under Bill Lajoie and Craig Shipley, could absorb it, so they took it on, insisting that the third baseman could revive his career.  Theo Epstein was on leave at the time of the deal.

"It's not that we had to take Mike," Lajoie told the Boston Herald. "It's that we wanted Mike.''

The Red Sox were onto something. Lowell has turned in four solid seasons with the club, hitting about 20 homers per season and never posting an OPS below .798. The former Gold Glover lost a considerable amount of range this year (according to UZR) after undergoing hip surgery last offseason.

Much to the dismay of Red Sox Nation, Beckett struggled throughout his first season in Boston, allowing 36 homers and posting an ERA over 5.00 for the first time in his career. But he's been effective and durable since and hasn't come close to matching that 5.01 ERA. Only a handful of pitchers have out-performed Beckett since his first season in Boston, even though he's been playing in the AL East.

When Beckett won 20 games and Lowell slugged .501 in 2007, the Red Sox won it all. That World Championship alone makes this deal worthwhile for the Red Sox, despite what they gave up.

Hanley is one of the game's best players now, but as Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe wrote at the time, he was far from a sure thing in 2005.

"What's the worst that can happen here?," Ryan wrote. "Hanley Ramirez turns out to be the next Barry Larkin or maybe even Derek Jeter?"

Four years later, Baseball-Reference lists Jeter as the most statistically comparable player to Ramirez (for his age) in baseball history. Hanley hasn't posted an OPS below .940 since his 2006 Rookie of the Year campaign and this year's NL batting champ has even become an average defender at shortstop, according to UZR.

Hanley wasn't even the only useful player the Marlins acquired. Control issues still trouble Sanchez, who's now 25, but he can strike people out and he pitched well this past season. It all came together for him when he no-hit the Diamondbacks in 2006.

Could the trade have worked out any better for the two clubs? The Marlins got the salary relief they needed and an elite shortstop to build around. Beckett and Lowell led the Red Sox to their second World Championship of the decade.

But that doesn't mean they wouldn't like Hanley back. Theo Epstein has tried to reacquire him before, so it's not hard to imagine a return to Boston.

Share 4 Retweet 0 Send via email1

Trades of the Decade

Odds & Ends: Bonds, Bay, Astros, Mulder
Main
Curtis Granderson Rumors: Friday
View Comments (0)
Post a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Orioles Extend Samuel Basallo

    Astros Sign Craig Kimbrel

    Pirates Promote Bubba Chandler

    Evan Carter Diagnosed With Fractured Wrist

    Blue Jays Activate Shane Bieber

    MLB, ESPN Nearing Deal Involving MLB.TV And In-Market Rights For Five Clubs

    Rays Promote Carson Williams

    Red Sox To Promote Jhostynxon Garcia, Place Wilyer Abreu On IL

    Kyle Tucker Was Diagnosed With Hairline Hand Fracture In June

    Félix Bautista Undergoes Shoulder Surgery, Expected To Miss 12 Months

    Phillies Place Zack Wheeler On Injured List With Blood Clot

    Red Sox Finalizing Deal With Nathaniel Lowe

    Marcelo Mayer To Undergo Season-Ending Wrist Surgery

    Orioles Promote Samuel Basallo

    Josh Hader Diagnosed With Shoulder Capsule Sprain, Hopes To Return In Playoffs

    Nationals Request Unconditional Release Waivers On Nathaniel Lowe

    Cubs To Promote Owen Caissie For MLB Debut

    Astros Place Josh Hader On Injured List Due To Shoulder Strain

    Mets To Promote Nolan McLean

    Pohlad Family No Longer Pursuing Sale Of Twins

    Recent

    Twins Designate Jose Urena For Assignment

    AL Central Notes: Tigers, Ragans, Lee

    Astros Outright Tayler Scott

    Mariners Sign Luke Jackson To Minors Contract

    Orioles Extend Samuel Basallo

    Marlins’ Jesus Tinoco To Undergo Flexor Surgery

    Rockies To Select McCade Brown

    A’s Activate Jacob Wilson From Injured List

    Angels Activate Robert Stephenson

    Rays Option Joe Boyle, Recall Brian Van Belle For Potential MLB Debut

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Every MLB Trade In July
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2026-27 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version