The man who shut the door on the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 6 of the 2013 World Series will now be joining the team's starting rotation. The Red Sox have traded 35-year-old veteran John Lackey to St. Louis for outfielder Allen Craig and starting pitcher Joe Kelly.
On Wednesday the Cardinals acquired Justin Masterson from the Cleveland Indians for prospect James Ramsey to inject some life into their pitching staff. In search of outfield help, the Red Sox did the opposite on Thursday when they traded Jon Lester to the Oakland Athletics for Yoenis Cespedes. Oddly enough, the World Series opponents from 2013 worked out a deal with just over two hours remaining until the trade deadline.
#WorldSeries opponents last year. #TradeDeadline partners today. pic.twitter.com/uV06ChzEaK
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) July 31, 2014
The Red Sox managed to acquire another outfielder in Allen Craig in the trade with St. Louis. Starter Joe Kelly will replace Lackey in the starting rotation, and Boston will begin to figure out their pitching situation from this point forward. The 26-year-old Kelly is signed through 2019 and has showed potential since his debut in 2012. Last year after being moved into the starting rotation, Kelly recorded an impressive 10-5 record with a 2.69 ERA in 15 starts. However, he's been hampered by hamstring issues this year, and his 2-2 record coupled with a 4.37 ERA wasn't cutting it for the Cardinals, who are in the midst of a tight race in the NL Central division.
Lackey will provide some veteran leadership on the Cardinals rotation alongside ace Adam Wainwright. Over the past two seasons, Lackey is 21-20 with a 3.55 ERA including a lights-out postseason in 2013 when he went 3-1 with a 2.77 ERA in four starts. He is under contract through 2015 - a good deal for the Cardinals who will only be paying him $500,000 because of a Tommy John surgery clause in his contract with Boston (he underwent the procedure in 2011 so the Red Sox were awarded an extra year of Lackey at the low price).
And yet, this deal does not take Cardinals out of the sweepstakes for Rays' ace David Price. If the Rays were to trade him, the Cardinals have left an offer on the table that includes outfielder Oscar Taveras, pitcher Shelby Miller, and the team's competitive balance draft pick. However, there has been no update on Rays GM Andrew Friedman's decision.
