The Red Sox have acquired 25-year old switch hitting catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia from the Rangers for 20-year old righty starting pitcher Roman Mendez, 22-year old lefty swinging 1B Chris McGuiness, a player to be named later and cash. Saltalamacchia played in 2 games for the Rangers this season and he was 1 for 5 (.200 avg, .400 OPS) with 1 RBI. He also played in 63 games in AAA-ball this year and he was 58 of 238 (.244 avg, .771 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 11 homers and 33 RBIs. Saltalamacchia has now played in 240 games in his four years in the majors and he is 199 of 794 (.251 avg, .701 OPS) with 100 runs scored, 23 homers and 94 RBIs. Salty has also whiffed 247 times in his major league career which is quite a lot for a hitter like him.

Roman Mendez came into this season as the Red Sox’ #23 ranked prospect according to Baseball America. Mendez has pitched in 14 games (all starts) in A-ball this year and he is 2-5 with a 6.56 ERA and a 1.85 WHIP. McGuiness has played in 78 games in A-ball this year and he was 84 of 282 (.298 avg, .920 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 12 homers and 46 RBIs.

The Red Sox needed help behind the plate for both the rest of this season and the future so this trade makes sense for them.

The Red Sox have traded 28-year old righty reliever Ramon Ramirez to the Giants for 23-year old righty reliever Daniel Turpen. Ramirez pitched in 44 games (0 starts) for the Red Sox this season and he was 0-3 with 2 saves, a 4.46 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. He pitched in 114 games (0 starts) in his two years with the Red Sox and he was 7-7 with 2 saves, a 3.46 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. Turpen was not one of the Giants’ top 30 prospects. Turpen pitched in 37 games (0 starts) in AA-ball this season and he is 5-5 with 1 save, a 4.09 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. He has now pitched in 144 games (0 starts) in his four years in the minors and he is 14-11 with 14 saves, a 2.69 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP.

The Red Sox have designated 26-year old lefty swinging outfielder Jeremy Hermida for assignment. He played in 52 games for the Red Sox this season and he was 32 of 158 (.203 avg, .605 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 5 homers and 27 RBIs. Hermida whiffed 45 times this season for the Red Sox often looking helpless at the plate. He is also a terrible defensive outfielder. The Red Sox have called up 22-year old lefty swinging outfielder Ryan Kalish to replace Hermida on the roster. He came into this season as the Red Sox’ #5 prospect according to Baseball America. He made his major league debut today and he was 2 for 4 with a run scored and 1 RBI against the Tigers. Kalish has played in 78 games in AA+AAA-ball this season and he is 86 of 293 (.294 avg, .884 OPS) with 57 runs scored, 13 homers, 47 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. He has now played in 367 games in his five years in the minors and he is 390 of 1,374 (.284 avg, .810 OPS) with 239 runs scored, 40 homers, 189 RBIs and 85 stolen bases.

The Red Sox have decided to move 43-year old righty Tim Wakefield back to the bullpen. Wakefield has pitched in 20 games (16 starts) for the Red Sox this year and he is 3-8 with a 5.58 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. He has given up 117 hits (16 homers) for the Red Sox this year so far in 108 innings pitched. Wakefield will be the long man in the bullpen and that should help out the bullpen as he can certainly work a lot of innings. Wakefield is moving back to the pen to make room for Josh Beckett who is coming off the D.L. Beckett has pitched in 8 games (all starts) earlier this year for the Red Sox and he was 1-1 with a 7.29 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP. He has given up 57 hits (6 homers) and he has walked 19 batters in only 45 2/3 innings for Boston earlier this year. The Red Sox need the real Josh Beckett to step up if they are going to truly compete for a playoff spot in 2010.

The Red Sox have acquired 30-year old lefty swinging 1B/3B Jack Hannahan from the Mariners for either a player to be named later or cash. Hannahan has played in 63 games in AAA-ball this year and he is 51 of 224 (.228 avg, .675 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 5 homers and 33 RBIs. Hannahan has played in 290 games in his four years in the majors and he is 192 of 856 (.224 avg, .658 OPS) with 91 runs scored, 16 homers, 90 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Hannahan has whiffed 242 times already in his major league career so he comes to Boston with a lot of holes in his swing. The Red Sox obviously wanted to add a versatile lefty swinger who could handle 1B or 3B defensively and Hannahan fits that bill.