The Red Sox have acquired 27-year old righty closer Andrew Bailey and 26-year old lefty swinging outfielder Ryan Sweeney from the A’s for 24-year old lefty swinging outfielder Josh Reddick, 20-year old righty swinging 1B/3B Miles Head and 19-year old righty starting pitcher Raul Alcantara. Andrew Bailey will bump Mark Melancon to the set-up role in 2012 for the Red Sox. Bailey pitched in 42 games (0 starts) for the A’s last year and he was 0-4 with 24 saves, a 3.24 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. He has now pitched in 157 games (0 starts) in his first three years in the majors and he is 7-10 with 75 saves, a 2.07 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. Bailey has only given up 117 hits and walked 49 batters in his first 174 innings in the majors, while whiffing 174 batters….and those are eye popping numbers. He is a awesome reliever, when healthy. Ryan Sweeney could start in RF for the Red Sox in 2012, but he would be better as a #4 outfielder because he can handle every position well defensively. Sweeney played in 108 games for the A’s last year and he was 70 for 264 (.265 avg, .687 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 1 homer, 25 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 472 games in his first six years in the majors and he is 428 for 1,515 (.283 avg, .720 OPS) with 202 runs scored, 14 homers, 169 RBIs and 17 stolen bases.

Josh Reddick has a higher upside than Ryan Sweeney does. Reddick played in 87 games for the Red Sox last year and he was 71 for 254 (.280 avg, .784 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 7 homers, 28 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He played in 143 games in his three years with the Red Sox and he was 93 for 375 (.248 avg, .706 OPS) with 51 runs scored, 10 homers, 37 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Miles Head played in 129 games in A-ball last year for the Red Sox and he was 148 for 495 (.299 avg, .887 OPS) with 88 runs scored, 22 homers, 82 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Raul Alcantara pitched in 13 games (all starts) in A+Rookie ball for the Red Sox last year and he was 1-4 with a 2.20 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. Neither Miles Head or Raul Alcantara were one of the Red Sox’ top 30 prospects according to Baseball America coming into the 2011 season.

The Red Sox have some holes on the roster right now that need to be filled before the 2012 season begins. The Red Sox have huge holes at the #4 and #5 spots in the starting rotation. They are considering moving Daniel Bard from the pen to the starting rotation. That will cause a problem in the bullpen as the Red Sox will need to either sign or trade for a set-up man or closer to replace Bard. The only other issue on the Red Sox is RF where Josh Reddick is penciled in as the starter. But, the Red Sox are acting like a small market team so far this winter just like the Yankees are…..and that is strange.

The Red Sox have signed 34-year old switch-hitting 2B/SS/3B Nick Punto to a 2-year, $3.5 million dollar deal. Punto played in 63 games for the Cardinals last year and he was 37 for 133 (.278 avg, .809 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 1 homer, 20 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 887 games in his first 11 years in the majors and he is 647 for 2,601 (.249 avg, .652 OPS) with 346 runs scored, 14 homers, 218 RBIs and 92 stolen bases. Punto will replace Jed Lowrie as the Red Sox’ top infield reserve in 2012.

The Red Sox have acquired 26-year old righty closer Mark Melancon from the Astros for 27-year old switch-hitting shortstop Jed Lowrie and 25-year old righty starting pitcher Kyle Weiland. Melancon pitched in 71 games (0 starts) for the Astros last year and he was 8-4 with 20 saves, a 2.78 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He has now pitched in 106 games (0 starts) in his first three years in the majors and he is 10-5 with 20 saves, a 3.21 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Melancon will likely take over as the new closer of the Red Sox, with the idea of moving Daniel Bard into the starting rotation for 2012. Jed Lowrie played in 88 games for the Red Sox last year and he was 78 for 309 (.252 avg, .685 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 6 homers, 36 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He played in 256 games in his four years with the Red Sox and he was 204 of 808 (.252 avg, .732 OPS) with 110 runs scored, 19 homers, 117 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Kyle Weiland pitched in 7 games (5 starts) for the Red Sox last year in his first taste of the majors and he was 0-3 with a 7.66 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP. To me, this looks like a deal that will help both teams a lot, and those are rare into today’s baseball world.

The Red Sox have signed 31-year old righty swinging catcher Kelly Shoppach to a 1-year, $1.35 million dollar deal. Shoppach played in 87 games for the Tampa Bay Rays last year and he was 39 of 221 (.176 avg, .607 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 11 homer, 22 RBIs and a stunning 79 whiffs. Shoppach has now played in 460 games in his first 7 years in the majors and he is 289 for 1,288 (.224 avg, .732 OPS) with 174 runs scored, 59 homers and 180 RBIs. Shoppach will likely backup Jarrod Saltalamacchia in 2012. Shoppach is a good defensive catcher with big time power when he isn’t whiffing.