The Red Sox traded OF Josh Reddick and a few prospects for Oakland closer Andrew Bailey yesterday.

The Sox were hoping to get LHP Gio Gonzalez along with Bailey, but thanks to years of mediocrity, the Nationals had better prospects to offer and Gonzalez landed in Washington.

Thankfully, the Red Sox continued to talk with Oakland about Bailey and finally got the job done last night. With Bailey set to close, newly acquired set-up man Mark Melancon can help in the 8th and Daniel Bard is free to try his luck as a starter.

There’s till plenty of work to do, regarding the pitching staff, but during Ben Cherington’s presser about Bailey, he was asked how veteran OF Ryan Sweeney (also acquired in the trade) fits into the plans for right field.

Here’s what Ben had to say:

Ryan Sweeney we expect to be a big part of our outfield mix. He can play right field. He’s a good defender. His versatility is kind of like Reddick, really, both of them can play both outfield spots and play them well. Sweeney has played in a big ballpark in Oakland and handled the defensive part of the game well. We also really like his offensive approach to Fenway. He’s got an opposite field approach. He’s a guy we tried to acquire in the past, and think he fits well with our team. So he’ll be a big part of our outfield mix. We still have Darnell McDonald on our roster, who has done a good job for us in the past and has hit left-handed pitching. Mike Aviles we sent to Puerto Rico not too long ago to get some experience in the outfield. We got good reports on him when he was in Puerto Rico. Obviously we like him as a hitter and as an offensive player. We think we have some internal solutions for right field and Sweeney is a big part of that.

So… I guess that means we’ll be watching a platoon of Sweeney, McDonald and Aviles in right field in 2012. I’m not sure how I feel about that, but when you look at the list of Free Agent outfielders… Sweeney is just as good as any man on that list, now that Carlos Beltran and my guy Josh Hamilton are with new teams.

Bottom Line: The Sox got a new closer that will be under team control and for years to come and swapped the free-swinging Reddick (.280, 7 HR, 28 RBI) for the more patient Sweeney (.264, 1 HR, 25 RBI) – a career .283/.720 hitter.

The only problem is… he’s left-handed.

If Carl Crawford bounces back at all… and Jacoby Ellsbury builds on his MVP caliber 2011 season… we should be find with this rag-tag bunch of misfits in right.

 
Rumor has it the Red Sox are willing to trade OF Josh Reddick and a few prospects for Oakland Athletics closer Andrew Bailey.

With Paps gone and mediocre and/or expensive free agent options available… I actually like this idea.

Bailey is coming off of a “down year” (42 G, 24 SV, 3.24 ERA, 41 Ks) but his 2009 season shows his potential: 68 G, 26 SV, 1.84 ERA, 91 Ks.

Injuries have forced Bailey to miss time over the past two years, but he’s only 27 and will be under team control until 2015. Nick Cafardo says the A’s have been asking for 3B phenom Will Middlebrooks, but if that’s the deal breaker, I expect the Sox to walk away.

Bottom Line: If the Red Sox can pull this off, they’ll have a closer locked up for a few years and money to spend in other places – like RF or starting pitching. It’s been a rough start to the Ben Cherrington Era… but this kind of move would earn him some serious points in my book.

What do you guy think?

 
The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo talks Red Sox and news from the MLB Winter Meetings. Will the Red Sox re-sign David Ortiz? Are the rumors about a trade from A’s closer Andrew Bailey true? Are the Sox planning to go cheap on pitching this offseason?