Victor Martinez heads RedSox from Indians (Video)
All-Star catcher Victor Martinez is coming to Boston's Red Sox from Indians, official in Major League Baseball said on Friday, which is in exchange for Justin Masto erson and two other minor leaguers.
AL's top offensive catcher as he is, Martinez is hitting .284 with 15 homers and 67 RBI, but he's done that in a home park that ranks 28th in scoring (and last in the AL) in scoring, according to ESPN's Park Factor calculations
Boston's Fenway Park, on the other hand, ranks ninth overall (and fourth in the AL).
Perhaps the biggest news is that neither of the top young arms on Boston's major league roster, Clay Buchholz and Daniel Bard, is part of the deal.
Earlier this month, the Red Sox would not trade the promising pitcher Clay Buchholz for Martinez.
The Indians, who've already traded ace Cliff Lee and first baseman Ryan Garko in the past week, will receive 24-year-old right-hander Justin Masterson as the centerpiece of the three-player package. If that's the case, it's a huge boost to Masterson's fantasy value since he'd probably go straight into the Indians' starting rotation.
The Red Sox also swapped first basemen with the Braves, acquiring Casey Kotchman from Atlanta for Adam LaRoche. LaRoche had only 19 at-bats with the Red Sox after being acquired from the Pirates last week.
Also in the package are minor league pitchers Nick Hagadone and Bryan Price. Hagadone, 23, was a college teammate of NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum. He missed most of last season after having Tommy John surgery and has only pitched 25 innings at Class A this year.
Martinez, the three-time All-Star switch-hitter, has a reasonable $7 million contract option for 2010.
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