Manny....and we STILL get to keep Kemp???

fuuuuuuuuck yeeeeaaa!

the Sox originally wanted Kemp...but thank God Pitt's OF Bay came into the deal....so we gave up some prospects and LaRoche?? i'm sooooo good with that!

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Manny Ramirez traded to Dodgers; Jason Bay to Red Sox
By Rob Bradford  |   Thursday, July 31, 2008  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Boston Red Sox
Photo
Photo by Matt Stone

The Manny Ramirez [stats] era in Boston has come to an end.

The Red Sox [team stats] did what many didn’t think was possible, trading Ramirez before today’s 4 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-way trade that will bring Pirates outfielder Jason Bay to Boston.

The deal, which was completed just moments before the deadline, will also send Red Sox reliever Craig Hansen and outfielder Brandon Moss to Pittsburgh, which will also receive Andy LaRoche and Bryan Morris from the Dodgers.

Ramirez agreed to waive his no-trade rights stemming from the 36-year-old’s 10-5 status (10 years in majors, five with one team) in return for the agreement by the Dodgers to get rid of the two $20 million team options for 2009 and ’10.

According to FoxSports.com, the Red Sox will also pay the Dodgers the approximate $7 million left on Ramirez’ contract for the remainder of the season.

Bay is hitting .282 with 22 homers and 64 RBI this season. He is eligible for free agency at the end of the 2009 season. Bay is earning a base salary of $5.75 million this year and is due $7.5 million in ’09.

The deal that was originally thought to serve as the best chance for the Red Sox to ship the embattled slugger out of town, a three-way trade involving the Marlins and Pirates, fell through when the Sox weren’t comfortable with both adding two additional prospects to the transaction and paying Florida even more than the approximate $7 million owed Ramirez for the remainder of the season.

The three-way deal was thought to be a very real possibility earlier in the day. It was a trade that would land Bay with the Red Sox, send Ramirez to Florida with a minor leaguer, and prospects and either Josh Willingham or Jeremy Hermida to the Pirates.

But when Florida asked for more money on top of that owed Ramirez for the remainder of the season, and the Red Sox became increasingly uncomfortable with adding the minor leaguers that were being asked for, the Sox made a quick move to gauge the interest of the Dodgers.

While the Red Sox were being rebuffed on attempts to acquire outfielder Matt Kemp from LA, word trickled out that Bay would be dealt to Tampa Bay for prospects Reid Brignac and Jeff Niemann. But shortly after the initial report of the Rays’ deal, it was reported that the deal had fallen through, leaving the door open for the Sox to revisit a trade for Bay.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/baseball/red_sox/view.bg?articleid=1110223