Bored at the library; LaRoche traded to Red Sox

Well, I am currently at the library studying for my accounting final tomorrow, but I have been here for 2 hours so I deserve a bit of a break. As all of you know (I say all of you because I pretty much have 4 followers of this blog and I texted 3 of you letting you know this information when it was announced) 1B Adam LaRoche was traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Boston Red Sox.

LaRoche is having a poor first half, as he always does, currently hitting .240/.329/.441 but he does have 12 homers and 40 RBI. He is a career .320 postseason hitter and has a career fielding percentage .995%. His career averages for 162 games is .269 with 26 homers and 89 RBI so the guy can hit pretty decently with solid power, plus, he is still only 29 years old.

I like this trade for the Red Sox (and dislike it as a Yankee fan). LaRoche is a decent player and for the time being, he will be replacing Nick Green. Nick Green started off the season very strong but his .242 career batting average caught up to him and he is currently batting .249/.311/.355. Mike Lowell is currently on the DL and Kevin Youkilis will now move over to 3B.

As with all trades, for me, it comes down to the fact that today, the Boston Red Sox are a better team than they were yesterday. The bad news for the Red Sox is that he is a great hitter at PNC Park, hitting .338 there this year as opposed to .159 on the road, but the Big Green Monster is sure to help and the fact that he is a career .289 2nd half hitter is very enouraging. Just to add to the positives for the Sox, when Mike Lowell comes back, this move will give them considerable depth and they will also be able to rest Lowell as well as David Ortiz much more frequently and keep them fresh and healthy.

LaRoche is also currently right on the cusp of being a Type B free agent, and his 2nd half may just propel him into that range. This would be his first time reaching free agency so odds are he would want a multi year deal and would reject arbitration, thus netting the Red Sox a supplemental round draft pick (the same round in which the Yankees picked up Joba).

What the Red Sox gave up has not yet been announced (although I wouldn't expect it to be anything more than 1 or 2 B-Level prospects), but for the Pirates in this trade, they continue to stock their farm system. After last years trades of Xavier Nady, Damaso Marte, Jason Bay and this years trades of Nate McLouth, Erik Hinske, Nyjer Morgan and now LaRoche, the Pirates have a very good amount of prospects coming into the organization.

So, I know this is a Yankee blog mostly but LaRoche is a player that I have been following for a while. What do you guys think? Is it a good move for Boston or will LaRoche not be able to hit outside of PNC park?