Boston Herald columnist Steve Buckley wrote he'd like for the Red Sox to trade for Johan Santana, but not at the cost of Jacoby Ellsbury or Dustin Pedroia:
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But Pedroia and Ellsbury must remain with the Red Sox, and for a long, long, long, long time. Look, it's not just the numbers, even though the numbers are impressive. And it's not just that Ellsbury has already made some great grabs in the outfield, or that Pedroia has good range and is deadly on the pivot.
No, it is this: From the moment they first experienced life in the big leagues - Pedroia in August 2006, Ellsbury in June 2007 - they did so with a degree of assuredness that could have fooled the uninformed into believing they'd been around for years.
I agree that Ellsbury and Pedroia should be off limits for Theo Epstein when he speaks trades with other general manager. I have a feeling we don't need to tell Theo that, though. Theo is a really smart guy and he's not going to make a mistake by trading either of these guys. And he's definitely not going to make a deal if it involves Clay Buchholz and either Ellsbury or Pedroia. Theo knows the Sox have some really special talent in these three players.
Pedroia should be the Red Sox's second baseman for a long time to come. Unlike Ellsbury, he's already proved for a whole season that he's can play in Boston with success. Great second basemens are hard to come by, too, so I don't think Theo will trade him even for a pitcher like Santana.
Ellsbury is almost the complete package. Add power and Ellsbury would be one of the most complete center fielders in the game. He's certainly fun to watch, too.
Both of these guys are going to be the faces of the franchise in just a couple of years. I love being a Sox fan with these two young guys leading the way into the future.