According to ESPN's Buster Olney, the Red Sox have agreed to a deal that will bring star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez to Boston from San Diego.
The news comes on the heels of a night filled with rumors that the Red Sox were in serious talks and getting close to a deal.
Gonzalez has arrived in Boston in order to have medical reports taken. While this is usually a cut-and-dry matter, after Gonzalez' recent surgery, the Red Sox will want to be thorough. Also, as one of the stipulations of the deal the Red Sox will receive a window in which to extend Adrian Gonzalez. In the unlikely event that they prove unable to do so, the trade would be effectively canceled. He currently has one year left on his old contract at $6 million.
The Padres will receive Red Sox prospects Casey Kelly, Anthony Rizzo, and Reymond Fuentes in return. A player to be named later is also included, making it a 4-for-1 deal. While Kelly and Rizzo are big names to give up, by all accounts the Sox got away fairly cheap here, holding on to names like Ryan Kalish and Jose Iglesias.
So what are the Red Sox getting in Adrian Gonzalez? It's hard to be sure. They could be getting a great first baseman who hits .298/.393/.511, or they could be getting an absolutely ridiculous first baseman who hits .315/.402/.578 away from cavernous Petco Park. Combined with now-third baseman Kevin Youkilis, the Red Sox will have a dominant 3-4 combination that they've lacked since the departure of Manny Ramirez and the decline of David Ortiz.
Assuming the deal is finalized, it will be the culmination of more than a year of angst for Red Sox fans. Talks of a Gonzalez deal emerged last year, with most centered around now-star pitcher Clay Buchholz. While neither the Red Sox nor Padres seemed willing to budge at the time, with San Diego now facing the reality of seeing his trade value drop dramatically as the season gets under way, former Red Sox assistant general manager and current Padres GM Jed Hoyer finally pulled the trigger.
For many Red Sox fans, this is a much-needed shot-in-the-arm for a Red Sox offseason that had been a bit lethargic so far. After missing out on Victor Martinez, and with Adrian Beltre looking more-and-more likely to head out west, there was a growing nervousness that the Sox would again be looking for stopgaps instead of solutions in a risky free agent market. This would seem to belay those fears, though there is still a question mark behind the plate and in the bullpen, and the issue of free agent outfielders Jayson Werth and Carl Crawford hasn't been cleared up yet.