Renteria Dealt To Braves
Shortstop and cash sent to Atlanta for prospect Marte
By Ian Browne / MLB.com
October 08, 2005
DALLAS -- The reshaping of the Red Sox continued on Thursday with a major move, as the club shipped shortstop Edgar Renteria and cash considerations to the Braves for highly-touted third-base prospect Andy Marte.
Less than a year after signing Renteria to a four-year, $40 million pact, the Red Sox decided to part ways with the three-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner.
Renteria, except for brief spurts, never seemed to get in a groove during his only season with the Red Sox. He hit .276 with 100 runs, eight homers and 70 RBIs while committing a career-high 30 errors.
According to multiple sources, the Red Sox will pay $11 million of the $32 million that Renteria is still owed, which includes $3 million from the signing bonus and a $3 million buyout if the shortstop's option for 2009 is not picked up by Atlanta.
"It's part of baseball today," said Red Sox special advisor/baseball operations Bill Lajoie. "It's something we don't want to make a habit of doing, but in this case, we felt like the risk was worth [the reward]."
Instead of focusing on what went wrong with Renteria, the Red Sox accentuated how fortunate they were to gain player with as much promise as Marte.
"We did lose Hanley Ramirez in the [Josh Beckett] trade, he was our No. 1 [prospect]," said Lajoie. "So we've acquired a ready player for the Major Leagues -- in our opinion, he is ready to go. At 21, he was an established Triple-A player. As the Braves' scouting director put it, if he was in the draft this June, he would be the No. 1 player selected, so that speaks pretty well for Andy Marte."
The big question with Marte is where he fits into the club's 2006 plans. While Marte could conceivably be the third baseman of the future in Boston, the Red Sox have Mike Lowell under contract for the next two seasons.
The Red Sox have a vacancy at first base, and could possibly lose left fielder Manny Ramirez in a trade or center fielder Johnny Damon to free agency, so there could be outfield openings as well.
"Right now, we do see him as a future third baseman," said Lajoie. "I would like to see him get into the lineup, and if it has to be as an outfielder, we may discuss that with him when we do talk to him, just for the first year. Just to get his bat in the lineup."
A Dominican Republic native, the 22-year-old Marte, who hits and throws right-handed, has belted 20 homers in the Minor Leagues in three of the last four years. He was ranked as the No. 5 prospect in the International League in 2005.
The move puts a huge question mark on who will play shortstop for the Red Sox in 2005.
But as Lajoie pointed out earlier this week, the Red Sox don't need to field a starting nine until April.
Back to 2005 Articles Page