Report: Tom Werner Lauds ‘Great Prospects,’ Acquisition of James Loney, Financial Flexibility of Trade

by abournenesn

Aug 25, 2012

The Red Sox-Dodgers deal to put all other deals to shame may not be completely wrapped up yet, but Red Sox chairman Tom Werner is already giving it an A-plus.

Werner told Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com on Saturday morning that "hopefully this deal will go through today," with the Red Sox seeing nothing but positives.

"If it falls into place, the deal sheds us from tens of millions of dollars of long-term commitments," Werner told Edes. "It gets us great prospects who will improve our major league roster as soon as next year. It brings us a player in James Loney who was 'untouchable' a couple of years ago. It allows us to start over with free agents."

The reported deal, which would send Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, left fielder Carl Crawford, starting pitcher Josh Beckett and utility man Nick Punto to Los Angeles for first baseman Loney and four prospects, was said to be a done deal Saturday morning by several sources.

The move is already being heralded by many as a coup for the Red Sox, who shed about $272 million in salaries as well as other intangibles while receiving a haul of high-tier prospects. The major drawback is the loss of Gonzalez, and some needed rebuilding, but Werner said he sees nothing but good for fans right now.

"We want to win for our fans, and we now have huge financial flexibility to improve the team," he told Edes.

The Red Sox will reportedly send about $12 million to the Dodgers as part of the deal.

Loney is in his seventh season in Los Angeles. A lifetime .284 hitter, he's appeared in just 114 games for the Dodgers this year, batting .254.

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