BOSTON (AP) – The last-place Boston Red Sox have traded pitching for power.
Now they can use some name tags to stick on the jerseys of the newcomers.
Nine months after winning the World Series, the Red Sox unloaded five key members of that championship team Thursday.
They parted with their best two starters by sending left-hander Jon Lester to the Oakland Athletics and John Lackey to the St. Louis Cardinals. Then they traded lefty reliever Andrew Miller to the Baltimore Orioles. They also dealt away two underachieving hitters. Outfielder Jonny Gomes went with Lester to Oakland and shortstop Stephen Drew headed to the New York Yankees.
Key players coming to Boston are outfielder Yoenis Cespedes from Oakland and right-hander Joe Kelly and outfielder Allen Craig from St. Louis.