Red Sox Trade Shane Victorino To The Angels
We’re four days away from the trade deadline, but the Red Sox got a head start by trading Shane Victorino and cash considerations to the Angels for infielder Josh Rutledge before Monday night’s game.
According to the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, the Red Sox will pay “about $3.8 million” of the $4.9 million that was remaining on Victorino’s deal.
Victorino came to Boston on a three-year, $39 million deal prior to the 2013 season, while he was only healthy for one of those three seasons. But make no mistake about it, that deal was worth it. From clutch hits in the postseason, to elite defense, and smart, aggressive baserunning, Victorino was as big of a reason that the Red Sox won a title two years ago as anybody else. On top of all that, he was one of the biggest contributors to the drastic change in the Red Sox clubhouse, morphing it from the turmoil that it was in after the 2012 debacle.
Make all the injury jokes you want about the guy — and I’ve made my fair share, too — but you don’t win that World Series in 2013 without him. And the two injury-plagued seasons that he’s had here in Boston are likely a result of how hard he has played the game over the course of his entire career. That’s why they love this guy so much in Philadelphia, and why he’ll always be remembered for what he did in 2013.
Thanks for 2013, Vic. Red Sox Nation tips its cap to you.