Red Sox trade Beckett, Crawford, Gonzalez, and Punto to the Dodgers

BOSTON, MA—The Boston Red Sox today traded right-hander Josh Beckett, left fielder Carl Crawford, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, infielder Nick Punto, and cash considerations to the Los Angeles Dodgers for first baseman James Loney, infielder Ivan DeJesus, Jr., right hander Allen Webster, and two players to be named later.   Ben Cherington, Red Sox Executive Vice-President/General Manager, made the announcement.

A lifetime .284 hitter, Loney, 28, is batting .254 (85-for-334) with four home runs and 33 RBI, 32 runs, and 23 walks this year.  The left-handed hitter has hit .301 (22-for-73) in 20 starts since the All-Star break.  He is tied for the club lead with 114 games played this season and ranks second on the club with 18 doubles.  In his last six starts, he has hit .333 (7-for-21) with two home runs.

Loney ranks third among active players and 14th on baseball’s all-time list with a .349 postseason average (22-for-63) in 17 games (min. 65 plate appearances).

Defensively, he ranks third among qualifying National League first basemen with a .883 zone rating in 2012, while his .995 fielding percentage (22 E/4,701 TC) since 2009 places third best in the National League. 

A first-round selection (19th overall) by the Dodgers in the 2002 First-Year Player Draft, he has hit .284 (872-for-3,070) with 173 doubles, 20 triples, 71 home runs, 451 RBI, 355 runs scored, 268 walks and 29 stolen bases in 896 career Major League games over seven seasons, all with Los Angeles. 

Since the start of his first full Major League season in 2008, he leads the NL and ranks sixth in the majors with 752 games played, and is one of just four players to appear in at least 158 contests in each of the last four years. 

De Jesus, who has been optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket, has appeared in 23 games for the Dodgers over two Major League stints this year, batting .273 (9-for-33) with three doubles, four RBI and five runs scored while appearing in the field at second base (7 games, 3 starts) and third base (5 games, 1 start). 

With Triple-A Albuquerque, the right-handed batter has hit .295 (66-for-224) with 12 doubles, three triples and three homers in 60 games.  In 22 contests since the start of August the 25-year-old has hit .354 (29-for-82) with nine extra-base hits and 19 RBI. 

For the Isotopes this season, he appeared at second base (43 games), shortstop (9), third base (6), left field (2) and right (1). 

De Jesus, the Dodgers’ second-round pick in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft, made his Major League debut with Los Angeles last year and owns a .231 average (15-for-65) in 40 major league games.  He has a career .297 average (809-for-2,721) with 131 doubles, 14 triples, 30 home runs, 333 RBI, 430 runs, 304 walks and 65 stolen bases in 722 minor league games since 2005, spending the majority of his last three campaigns in Triple-A.  He is the son of 15-year Major League veteran shortstop Ivan De Jesus, Sr.

Webster has pitched at Double-A Chattanooga this year, posting a 6-8 record with a  3.55 ERA (48 ER/121.2 IP) and 117 strikeouts compared to 57 walks allowed in 27 appearances, including 22 starts. 

The 22-year-old right-hander is tied for fourth in the Southern League in strikeouts and ranks seventh in the circuit in ERA, the second-best mark among full-season Dodgers farmhands. 

He has surrendered just one home run all season and since May 15 ranks fourth among Double-A qualifiers with a 2.05 ERA (20 ER/88.0 IP) and fifth with a .215 opponent average (68-for-317).  Overall this season he has given up three earned runs or less in all but three starts and has held opponents to one earned run or less in a start 10 times.  He entered the 2012 season ranked by Baseball America as the Dodgers second-best prospect and as having that system’s best changeup, and was also tabbed by the publication as the No. 95 prospect overall in baseball.  Selected in the 18th round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft, Webster is 34-24 with one save and a 3.34 ERA (180 ER/485.0 IP), 456 strikeouts, 456 hits allowed and 202 walks over five minor league seasons in the Los Angeles system.

Beckett, 32, has gone 5-11 with a 5.23 ERA (74 ER/127.1 IP) in 21 starts with the Red Sox in 2012, compiling 94 strikeouts compared to 38 walks.  Acquired by the Red Sox from the Marlins in November of 2005, the right-hander is 89-58 with a 4.17 ERA (574 ER/1,240.0 IP) in 194 starts with Boston.  He owns a 130-92 career record with a 3.93 ERA (808 ER/1,849.0 IP) and 1,715 strikeouts in 300 Major League games (297 starts) over parts of 12 Major League seasons with the Marlins (2001-05) and Red Sox (2006-12).  Beckett was selected as an American League All-Star in 2007, 2009 and 2011, was named as the Most Valuable Player of the 2003 World Series with Florida, and earned ALCS MVP honors with the Red Sox during their 2007 Championship run.

The 31-year-old Crawford hit .282 (33-for-117) with 10 doubles, two triples, three home runs, 19 RBI, 23 runs and five stolen bases in 31 games for the Red Sox this year before undergoing a successful ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction (Tommy John surgery) on his left elbow on Thursday.  He began the season on the disabled list while recovering from left wrist surgery and missed the club’s first 89 games.  A four-time American League All-Star and 2010 Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Award winner, Crawford leads all active players with 114 triples and is third with 432 stolen bases.  Signed by the Red Sox as a free agent in December of 2010, he owns a career .292 average (1,642-for-5,615) with 254 doubles, 118 homers, 667 RBI and 853 runs in 1,396 Major League games with Tampa Bay (2002-10) and Boston (2011-12). 

Gonzalez, 30, has hit .300 (145-for-484) in 123 games for Boston this season, ranking among American League leaders in hits (T-5th), doubles (2nd, 37), extra-base hits (T-10th, 52; 15 home runs) and RBI (T-6th, 86).  Acquired by the Red Sox from San Diego in December of 2010, he was named an All-Star in each season from 2008-11 and has won three Gold Gloves at first base (2008-09, 2011).  Originally selected by the Marlins with the first overall pick in the 2000 First-Year Player Draft, the left-handed batter has hit at a .294 clip (1,258-for-4,281) with 268 doubles, 11 triples, 210 home runs, 728 RBI, 659 runs and 520 walks in 1,140 career Major League games over parts of nine seasons with the Rangers (2004-05), Padres (2006-10) and Red Sox (2011-12).

Punto has played in 65 games with the Red Sox in 2012 after signing as a free agent in December.  The 34-year-old has appeared at all four infield positions while hitting .200 (25-for-125) with six doubles, one home run, 10 RBI, 14 runs and 19 walks.  A veteran of 12 Major League seasons, Punto has hit .247 (672-for-2,726) with 118 doubles, 25 triples, 15 home runs, 228 RBI, 360 runs and 322 walks in 952 career Major League games with the Phillies (2001-03), Twins (2004-10), Cardinals (2011) and Red Sox (2012).  He has played in 318 career games at third, 312 at second, 271 at short, five at first base, nine in center field, one in left field and one in right field.  He won a World Series title with the Cardinals last season.