Looking Back Upon Old Trades: #1 Theo Epstein And The Adrián González Trade

Promoted to General Manager on November 25th, 2002, it’s easy to pick a trade like Curt Schilling or the one that shipped Nomar Garciaparra to the Cubs and brought in Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz, but there’s a different trade I’ll be looking into. And no, it isn’t Josh Beckett since Epstein was not the GM at the time. This trade may not have worked out for either side in the long run.

On December 5th, 2010, the Red Sox made a huge trade. Theo Epstein hammered out the details that saw All-Star first baseman Adrián González come to Boston. In return, they shipped three prospects and a player to be named later to San Diego: outfielder Rey Fuentes, pitcher Casey Kelly, and first baseman Anthony Rizzo. The fourth player wound up being Eric Patterson.

González was viewed as a massive acquisition for Boston. The left-handed slugger would be entering his age-29 season in 2011, and he cemented himself as both a force in the lineup and an excellent defender. In his five seasons with the Padres, he had slashed .288/.374/.514 and 161 home runs while playing half of his games at Petco Park. He was destined to slide immediately into the middle of the lineup and take over first base, while Kevin Youkilis would slide across the diamond and fill the hole at third base left by Adrian Beltre.

While we all know 2011 to be a disappointing season due to the collapse in September, it wasn’t due to González. In 159 games in 2011, González slashed .338/.410/.548 with 27 home runs and 117 RBI, along with 45 doubles. Despite his offensive production, the Red Sox would miss the playoffs after being in a position to make it for the majority of the season. The infamous collapse would lead to changes in the team as both manager Terry Francona and GM Theo Epstein would leave, being replaced by Bobby Valentine and Ben Cherington, respectively.

González’s time in Boston wouldn’t last long either, only making it until August 2012 before being shipped out in another mega trade. 2012 saw a lot of issues with the team, but González was once again not one of them. Despite having the worst record since John Henry bought the team, González slashed .300/.343/.469 with 15 home runs and 86 RBI across 123 games. But by August, it was clear things had to change. In what was a shocking move at the time, the Red Sox and Dodgers agreed to a trade that saw the Dodgers acquire not just González but also Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett, and Nick Punto, which took a lot of money off the books for the Red Sox.

This trade would clear up money for the Red Sox to sign players such as Shane Victorino, Mike Napoli, Jonny Gomes, and Ryan Dempster in the following offseason. All players would serve crucial roles for the 2013 team winning the World Series.

And while González did not last long in Boston, the players the Red Sox gave up for him didn’t hurt too badly. Casey Kelly pitched in nine games with eight starts between 2012 and 2015 for the Padres before bouncing around the league. He eventually played in the Korea Baseball Organization for the LG Twins from 2019 until July 2024. Kelly recently returned to the majors in 2024, pitching in two games for Cincinnati. For his career, the 35-year-old has a record of 2-11 in 28 games, 12 of which were starts. He fared much better in Korea with a record of 73 wins and 48 losses in 168 starts with a 3.31 ERA in over 1,000 innings pitched.

Rey Fuentes did not fare much better, appearing in 23 games with the Padres during the 2013 season. In 33 at-bats, he slashed .152/.222/.152 with a single RBI. He would split 2014 between Triple-A and Double-A, playing in a total of 88 games before being traded to the Kansas City Royals in November. For his career, Fuentes played in 100 games split between the Padres, Royals, and Arizona Diamondbacks, slashing .238/.286/.310 for his career. Following the 2018 season, where he played in Triple-A, Fuentes has played in foreign winter leagues such as the Puerto Rican Winter League or the Atlantic League for the Long Island Ducks.

In the end, the biggest loss of the trade was Anthony Rizzo. The first baseman never had a chance to show his potential for the Padres as he was traded after a tough 2011 season. In 49 games, he struggled, hitting just .141/.281/.242 with one home run and nine RBIs. After the season, he was traded to the Cubs, where he managed to break out as a key piece in the organization. In 10 seasons with the Cubs, Rizzo would make three All-Star teams, finish in the top 10 for MVP voting three times, and win a Silver Slugger and four Gold Gloves. He would also be part of the franchise’s first world series in 107 years. In his career with the Cubs, Rizzo slashed .272/.372/.489 with 242 home runs and 784 RBI before being traded to the Yankees in 2021. And all the Padres got in return was minor league player Kyung-Min Na, who didn’t play for their organization after 2012, and Andrew Cashner, who pitched for them from 2012 until he was traded in 2016.

For his career, Rizzo has hit .261/.361/.467 in 1,727 games with 303 home runs and 965 RBI. He undoubtedly hurt the most to give up in the long run for González.

Overall, the González trade shows that sometimes a big move like that could be something that doesn’t end up with a positive or negative outcome. While González wasn’t a part of the World Series champion team of 2013, his presence on the team allowed them to make a move that moved money off the books. Of course, the main purpose was to have him lead the offense to a championship, which could be seen as a failure due to his early exit. I guess you could argue that if the González trade didn’t end up as a failure, then the Sox may not have won the 2013 World Series.