With the Oakland A's set to trade starter Gio Gonzalez to either the Washington Nationals or the Boston Red Sox later today, another trade opportunity could arise if Boston loses out on him.
According to ESPN's Jim Bowden, if the the Red Sox lose out on Gonzalez, they could turn their attention to Oakland A's closer Andrew Bailey as a consolation prize. The Sox have been connected to Bailey for nearly the entire offseason, and could utilize the young reliever as their closer in 2012. Bailey, a former All-Star saved 24 games last season for Oakland.
In a trade for Gonzalez, the Red Sox would most certainly have to include top prospect Will Middlebrooks as well as other high ranking prospects to acquire such a young and talented pitcher who's under team control for a while. However if they lose out on Gonzalez and turn their attention to Bailey, they could assemble a deal and be able to keep Middlebooks in their farm system. Either way, we should no more sooner rather than later.
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