| Andrew Perna. 15th December, 2009 - 11:26 am
 John Lackey may not be considered the most jovial major leaguer, but his decision to sign with the Red Sox spread plenty of holiday cheer in the state of Massachusetts this week.
The strange thing is that Bostonians aren?t looking at the addition of Lackey as the completion of their team?s starting rotation, but rather a precursor to perhaps even bigger moves.
Before we touch on that, let?s take a deeper look into the five-year, $82.5 million-plus contract that Lackey reportedly agreed to on Monday afternoon.
First off, Lackey and agent Steve Hilliard proved a host of pundits wrong by besting the five-year deal that fellow right-hander A.J. Burnett signed with the Yankees last offseason. ESPN.com?s Jayson Stark characterized the deal as ?worth slightly more? than the $82.5 million Burnett is getting over five seasons from New York.
During the summer it was projected that Lackey could command $100 million as a free agent in a market that is much-less star-studded than last year?s offering. However, at the conclusion of the season those projections were lowered considerably do to both economics and the starter?s projected suitors.
Any fluctuation in Lackey?s perceived value had nothing to do with his ability, though, as he posted a sub-4.00 ERA for the fifth straight season with the Angels, the only team he has ever thrown a pitch for in the major leagues.
He?s no spring chicken at 31 years of age, but has 102 wins to his credit and great postseason numbers as well. His career playoff ERA (3.12 in 78 innings) is substantially better than his regular season ERA (3.81 in 233 starts).
Lackey was the Game 7 starter when the Angels won the World Series in 2003 and he was very sharp this fall. He was 0-1 with a no-decision against the Yankees in the ALCS, but pitched much better than his record indicates. He allowed five earned runs in 12 1/3 innings of work against the eventual World Champions, something that surely was mentioned when the Red Sox decided to court him.
Of course, the 7 1/3 innings of shutout baseball that he threw against Boston in the ALDS likely had an effect as well.
If you want to extend his numbers against the Yankees, Lackey is 2-1 with a 3.14 ERA in six starts against the Bombers over the last three seasons.
After making 33 appearances in five straight years, Lackey missed some time in both 2008 and 2009 due to injuries. He went 23-13 over those two seasons and had a career-year in 2007 when he went 19-9 with a 3.01 ERA. Assuming the Red Sox improve their offense, his first 20-win season certainly isn?t out of the question, especially since he won?t be going up against the opposition?s No. 1 pitcher.
Lackey didn?t appear to have an attachment to the Angels, making the decision to jump from a seemingly-sinking contender to the Red Sox a no-brainer. He had a Reina Value of -10% and ?deserved? to make $9 million in 2009, but the six-plus starts he missed while on the shelf are more to blame for that than anything else.
The only downside I see is that he moves from the AL West to the potent AL East, where he?ll face the Yankees (915 runs scored in 2009), Rays (803), Blue Jays (798) and Orioles (741) instead of the Rangers (784), Athletics (759) and Mariners (640).
Grade for Lackey: A-
The Red Sox didn?t waste any time flying Lackey into Logan Airport once it appeared as though re-signing outfielder Jason Bay was a lost cause. Having flamed out in the ALDS, Boston simply couldn?t stand pat heading into the 2010 season.
The impact Lackey will have on the team?s starting rotation is undeniable. Boston will now flaunt arguably the best top-three in all of baseball in Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Lackey. All three could headline a rotation and Lester and Lackey will go into most games with a huge advantage in terms of talent and stuff over the opposing pitcher.
The true excitement surrounding the agreement in Boston, however, has nothing to do with Lackey directly. His presence the Red Sox much more flexibility to improve their offense, which was sub par this past season in comparison to recent years.
With Tim Wakefield and Daisuke Matsuzaka completing the rotation, the Red Sox can now comfortably entertain the idea of trading young hurler Clay Buchholz, which isn?t something they have been willing to do in the past.
The reported addition of free-agent outfielder Mike Cameron, presumably to play left field in place of Bay, means the Red Sox won?t chase Matt Holliday, but that doesn?t mean they aren?t going to beef up their lineup.
Boston has been linked to Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez for several months and they might be able to land him if they make Buchholz available.
It doesn?t make much sense for San Diego to trade a star like Gonzalez, who has an extremely affordable contract considering his production, but former Red Sox employee and new Padres general manager Jed Hoyer may not be able to pass up on the chance to get an arm like Buchholz?s and perhaps a highly-regarded offensive prospect for the first baseman.
Grade for Boston: A-, but A+ if they add a big bat using Buchholz
Just to be in position to add someone like Gonzalez, who hit .277 with 40 home runs and 99 RBIs while making just $3.1 million in 2009, has to have the Red Sox and their fans excited for the remainder of the offseason after they watched their bitter rival clean up last winter.
Andrew Perna is Deputy Editor of RealGM.com. Please feel free to contact him with comments or questions via e-mail: Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com. You can also follow him on Twitter: APerna7.
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