Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe discusses the potential for a Ranger/Red Sox trade:
The Rangers need pitching and have catching to deal, which makes them the ideal trade partner for the Sox on this year's market. Quite simply, there is no better fit. Texas has four catchers on its 40-man roster -- Gerald Laird, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Taylor Teagarden and Max Ramirez -- and one major league evaluator recently suggested that the Rangers would be willing to deal two of them (so long as Ramirez is one of the two).That leaves Laird, Teagarden, and Saltalamacchia as the centerpiece of any deal.
Clearly, if the Sox wanted Laird, they could easily get him. The defensively skilled Teagarden (who is also blessed with power) and the hyped Saltalamacchia are more desirable targets that will cost more, though Epstein and his baseball operations staff understand the difficulty in finding good young catching. If the Red Sox ever were to give up a top pitching prospect like Clay Buchholz, Michael Bowden or Justin Masterson -- the last is unlikely -- this is precisely the kind of deal that would inspire them to do it.
So why hasn't a deal been struck yet? As every executive likes to say at this time of year, there are a lot of "moving parts." If the Red Sox can upgrade their offense significantly on the free agent market, they can make a lesser trade (Laird?) and keep their pitching prospects because the rest of their lineup would allow them to carry a mediocre catcher. At the same time, if the Sox lose on someone like Mark Teixeira, the cost for Saltalamacchia or Teagarden could go up.
I'm starting to think a Ranger/Boston trade makes too much sense to actually happen. These obvious deals never end up going down.