General manager Ben Cherington may very well be seen as a conquering hero by dumping the $32 million owed an embattled Beckett the next two seasons, along with the $103 million due the suddenly brittle Crawford and the $127 million Gonzalez will get through 2018.  The Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers have completed one of the biggest trades in the long, storied histories of each franchise, and the biggest in Beantown since Babe Ruth was shipped to the New York Yankees.
– The Boston Red Sox removed a locker-room cancer and the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired three star players in a landmark 9-player trade today, USA Today reports. Initially the Dodgers wanted only first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, but the Red Sox added pitcher Josh Beckett, injured outfielder Carl Crawford, and $10 million, reports the LA Times. Gonzalez had led a locker room mutiny thus summer, reports Yahoo, and Beckett was an alleged slacker who facilitated Boston's implosion last season. With the trade, the Dodgers flexed their new financial muscle and filled a much-needed gap at first base during a heated division race. As for the Red Sox, they acquired first baseman James Loney, two young pitchers, an infielder, and an outfielder. More than $270 million in salaries exchanged sides overall. But it could be "toxic" for both teams, leaving Boston bereft of big bats and LA with bloated salaries, writes Gabe Lacques at USA Today: "Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don't make."