When the Red Sox were forced to call Triple-A farmhand Aaron Bates – who was hitting below .200 in the minor leagues at the time of his promotion to The Show -- at the end of the baseball season’s first half with Jeff Bailey, Mike Lowell and Mark Kotsay all either banged up or already on the 15-day disabled list, it was clear that the organization was badly in need of more positional player depth. 

The need was most pronounced at the corner infield spot where Lowell’s surgically repaired hip has made the 35-year-old one wrong turn away from a liability.

Sox GM Theo Epstein surveyed his banged-up team and their place within the AL East division at the All-Star break and didn’t see any difference between his own ballclub, and equally talented teams in both New York and Tampa Bay. The starting pitching and bullpen depth has played out as a decided strength for the Sox in the first half of the season, but questions loomed about the health and productivity of lineup regulars like third baseman Lowell and designated hitter David Ortiz.

Epstein said during a Wednesday afternoon conference call that doctors told Lowell he might not be completely “right” until the 2010 season as far as his right hip goes, so the LaRoche deals allows the Sox to give their third baseman a proper timetable of rest and spaced out breathers to fully recover.

With that in mind, picking up somebody that could player either first or third – a choice given the invaluable ability of Kevin Youkilis to swing back and forth between first and third base – became a must.

“We’ve been in the market for a player that can do some damage against right-handed pitching and help our depth at the corner infield,” said Epstein. “By a large, large margin the Pirates had the most reasonable acquisition, so this was a chance to get a player that will help our club…and leave us in a position to continue to look for a player with more impact before the end of the trade deadline.

 “This trade was to provide an upgrade in the damage (our lineup does) against right-handed pitching, but also to provide insurance and protection. We don’t have the depth among our position player core that we’d like or that we’ve had in other years, so we’ve made a move. We may make more moves to provide complementary depth and to upgrade for preservation purposes. There’s also a second category of player that we certainly are going to pursue, where we can find significant impact on our roster. Those trades are hard to make and they’re hard to make without surrendering the entire foundation for your future. But it doesn’t mean you don’t pursue them. We’re looking at complementary moves and potentially impactful moves.” 

So after kicking the tires on several options at a corner infield spot that could bring a strong left-handed bat capable of pounding right-handed pitching and spell either Lowell or Ortiz should a worst-case scenario crop up, Epstein and Co. pulled the trigger on a deal that sent smooth-fielding, light-hitting Double-A shortstop Argenis Diaz and Sox farmhand Hunter Strickland to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for 29-year-old first baseman Adam LaRoche, who is facing free agency after the season and could be a Plan B free agent with a strong second half.

Epstein then turned a three-year mistake into more potential outfield/left-handed hitting depth on the bench when he shipped Julio Lugo – who had been designated for assignment prior to the first game back from the All-Star break – and cash considerations to the St. Louis Cardinals for outfielder Chris Duncan and a player to be named later. The Sox will send the 6-foot-5 Duncan – who was recently dropped from the Cardinals roster down to their Triple-A affiliate – to Triple-A Pawtucket, but he’s had two different seasons where he’s clobbered more than 20 home runs in a single season for the Cards and could provide the Sox with some emergency pop.

With both moves, the Olde Towne Team now has some major league-proven depth should they sustain any injuries at either the infield or outfield spots going forward – an issue that plagued a bruised-and-battered Boston unit during last season’s seven-game defeat at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays.  

LaRoche is a 29-year-old first baseman that’s averaged 24.5 home runs over the last four seasons, but has also tallied up some pretty impressive strikeouts totals over the last few seasons with a 2007 crescendo of 131 whiffs in 152 games. He’ll see a lot of pitches during his at bats, but his career .338 OBP reveals that he doesn’t walk any more than your average corner infielder. 

LaRoche does boast a career .500 slugging percentage against left-handers and both his batting average and OPS spike significantly in the second half of the baseball season – so that combined with the affordable price tag and some sure-handed, unspectacular defense around the bag at first base made him a suitable, affordable fit for Boston’s needs.

“The big second half numbers are nice,” said Epstein. “It does provide some reason for optimism. Despite the fact that it might not necessarily be predictive, you can’t deny the monster second halves that this guy has had. He’s still hitting for some power, he’s got 38 extra base hits and he’s been a little unlucky on balls hit into play; so if things fall into place and the trend continues and we do get the big second half, then we’ll certainly benefit from it.” 

Reports indicate that the Red Sox are still discussing a potential deal with the Cleveland Indians for Victor Martinez, but they’ve balked at a potential cost of Clay Buchholz for the primo switch-hitter from the Tribe’s lineup.

The Sox will need to clear off a space on Boston’s 25-man roster to make room for LaRoche when he meets up with the team on Friday at Fenway Park, and the Sox medical staff is able to take inventory of some of the aches and pains sustained during a brutal 1-5 road trip through Toronto and Texas.

While some younger Sox pitchers still have options, the best prediction at this address is that the Sox will place Mark Kotsay on the disabled list – another left-handed hitting first baseman candidate – to allow him to heal up a strained right calf that’s bothered him throughout the season.