Dodgers acquire Gonzalez, Beckett, Crawford and Punto from Red Sox

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers today acquired four-time All-Stars Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford, former 20-game winner and World Series MVP Josh Beckett, infielder Nick Punto and cash from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for first baseman James Loney, pitcher Allen Webster, infielder Ivan De Jesus and two players to be named later. Dodger General Manager Ned Colletti made the announcement.

The nine-player trade is the largest in Los Angeles Dodger history.

“We continue to do everything in our power to strengthen our team for the stretch drive in an effort to reach the postseason,” said Colletti. “This trade today exemplifies ownership’s commitment to making the team as good as possible not only for 2012 but for many seasons to come.” 

Gonzalez hit .300 with 15 homers and 86 RBI in 123 games with the Red Sox this season and ranks second in the Major Leagues with a .398 (53-for-133) batting average with runners in scoring position. His .338 batting average since the All-Star break ranks eighth in the American League.

The San Diego native has hit 30 or more homers and driven in 100 or more runs four times in his career (2007-10) while hitting .300 or better twice (2006, 2011). The 30-year-old has won three Gold Glove Awards (2008-09, ’11) and took home the 2011 Louisville Silver Slugger Award. Last season, he batted a career-high .338 with Boston and achieved a career-high 40 home runs in 2009 with San Diego.

Gonzalez, who lived in Tijuana, Mexico from ages 1 to 13, owns a lifetime batting average of .294 with 210 homers, 728 RBI, 268 doubles and a .509 slugging percentage. Since 2006, Gonzalez ranks second among all Major League first baseman in games (1,063), innings (9255.2), total chances (9,659), assists (878) and putouts (8,737). He owns a career fielding percentage of .995 at first base and is signed through the 2018 campaign.   

Crawford, 31, a four-time All-Star and MVP of the 2009 All-Star Game, has led Major League Baseball in triples four times in 11 seasons with Tampa Bay and Boston. He’s hit .300 or better five times, including a career-high .315 in 2007. He’s stolen 50 or more bases five times, including a career-high 60 in 2009. In 2010, he achieved career highs in home runs (19), RBI (90) and runs scored (110). In 11 seasons with Tampa Bay and Boston, he has a career average of .292 with 118 home runs, 254 doubles, 114 triples and 432 stolen bases. He won a Gold Glove Award and Louisville Silver Slugger Award in 2010.    

Crawford, who is signed through 2017, helped lead Tampa Bay to the World Series in 2008, hitting .345 (10-for-29) against the Red Sox in the ALCS and then belting two homers vs. Philadelphia in the 2008 Fall Classic.

Crawford played in just 31 games this season due to wrist and elbow injuries. The Houston, TX native underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery on August 23.

Beckett has a 130-92 lifetime record and 3.93 ERA in 12 seasons with Florida and Boston. His best season was 2007 with Boston, when he was 20-7 with a 3.27 ERA. The 32-year-old has won 15 or more games four times and is under contract through the 2014 season. Entering 2012, he ranked fifth in the Majors with 99 wins since 2005 and he was third in the American League with 84 victories since 2006. Beckett was a member of American League All-Star teams in 2007, 09 and ’11. He was the winning pitcher in 2007. In 2012, Beckett is 5-11with a 5.23 ERA in 21 starts. 

In his postseason career, Beckett is 7-3 with a 3.07 ERA and three shutouts in 13 playoff starts. The three postseason shutouts are tied for second in Major League history. The Texas native was the MVP of the 2003 World Series with Florida, when he went 1-1 with a 1.10 ERA against the New York Yankees and won the clinching game at Yankee Stadium. Beckett earned ALCS MVP honors in 2007, when he won both starts vs. Cleveland and posted a 1.93 ERA. In 93.2 postseason innings, he’s allowed just 67 hits while striking out 99 batters. On Thanksgiving Day 2005, Beckett was the centerpiece of a deal that brought him from Florida to Boston in exchange for then prospect and current Dodger Hanley Ramirez.     

Punto, a switch-hitter and outstanding defender who has played second base, third base, shortstop and center field in 12 Major League seasons with Philadelphia, Minnesota, St. Louis and Boston, was a member of the Cardinals’ World Championship team last fall. His best full season was 2006 with Minnesota, when he hit .290, with 45 RBI and 17 stolen bases. This season, Punto is hitting .200 with a homer and 10 RBI in 65 games. The native of Mission Viejo had a fielding percentage of .985 in 50 games at every infield position this season.

Loney made his Major League debut with the Dodgers on April 4, 2006 and has played 896 games for Los Angeles since then, second only to Andre Ethier (968) over that time. In seven seasons, Loney has compiled a .284 batting average to go along with 173 doubles, 71 homers and 451 RBI. He drove in at least 88 runs for three consecutive seasons (2008-10) and averaged more than 159 games per season from 2008-2011. Since 2008, his 752 games played are the most in the National League over that time.

At the end of his rookie campaign, Loney hit his first career grand slam and tied a Dodger franchise record with nine RBI on Sept. 28, 2006 at Coors Field. The nine RBI tied Gil Hodges and broke Ron Cey’s Los Angeles Dodger record of eight RBI in a game. In 2008, Loney’s grand slam in Game 1 of the NLDS at Wrigley Field helped spark a three-game sweep of the Cubs and lead Los Angeles to its first NLCS since 1988. The free-agent-to-be was hitting .254 with a .302 on-base-percentage and just four home runs in 114 contests this season.

De Jesus was selected by the Dodgers in the second round of the 2005 First-Year Draft and has hit .231 with four RBI in 40 career Major League games at second and third base. The 25-year-old is a career .297 hitter in eight minor league seasons. De Jesus was the Dodgers’ Branch Rickey Minor League Player of the Year following the 2008 season when he hit .324 with 91 runs scored for Double-A Jacksonville.

Webster was taken by Los Angeles in the 18th round of the 2008 First-Year Draft and is 6-8 with a 3.55 ERA in 27 games (22 starts) for Double-A Chattanooga this season. Overall, the 22-year-old right-hander is 34-24 with a 3.34 ERA in 108 career minor league appearances over five seasons.