Trade Bait Weighs In On Santana Deal

Now that that’s over, let’s hear from some of the Red Sox players that have occupied the precarious and unenviable position of trade bait for the past 3 months. I imagine there there are five guys (Lowrie, Masterson, Bowden, Ellsbury and Lester) sleeping more soundly tonight.

Jacoby Ellsbury (via MLB.com):

I think when you have a pitcher of Johan’s caliber, pretty much every prospect is going to be mentioned in a trade at some point in the talks. It was pretty flattering to be even considered in the trade, but I’m happy with what happened. I’m happy to be a Red Sock. I’m happy that I wasn’t traded at his expense, and it’s nice to know where I’m going heading into the season.

I talked to [manager] Terry Francona. He basically knew I was working hard in the offseason and he knew I wasn’t really letting it get to me. I’m just going out and getting ready for Spring Training. I knew wherever I was going to end up, I’d give them 100 percent, but definitely I’m happy to be with the Boston Red Sox.

I think everybody is going to be happy all the way across. I think the Yankees are happy with what they have, with their young pitching, and we are as well. I think the Mets will be very happy with Johan.

Jed Lowrie (via ProJo):

I can’t say I put serious thought into [the possibility of being traded]. But as soon as I heard my name being tossed around I thought about playing for the Twins. That’s not a bad thing and I’m not saying I didn’t want to be with the Red Sox, I’m just saying that was a distinct possibility and it was something I had to keep in mind. I’m glad to be with the Sox and obviously it’s a first-class organization.

Plus thoughts from Dustin Pedroia:

I was working out, and I said to a bunch of the guys I was working out with, ‘I’m glad that guy is out of the American League.’ And everyone started laughing except for the guys that are in the National League. That’s definitely my first thought. That’s great. Get him out of the American League. Obviously he’s one of the best in the game.

We have everybody back. That’s a great sign. I know we would have had to give up a ton to get [Santana] and plus trying to sign him to a long-term deal. Obviously that would have been a tough challenge. We have everybody back. Obviously, everybody is excited and ready to go. We’re all familiar with each other and hopefully we can repeat the same thing we did last year. It’s going to be a tough challenge but it’s going to be exciting for us.

You build a strong relationship with your teammates. And it’s not just those guys, if anybody else would have gone … you build a bond with them, you trust them and it kind of brings home the point that the game is a business, and when you see guys get traded, you wish them the best except for when you play against them. But for this situation, for our case, I’m kind of happy that we have all of our guys and we’re going to move forward.