MLB Trade Rumors: Red Sox Look to Trade with A's for Andrew Bailey

While many MLB trade rumors are floating around baseball's winter meetings,Red Sox fans and A's fans have been paying attention to the rumblings of a possibleAndrew Bailey to Boston trade in the works.

According to Peter Abraham, the Sox and A's are engaged in discussions that would bring Andrew Bailey to Boston in exchange for outfielder Josh Reddick.

While the Red Sox showed interest in acquiring Colorado Rockies closer Huston Street, the Rockies ended up dealing Street to the Padres in exchange for a player to be named later. This resulted in yet another viable closer coming off of the white board for the Red Sox, only intensifying their trade talks with the A's.

For the A's, this move would make a lot of sense. As we all have learned either from reading the book or seeing the film Moneyball, General Manager Billy Beane and company run their team on a tight budget. Bailey was the 2009 American League Rookie of the Year and is arbitration eligible for the first time in his young career. It is expected that he will earn $3.3 million in 2012, a number that the A's likely are not comfortable paying, even for a 27-year-old two-time All-Star.

Bailey, while coming off of his worst season to date, still has a career ERA of 2.07 with a WHIP of 0.954; very attractive numbers to see in a closer.

The trade would make sense for the Red Sox as well. Oakland has a depleted outfield as constituted. David Dejesus has already signed with the Chicago Cubs, and both Coco Crisp and Josh Willingham are free agents. A player like Reddick would make perfect sense for Oakland's system.

Reddick is only 24 years old, not arbitration eligible until 2014 and only made $400k in 2011.

It is likely that this rumor is incomplete, as a trade for Bailey would likely require more compensation than just Josh Reddick. Initial reports had the A's asking for third base prospect Will Middlebrooks as part of the package. That, however, would likely be a deal breaker for the Red Sox, as they view Middlebrooks as their top prospect and third baseman of the future.

If a deal can be hammered out between the two sides, it certainly would be a beneficial move for both organizations. The Red Sox would solve their problem at closer while the A's would have at the very least one solid outfielder in line for the 2012 season.