Red Sox Acquire Melancon, Sign Punto

Ben Cherington made his first trade as GM the other day, acquiring reliever Mark Melancon from Houston

Cherington has officially made his first trade as General Manager of the Red Sox, acquiring Houston closer Mark Melancon for shortstop Jed Lowrie and pitcher Kyle Weiland. The move is probably the first in a series of moves the team will make in order to solidify the bullpen. Melancon was pretty good for the lowly Astros last year, converting 20 out of 25 save opportunities while going 8-4 with an ERA of 2.78. Cherington has stated that he's comfortable with Melancon being the team's close next season, but multiple reports indicate that they are still pursuing Oakland closer Andrew Bailey, and Ken Rosenthal has said that they still can't be ruled out on free agent closer Ryan Madson.

I personally like the move. Melancon is only 26, is under team control through 2016 and isn't arbitration eligible until after 2013. I don't see him as an AL East closer, but this move definitely solidifies the late innings role, as he'll most likely take over the 7th inning role. Melancon has always had god numbers against righies, but he tends to struggle against lefties. So far, it seems like Cherington knows what he's doing. Building a bullpen isn;t an art, and it sure as hell isn't easy. Hell, the most succesful bullpens were built by teams who pretty much threw shit at the wall and prayed that it would stick (Prime Example: Tampa Bay)

Later that day, Cherington signed utility infielder Nick Punto to a two year, $3M contract. Punto wasn't signed for his bat though, thankfully. He has great defense at second base, shortstop, and third base. Also, from what I've heard, Punto is a great clubhouse guy that has been very well liked by the guys on every team he's played for. That's a quality that can't be overlooked, especially considering the clubhouse issues the Sox had last year. Cherington said of Punto, "He's a guy who understands his role on a winning team". That's actually really good, 'cause you can't be signing guys who feel like they're entitled to a starting job. Punto should help clubhouse chemistry, and he'll also split utility infield duties with current utility man Mike Aviles.