As a fan of the Boston Red Sox, I would like to personally thank the Steinbrenners, Brian Cashman and the entire New York Yankees organization for helping out the Red Sox in the 2011 MLB Draft in June. Now Ian why would say such a crazy thing?
Well by virtue of the Yankees signing Rafael Soriano to a ridiculous three-year $35 million contract, the Red Sox are now assured of getting the Texas Rangers first round draft pick (No. 26 overall due to their signing of Adrian Beltre. Had the Rangers signed Soriano to a contract, the Red Sox would have only gotten a second round pick and the Tampa Bay Rays would have gotten that pick instead.
Now the Red Sox can go forward with the draft as they’ll have the 19th (from the Detroit Tigers for Victor Martinez) and 26th picks in the first round. They’ll have two compensation picks for the Martinez and Beltre signings. And as Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe points out, if Felipe Lopez signs somewhere, the Red Sox will get another draft pick.
So thank you again for being frenemies Steinbrenners, Brian Cashman and the entire New York Yankees organization.
