Who won the Josh Beckett/Hanley Ramirez trade between the Miami Marlins and Boston Red Sox?

Josh Beckett is an important player in Miami Marlins history. he helped The Fish win the 2003 World Championship, but he was also a central figure in a major franchise-altering trade with the Boston Red Sox. When former owner Jeffrey Loria refused to spend money on extensions, Beckett was shipped to Boston in return for their elite SS prospect Hanley Ramirez. Who won that trade?

The Miami Marlins and Boston Red Sox made a blockbuster trade swapping Josh Beckett and Hanley Ramirez.

The trade took place on November 24, 2005 as the Miami Marlins traded the aforementioned Beckett, third baseman Mike Lowell and relief pitcher Guillermo Mota. In return Boston sent the aforementioned Hanley Ramirez, starting pitching prospect Aníbal Sánchez and pitching prospects Harvey García and Jesús Delgado. Let’s take a look at how these players did on their new teams…

Guillermo Mota never pitched for Boston, as they traded him to Cleveland before the following season even began. That means that he accumulated 0.0 WAR for the team. Mike Lowell took over third base for them and finished his career there, playing from 2006 to 2010. Lowell’s best season there was in 2007, when Boston won the World Series as he batted .324/.378/.501. Overall he accumulated 10.2 WAR.

Josh Beckett was the centerpiece of the trade for Boston and he was also a key figure in their 2007 World Championship. That season Beckett had a 20-7 record with a 3.27 ERA/3.08 FIP in 200.2 innings. Beckett wasn’t always so great, as the following season he went 12-10 with a 4.03 ERA/3.24 FIP. He lasted there until he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012. Overall, Beckett accumulated 22.2 WAR. Boston compiled 32.4 WAR for the trade overall.

What about the Miami Marlins? Jesús Delgado didn’t start any games. He only pitched in two games in 2008 in relief and delivered a 4.50 ERA/7.63 FIP with a 0-0 record. He was worth 0.0 WAR. Harvey García pitched strictly in relief as well, providing 12.1 innings of 4.38 ERA/5.67 FIP ball in 8 games in 2007. He was worth 0.1 WAR.

Aníbal Sánchez pitched from 2006 to 2012, breaking out in in 114.1 innings in 2006 with a 2.83 ERA. His best season was in 2010, when he went 13-12 with a 3.55 ERA/3.32 FIP in 32 games/195.0 innings. He was ultimately worth 14.0 WAR prior to a trade deadline trade to the Detroit Tigers in 2012.

Finally there was Hanley Ramírez. Ramírez batted .292/.353/.480 in his breakout 2006 season. He then had a run as the best SS in the game. He batted .332/.386/.562 in 2007 with 29 home runs and 81 RBI. He batted .301/.400/.540 in 2008 with 33 home runs and 67 RBI. 2009 was his best season, as he batted .342/.410/.543 with 24 home runs and 106 RBI, finishing second in NL MVP voting. Han-Ram played for the Miami Marlins from 2006 to the 2012 trading deadline and accumulated 26.8 WAR.

So who won the trade? The Los Angeles Dodgers accumulated 32.4 WAR, while the Miami Marlins accumulated 40.9 WAR. Han-Ram had the highest WAR among the players on both teams. The Miami Marlins won this trade by 5.6 WAR. Maybe trading Beckett wasn’t that bad after all.