Inside The Red Sox

Red Sox Reportedly Almost Traded Former Star Player To Yankees At Past Deadline

Boston almost made an upsetting trade

Scott Neville

Red Sox Reportedly Almost Traded Former Star Player To Yankees At Past Deadline
Red Sox Reportedly Almost Traded Former Star Player To Yankees At Past Deadline /
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The Boston Red Sox are no strangers to having to make tough decisions at the Major League Baseball Trade Deadline but they almost crossed the line seasons ago.

The Red Sox were expected to be a contender entering the 2010 season but instead used that time to transition from one core to the next. That left star third baseman Mike Lowell in a tough spot amid his final season. At the deadline, Boston tried to convince the franchise cornerstone to join the other side of the historic rivalry for the final two months of his career.

"It was a surreal moment because I started my career with the (New York) Yankees -- I was a call-up in ’98 -- but I really didn’t want to end my career with the Yankees," Lowell said on Audacy's Baseball Isn't Boring Podcast. "I had learned to love competing against and beating the Yankees. This is what I wanted to do. I didn’t want to go back at that point. I just felt useless. If the Red Sox wanted to trade me to the Yankees there was nothing in store for me."

The initial role was to be the Yankees' designated hitter against left-handed pitching but the acquisition of Lance Berkman while Lowell was processing the move made things murky. At the end of the day, he didn't want to join the Yankees for no reason.

"I was not going to the Yankees to sit on the bench. If I was going to sit on the bench I wanted to sit on the bench for the Red Sox," Lowell said.

A Kevin Youkilis injury just days after the deadline thrust Lowell back into the everyday lineup. He went on to hit .254 with 11 extra-base hits including three home runs, 14 RBIs and a .684 OPS in the final 42 games of his career following the decision to invoke his no-trade clause. 

Lowell is a huge part of the Red Sox organization to this day. A trade to the Yankees to close out his career would have put that in jeopardy.

More MLB: Red Sox Reportedly 'Were Close' To Trading Key Player To Marlins

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Scott Neville
SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer.  His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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