NESN's Michael Hurley reports that the Red Sox have dealt right handed relief pitcher and Boston native Manny Delcarmen to the Colorado Rockies along with cash considerations for 21-year-old minor league pitcher Chris Balcom-Miller. The cash considerations will help to offset the pro-rated balance of Delcarmen's 2010 salary. He and the Red Sox agreed on a one-year deal worth $905,000 to avoid salary arbitration on January 19th.

Delcarmen has appeared in 48 games for the Red Sox. His 4.70 ERA is the highest in his career and follows a 4.53 ERA in 2009 that was his previous high mark. In parts of six seasons he pitched 284.1 innings, with 243 strikeouts. He gave up more than 1.3 baserunners per inning pitched for his career, which was generally effective out of Boston's bullpen. He will replace Manny Corpas who is likely done for the year with sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

Balcolm-Miller is an extreme groundball pitcher who toiled in the Sally League in 2010. He put up a 3.31 ERA in 19 starts for Colorado's A ball affiliate. His strikeout numbers and hit numbers are both also very strong, but he is many years from contributing on the big league level.

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Kenny Williams relentlessly pursues big league talent to improve the composition of his team.  Whether traditional deals or free agent signings, the goal of competing this year consistently tops his to do list, as borne out by the "in the moment" moves that highlight his managerial style.  Few GMs are as daring in the month following the trading deadline when the risk is measured solely in filthy lucre and the rewards are permanent testaments to hard-earned glory.

Most clubs will claim players with the reasonable expectation that the player will be wtyhithdrawn.  Few will take the chance that they will get stuck with a bad contract.  For Williams, such restraint is absent.  His boldness is necessary because of the many trades he has consummated that have effectively gutted the White Sox farm system.

Since the 2007 offseason, he has pulled off trades to land Jake Peavy, Carlos Quentin, Juan Pierre and Edwin Jackson.  Those four players came at the cost of Dexter Carter, Aaron Poreda, Clayton Richard, Adam Russell (for Peavy), Chris Carter (for Quentin), John Ely, Jon Link (for Pierre), David Holmberg and Daniel Hudson (for Jackson).  In addition, prior the 2008 season, Williams acquired Nick Swisher from the A's for Gio Gonzalez, Ryan Sweeney and Fautino De Los Santos, before Swisher's dreadful solo season on the South Side.

Last year, Williams picked up Alex Rios on speculation after the Blue Jays put him and his large contract on waivers amidst a horrible season.  Rios responded by bouncing back to nearly match his previously established level of production in 2010 the first of the five full seasons that were left on his deal when Williams claimed him from Toronto.

This year the stakes are higher and the payoff for the daring claim must come sooner.  Manny Ramirez will join the White Sox today in Cleveland after the Dodgers accepted the waiver claim fee in exchange for their left fielder.  Ramirez has the balance of the year left on his deal, and will be a free agent at the conclusion of the White Sox season.  Williams is counting on a torrid September from Ramirez to help propel the White Sox into the playoffs.

The price for Ramirez, just cash, is obviously right.  And the rumors of Manny's decline are not only greatly exaggerated, they are utter falsehoods.  He may not be the fearsome hitter that posted an otherworldly .327/.428/.633 line over six full seasons and 3,652 plate appearances between 1999-2004.  His merely great .311/.405/.510 batting line in 232 plate appearances this season may pale in comparison, but still exceeds the .300/.400/.500 standard set for power bats.  At age 38, that's no small accomplishment.

Williams tacks contrary to both the player development and the prominent free agent acquisition schools of thought in player personnel management.  With one World Series title already won and the club gunning for its second divisional title in three seasons, the results speak for themselves.  Even if his methodology rankles the sensibilities of prospect watchers and confounds writers who wonder why on earth he would risk picking up the five plus years and $60 plus million left on Rios' contract.  Or whether getting Manny is overpaying for a king sized portion of too little too late.

Regardless, Williams stands apart. Perhaps he has found a market inefficiency.  September's chase will tell.

Joe Tetreault is Managing Editor of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He can be contacted here through The Biz of Baseball

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The last deal of the day came in late as well, with word reported by Dan Roche of WBZ-TV in Boston that the Red Sox had struck a last second deal to secure Jarrod Saltalamacchia in exchange for prospects Roman Mendez, Chris McGuiness, a player to be named later and $350,000 cash.

Saltalamacchia has long been coveted by the Red Sox, and it took his struggles with throwing the ball back to the pitcher to drop his value to the Rangers enough for them to acquire him.  Saltalamacchia condition, which is comparable to the difficulty former big leaguer Mackey Sasser endured during his career.

With over fifty games behind the plate for Saltalamacchia at Triple A Oklahoma City, the problem seems to be in his past. His batting line is an unimpressive .244/.326/.445, but his efforts have been toward catching, throwing and staying healthy, which Boston is convinced he has mastered.  At 25, he's the frontrunner to be Boston's catcher of the future, possibly as soon as next season.

Mendez has a live arm, dialing his fastball up to 94-96 consistently and pushing 100 when he adds some oomph.  The pitches are described as relatively straight and flat, suggesting that he'll need to develop secondary pitches to continue his climb.  He made it to Greenvile in the Single A Sally League this summer where he had a 11.40 ERA in six starts.

McGuiness was selected by Boston in the 13th round of the 2009 draft. He has spent the entirety of the year in Greenville, where he has put up an exceptional slash line of .298/.416/.504. He has good plate discipline and solid doubles power, which may earn him a promotion to Texas' Advanced-A club, the Bakersfield Blaze of the California League.

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The Braves were active, wrapping up a deal that was announced after the deadline passed to nab Rick Ankiel and Kyle Farnsworth. Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse first noted the Royals take of Jesse Chavez, Gregor Blanco and Tim Collins. In addition the Royals are sending cash to cover all but $1 million of the money owed to Ankiel and Farnsworth.

Ankiel will step in to play centerfield for the Braves, replacing the demoted Nate McLouth. In limited duty with the Royals, thanks to an assortment of injuries, Ankiel posted a .261/.317/.467 line in 101 plate appearances.

Farnsworth joins a solid bullpen in Atlanta where he will allow Peter Moylan and Johnny Venters to have a day or two off every now and then. This is his second turn in Atlanta, having arrived five years ago in another deadline deal. On the season, he has gotten three wins and posted a 2.42 ERA, which is his best since his previous stint in Atlanta.

Chavez had a brief stay in Atlanta, coming over in the deal that sent Rafael Soriano to the Rays. In 28 games, he's put up middling peripherals, but may again be a reliable bullpen arm. He's under club control until 2015, and will not be eligible for arbitration until 2012 at the soonest.

Blanco profiles as a fourth outfielder type, capable of playing all three positions, but who bat does not really profile well at either corner and whose defense may not be strong enough for centerfield. Either he or Mitch Maier will assume the centerfield responsibilities, though Maier's minor league track record should give him an edge.

Collins was recently acquired by the Braves in the Yunel Escobar deal. He has otherworldly strikeout numbers, especially considering his diminutive size.  He's likely to be assigned to Kansas City's Double A affiliate in the Texas League.  After stints in both the Southern League and the Eastern League, that's the Double A hat trick.

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Aggressive as always, and with deep pockets, the Yankees continued to address their clubs perceived weaknesses, Joel Sherman of the New York Post in a series of tweets broke down the deal that sends Kerry Wood plus at least $1.9 million of the remaining $3.8 million owed to the former closer.

If Wood stays healthy for the remainder of the season, the Yankees will cover exactly one half of his salary.  If he is injured they would only be responsible for $1.5 million. Cleveland can elect to take two prospects of up to $500,000 cash in exchange should Wood remain healthy for the balance of the season.

On the season Wood has battled injury and ineffectiveness only appearing in 23 games for Cleveland.  His struggles with control coupled with a decline in his strikeout rate made him hittable. His 6.30 ERA is the highest of his career.

To make room for Wood, the Yankees designated reliever Chan Ho Park for assignment.

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