The Red Sox today announced that they have acquired Marlins outfielder Jeremy Hermida - he of No. 4 overall prospect in all of baseball in 2006 according to Baseball America fame - for minor league lefties Hunter Jones and Jose Alvarez.

Well it didn't take long for the club to make an offseason splash after a disappointing early postseason exit. In Hermida, the Sox get a potential steal as not so long ago he was projected to be one of the best hitting outfielders in the game. Things haven't exactly panned out that way, however, resulting in the bargain price Theo and Co. got him at. Hermida's still a big question mark, hitting just .259 with 13 homers in 129 games last season, but the upside is too great to not take the calculated risk. There's a reason BA ranked him the Marlins' top prospect for three straight years, folks! Plus, the Sox now have a Plan B (granted, a pretty meager one) should they not be able to re-sign slugger Jason Bay. I just hope they don't try to use this as leverage somehow in their negotiations with Bay.