After a series of speculative deals that went from likelihoods to distant possibilities, Manny Ramirez will be leaving Boston after all in a three-way deal with the Dodgers and Pirates, the Boston Globe reported on its Red Sox blog.

According to the site, Pittsburgh will send outfielder Jason Bay to Boston and receive third baseman Andy LaRoche and minor league pitcher Bryan Morris from the Dodgers and outfielder Brandon Moss and reliever Craig Hansen from the Red Sox. Read more »

If the New York Yankees fail to make the postseason, it won’t be for lack of effort. Less than a week after acquiring Xavier Nady and reliever Damaso Marte from the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York swung a deal to obtain veteran catcher Ivan Rodriguez from the Detroit Tigers. In the wake of Jorge Posada’s season-ending shoulder surgery, the Yankees filled a major need for an offensive catcher to complement Jose Molina.

The Tigers, desperate for an impact bullpen arm, had seen their relationship with Pudge sour over the past year, which made the surefire Hall of Famer expendable. They received Kyle Farnsworth from the Yankees, a veteran right-hander (and former Tiger) who could throw his name into the hat for the closer’s role. Read more »

When first baseman Mark Teixeira was sent from Atlanta to the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday, it signified the end of an experiment gone horribly wrong for the Braves. It also signified a major improvement in baseball’s best team, adding the switch-hitting impact bat of Teixeira into the middle of an Angels lineup that sorely needed some more pop.

In terms of fantasy value, Teixeira does get a boost, especially if we can safely assume that he’ll be his typical dominant self in the second half. Hitting in front of Vladimir Guerrero and behind scrappy infielders Chone Figgins and Maicer Izturis, as he did in his Wednesday debut against Boston, will surely help his cause. Read more »

The Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox and, most importantly, Ken Griffey Jr. have agreed to a deal that will send Griffey to Chicago in exchange for reliever Nick Masset and minor league infielder Danny Richar, FOXSports.com first reported. Shortly after the two teams came to terms on the deal, Griffey, a 10-and-5 player, approved the trade.

A puzzling deal in most circles because of the Sox’s dearth of outfielders, DH types and power bats. Griffey would seem to be more likely to split time at DH with Jim Thome and in the corner outfield, but ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian reported that Griffey would return to his old stomping grounds in center field and shove Nick Swisher into a platoon role. Read more »