Beckett/Blalock Trade

SI.com ran a story from the Palm Beach Post that a deal is close to being reached for a Marlins/Rangers blockbuster with Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell going to Texas for Hank Blalock and Texas' 2003 or 2004 top draft pick. I think it's a heck of an interesting trade for both teams. I think if it goes through the perception will be that Texas got the better of the deal, just because it's hard to get a hold of quality young pitching and Beckett has ace makeup when he is on. But really I think the trade could go either way. The key is Lowell. If last year was a fluke and Lowell returns to his level of play from previous years, Texas will likely win. He can replace Blalock and they potentially add an ace. The problem is Lowell looked like a deteriorating player last year, and he's got a big contract. The Rangers were essentially forced to take him. At the point you take on an $8M contract and give up a 25 year old slugger, you need to get quality in return, and Beckett has been often injured and has never put it together for a full season. As such, the deal probably has more downside for the Rangers. As far as the Marlins go, they wanted to dump the Lowell contract for payroll flexibility and Beckett has been a disappointment for much of his career. The problem is the reason they have been able to contend is that young pitching, and now much of it (Pavano, Burnett, Beckett) is gone. Plus, while I love Blalock, he had an offseason last year and he's been playing in a hitter's park. It's not a given he's going to keep rising. I think he will, and acquiring a big time slugger at his low trade value for his years at age 26 and 27 to me makes a lot of sense. It makes Florida more confident to potentially trade away Carlos Delgado, which has been the talk for much of the early offseason.