Boston dealt RHP Franklin Francisco and LHP Byeong An to the White Sox for RHP Bob Howry on Wednesday. Surprisingly, Chicago was able to acquire as much, if not more, for a reliever who's suffered a severe loss of dominance this season, than they received for either Ray Durham or Kenny Lofton.

Francisco signed with Boston as a nondrafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 1996. He didn't play in 1997 due to an injury and only appeared in the Dominican Summer League in 1998. However, in 1999 the Red Sox assigned him to their Gulf Coast League team where he stayed through the end of the 2000 season. Last year, Boston promoted Francisco to A Augusta in the South Atlantic League. Francisco began this season at A+ Sarasota in the Florida State League and moved mid-season to AA Trenton in the Eastern League.

Although he added nine months in this off-season's age adjustments, he will not turn 23 until September. Francisco had worked strictly in relief for the last two seasons but returned to starting for a portion of his A+ time, posting a 58:27 K:BB in 53 IP with 33 H and 1 HR allowed over 10 starts in 16 appearances. The 16 IP he'd accumulated in AA were spread over 9 relief appearances in which he allowed 10 H with an 18:16 K:BB. Chicago has not announced whether they plan to have him continue development as a starter or reliever.

The Red Sox signed An as a nondrafted free agent out of Korea in 2001. An went directly to A+ Sarasota after signing and has remained there through this season. The 22-year-old's dominance was somewhat weak last year and has dropped below 6 K/9 this season while his BB/9 remain slightly above 3. He hasn't demonstrated any problems with his hits or home runs allowed, but neither total is sufficiently low enough to excuse his weak strikeout and walk numbers. I suspect An will need to move to relief in order to advance in the minors, though eventually I think he has a good chance of an extended stay in the majors as a lefty reliever.

After closing for the White Sox for parts of 1998 and 1999, Howry's been a high-quality right-handed setup man for Chicago over the last few seasons. However, he lost velocity last season after shoulder surgery and suffered another dip this spring. Between 1999 and 2000, he lost 3 K/9, dropping from a strikeout rate of 10.6 to 7.6, so his shoulder was likely bothering him throughout the year before his off-season surgery. Howry didn't really lose that much between 2000 and 2001, but this season he's dropped down to 5.5 K/9.

Despite his arm troubles, the White Sox signed the 29-year-old to a contract extension this off-season, so he won't be a free agent until after the 2003 season and is reportedly scheduled to earn $2M next year. Chicago certainly doesn't need to pay that kind of money to a fading reliever when they have any number of pitching prospects available to fill their relief roles.

Although recent reports indicate an improvement in Howry's velocity, I still can't understand why the Red Sox would target him in trade, particularly considering he's under contract next season. While they're using Tim Wakefield as a swingman, they could certainly use another quality right-handed pitcher, but I don't feel Howry fulfills that requirement given his questionable recent history.

The prospects they relinquished in the acquisition weren't outstanding, but Boston did not receive any sort of bargain for Howry, and they can hardly afford to give away prospects from their threadbare minor league system. Receiving the short end of a deal with White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams is not a positive resumé builder for Boston Interim General Manager Mike Port, especially as Williams has repeatedly shown himself to be a pushover in trade negotiations.

In order to make room for Howry and Cliff Floyd on the roster, the Red Sox released Jose Offerman and designated Willie Banks for assignment. While Offerman's strikeouts rose slightly last season, they've significantly decreased this season while his walk rate remains high. Unfortunately, Offerman has not been reaching base on as many of the balls he's put into play this season. In 237 AB, he has 55 H, 10 2B, and 4 HR with a 33:29 BB:K and 8/13 SB% for a .232 BA, .325 OBP, and .650 SLG. Tony Clark and Brian Daubach will now split the first base duties, though I expect the Boston to at least continue to look for alternatives through waiver trades.

While the Red Sox were unable to trade Offerman due to his large salary, he should be able to find work once he's a free agent and teams can sign him for the major league minimum. He expressed significant displeasure with the fact that Boston waited until they knew everyone was in place for Thursday's game in Texas before informing him of his release. As a result, he flew from Anaheim, which is near his Toluca Lake home, to Texas with the team, and then had to catch a return flight.

Banks broke camp with the team but Boston demoted him in early May. The Red Sox recalled him in early June and now expect him to return to the minors after passing through waivers. In 21 IP, he has allowed 19 H and 3 HR with a 15:8 K:BB. Banks will likely return to the majors in September, perhaps sooner, if Boston fails to acquire any additional relief help through waivers and suffers an injury.

Mike Porzio replaces Howry on the White Sox roster. Matt Ginter and Rocky Biddle will likely take over Howry's innings, as Porzio is a left-handed pitcher who will assist lefty Kelly Wunsch in the bullpen. Chicago's other left-handed pitcher, Damaso Marte, has branched into a larger role this season.