Folks near the site of the first Thanksgiving had new reason to give thanks over their leftovers yesterday, as RHP Curt Schilling agreed to wave his no-trade clause, allowing Boston to complete their acquisition of him from Arizona. The Red Sox dealt LHP Casey Fossum, RHP Brandon Lyon, LHP Jorge De La Rosa, and a player to be named later to Arizona for Schilling.

On Monday, news leaked that the two teams had agreed to a deal pending Schilling's agreement to waive his no-trade clause. Boston President/CEO Larry Lucchino, General Manager Theo Epstein, and Baseball Operations Assistant Jed Hoyer began contract extension negotiations with Schilling on Wednesday. When talks weren't finished before Thanksgiving, the Schillings insisted Epstein and Hoyer join them for the holiday if the two were going to stay in Arizona. Due to concerns about organizations tampering with players under contract with opponents, the Commissioner's Office has to grant permission for these types of discussions. The two sides asked for and received a 24-hour extension before their allotted time expired on Friday night, but they came to an agreement while the evening was still young.

Boston granted Schilling a $25.5M contract extension that includes a $13M vesting mutual option for 2007. He'll receive $12.5M in 2005 and $13M in 2006. The performance goals Schilling will need to meet to guarantee the option were not revealed.

Under the deal he signed with the Diamondbacks, Schilling will receive $12M in 2004. A portion of that money was to be deferred, but Boston reportedly was willing to pay it all up front provided Schilling would completely eliminate the no-trade clause in his contract. While they don't have plans to deal Schilling, the club makes it a practice not to give no-trade clauses to their players. Also, OF-R Manny Ramirez's contract includes a provision that would grant him no-trade rights should any other Boston player possess them.

Schilling actually began his professional career with the Red Sox, who drafted him out of Yavapai Arizona Junior College with a second round pick in the 1986 draft. However, Schilling has never played in the majors for Boston, as the club dealt him to Baltimore during the 1988 season.

While the 37-year-old had some health problems in 2003, the troubles generally weren't things that foreshadow future problems. After all, a person only has their appendix out once. His skills remain through the roof, supporting every expectation that he should be able to continue dominating opposing hitters despite his advancing age. Meanwhile, Schilling's pre-game preparation is considered to be among the most thorough in baseball, and the Red Sox are trying to stress preparation throughout the organization. I have no objections to his salary provided Boston left room in the budget to finance an extension for SS-R Nomar Garciaparra. Schilling can replace RHP Pedro Martinez, if this contract eats up the money for Martinez's extension, but Garciaparra belongs on the Red Sox.

Boston drafted Fossum out of Texas A&M with the 48th overall pick in the first round of the 1999 draft. In 2001, he skipped directly from AA Trenton to the majors. After a solid performance in 2002, Fossum struggled with tendinitis in his shoulder this year. He underwent supposedly minor surgery to clean up his right shoulder in October and is expected to be fully healthy and ready for Spring Training. I'm troubled by the drop in his G-F from 1.14 in 2002 to .72 in 2003, but the 25-year-old's injury problems could easily explain the drop off in his skills, indicating that if Fossum remains healthy Arizona should have a solid middle of the rotation starter.

However, the Diamondbacks reportedly are concerned that Fossum's figure might not be sufficiently durable to handle starting. Consequently, given the other rotation options offered by their minor league system, they may use him out of the pen, which I believe would be a waste of his talent at this point. His Spring Training performance evidently will determine his 2004 role.

While Pittsburgh returned Lyon to Boston as damaged goods this season due to a frayed ligament in his elbow, noted specialist Dr. James Andrews didn't feel the problem was serious and Lyon set out on a short rehab assignment before rejoining the major league club in September. The 24-year-old has lacked dominance as a starter in the majors, but he performed quite effectively in relief this year. I expect Arizona to use him as a setup man in the pen, barring a shortage of starters. Provided the elbow problem doesn't develop into something more severe, he should help solidify their pen in the late innings.

Obtaining de la Rosa insures that the Diamondbacks won't have to face the potentially embarrassing prospect of watching him succeed with the Red Sox after letting him slip through their fingers. Arizona signed de la Rosa as a non-drafted free agent out of Mexico in 1998. Prior to the 2000 season, the Diamondbacks then sold his contract to the Monterrey Sultans in the Mexican League. However, when the working agreement between the two clubs expired, the Sultans kept de la Rosa's rights. Boston purchased his contract from Monterrey in 2001.

At AA Portland this year, the 22-year-old compiled a 102:36 K:BB with 87 H and 6 HR allowed in 99.2 IP for a 2.80 ERA over 22 appearances including 20 starts. He made five starts with AAA Pawtucket near the end of 2003 and should spend 2004 with Arizona's AAA affiliate at Tucson. De la Rosa has battled control problems throughout his career, and his performance at AAA this season should determine whether he'll be able to advance to the majors as a starter or if he'll need to move to relief.

OF-L Michael Goss has been widely reported as the player to be named later. Boston drafted Goss out of Jackson State University with an 11th round pick in the 2002 draft. Playing for A Augusta in the South Atlantic League in 2003, he hit .245 with a .327 OBP and .295 SLG on 78 H, 9 2B, 2 3B, and 1 HR with a 34:71 BB:K and 29/36 SB% in 319 AB. The 23-year-old's speed is evident, but he'll need to improve his plate discipline if he's to reach the majors and make use of that skill.

The trade pulls depth from a system Boston has been trying to rebuild, but when a club has the payroll flexibility to spend on pre-developed players, the organization can use the proceeds of their minor leagues in trade. With Schilling in the rotation, the Red Sox should overtake the Yankees for the division title and sail through the playoffs to the World Series, making the expenditure quite worthwhile.

On the other hand, Arizona may have cost themselves their last chance at a title for a few years. Their minor league system is beginning to churn out talent, and they soon will be able to move towards a youth based dynasty. However, that team will need a couple of seasons to solidify, and had they retained Schilling, Arizona could have made a run at the playoffs in 2004. Once in the playoffs, the combination of Randy and Schilling gives them a good shot to go all the way again.

With the youth movement on the way, I can understand not wanting to sign Schilling to an extension, though that leads me to reconsider the Johnson extension. If they didn't believe retaining him would lead to another World Championship for the franchise, I then appreciate their desire to have something else left to show for Schilling as opposed to letting him walk away for draft picks or nothing as a free agent. However, if a team is going to trade a player of Schilling's quality, they should acquire at least one player on the cusp of greatness.

Although all of the players the Diamondbacks acquired for Schilling possess considerable upside, all face substantial barriers to success. Arizona also already owned numerous pitchers of similar potential. I'm frankly amazed that after their supposed demands from the Yankees and Phillies, the Diamondbacks accepted this package from Boston. The Red Sox must have done an excellent job of highlighting the potential of their players while downplaying the significant risks. If the Diamondbacks had cut all the players except Nick Johnson from their reputed request of the Yankees, they would have received a better package than they acquired from Boston.