Red Sox, Pirates complete six-player trade to send Joel Hanrahan to Boston

The Boston Red Sox finalized a trade on Wednesday to send reliever Mark Melancon and three prospects to the Pittsburgh Pirates for closer Joel Hanrahan and infielder Brock Holt. Reports of the two sides nearing an agreement emerged on Saturday, with details of the players involved outside of Hanrahan unknown.

Boston will trade three young players to Pittsburgh, the latter two of whom were acquired in the August blockbuster that sent Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez to the Dodgers: 19-year-old pitcher Yankory Pimentel, who saw limited action in the rookie league last season; 25-year-old outfielder Jerry Sands, who owns a .244 average in 221 career MLB at-bats but hit 26 home runs in Triple A last season; and 25-year-old infielder Ivan De Jesus, a .205 career hitter in 73 MLB at-bats and .298 hitter in eight minor league seasons.

#redsox announce deal is Hanrahan and IF Brock Holt for Pimentel, Sands, Melancon, DeJesus—
Alex Speier (@alexspeier) December 26, 2012

Holt posted a combined .344 average in Double A and Triple A last season before being called up to the Pirates in September. Melancon was expected to serve as Boston’s setup man last season after being acquired from the Astros, but pitched to a 6.20 ERA in 45 innings and was even sent to the minors between April and June.

Hanrahan, meanwhile, has been named an All-Star in each of the past two seasons since becoming a full-time closer. He posted a combined 2.24 ERA and 128 strikeouts in 128.1 innings in those seasons, with 76 saves in 84 opportunities.

I'm very excited to be joining the @RedSox and look forward to joining the great history of Boston and making some new history!!!—
Joel Hanrahan (@hanrahan52) December 26, 2012