Red Sox acquire Alex Castellanos from Dodgers

Less than four hours before playing Game 1 of the World Series, the Boston Red Sox made a small trade. The team announced that they have acquired outfielder Alex Castellanos from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for minor leaguer Jeremy Hazelbaker and cash considerations.

Castellanos, 27, was recently designated for assignment by the Dodgers to make room for newly-signed second baseman Alexander Guerrero. While Castellanos only registered three hits over eighteen at-bats at the major league level on the season, he hit .257 HR with 19 HR and 61 RBI in 105 games for Triple-A Albuquerque. In 24 major league games over the past two seasons, Castellanos has hit .171 with 2 HR and 4 RBI.

"He's a guy we've had our eye on in the past," Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington said. "We like his versatility and his good minor league offensive track record. We hope to get a further look at him in spring training and see what we have. You can never add enough depth, and we like the player so we took advantage of an opportunity."

Hazelbaker, 26, has never appeared in the majors with the Red Sox and was a candidate to be taken in this winter's Rule 5 Draft. In 121 games with Triple-A Pawtucket on the year, the speedster registered a .257 batting average with 11 HR, 54 RBI and 37 stolen bases.

"[Hazelbaker] is a talented guy who we took in the fourth round a few years back," Cherington said. "He got to Triple-A, and he has tools. He can run, he has power but he hasn't quite put it together offensively. We just felt that in this case Castellanos was a better fit. His skillset complements what we are looking for a little bit more, but we wish Jeremy well."

To make room on the 40-man roster, the Red Sox designated right-hander Pedro Beato for assignment.