The Pirates won't be getting Kevin Youkilis, as the White Sox have acquired him for Brent Lillibridge and Zach Stewart. The Red Sox are taking on almost all of Youkilis' remaining salary.
This is a nice deal for the White Sox, who are at the top of the A.L. Central despite getting less than nothing from their third basemen this year. Stewart was once fairly highly regarded, but now he looks like he might be a decent back-of-the-rotation guy if a bunch of things break right for him. Outside of 216 fluky-looking at-bats last year, Lillibridge hasn't really hit at all since he was with the Pirates years ago. I didn't expect the Red Sox to get much talent back, but I am a little surprised they didn't make the White Sox pick up a little more cash. Maybe they still think Stewart can be something.
Update from David: I'm with Charlie on this one. I think the White Sox get a relatively cheap look to see if Youk has anything left. The O-Dog wasn't the answer at third for them, so now they will try this option. The Red Sox are paying all but $2 million of Youkilis' remaining salary for this year and buyout for next year. He has a $13 million option for next season with a $1 million team buyout.
Lillibridge was the Pirates' fourth-round pick in the 2005 and was traded to Atlanta in January 2007 with Mike Gonzalez for Adam LaRoche and Jamie Romak. He made his major league debut in 2008.