Posted by Matt Sisson on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 1:06 pm

The Boston Red Sox have acquired Adam LaRoche from the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player yet to be named.   Sources from WEEI have stated that Manny Delcarmen is not part of the deal with the Pirates. LaRoche, a 29 year old first baseman has a history of playing well in the second half of the season and has averaged nearly 25 homers over the past four seasons with the Braves and Pirates. He is hitting .247 with a .329 OBP and slugging .441 so far in 2009.  LaRoche has to be viewed as an insurance policy if Mike Lowell cannot finish out the season due to his surgically repaired hit acting up as it did last season.  His role for now will likely be to fill in at first when Kevin Youkilis moves across the diamond to cover third when Lowell needs a day or two off.

Update:  From WEEI:  The Boston Red Sox have shipped Argenis Diaz and pitcher Hunter Strickland to the Pirates . Diaz is known as a gifted defensive player, but there are questions about his bat. The 22-year-old Diaz is hitting .253/.309/.310 with Double-A Portland this year. He has not hit any homers this year.

Strickland, an 18th round pick in 2007, is 5-4 with a 3.35 ERA for the Greenville Drive of the Single-A South Atlantic League this year. The 6-foot-5 20-year-old has shown excellent command for the Drive, with a 51-13 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 83.1 innings this year.