THE PLAYER WHO WAS TRADED FOR HIMSELF:

Paul Byrd move a cash-only transaction (Tony Massarotti, 8/14/08, Boston Herald)

When you get right down to it, there will be no “player to be named” in the trade that brought Paul Byrd to Boston.

Unless, of course, you consider Benjamin Franklin to be a prospect.

According to a source familiar with the trade talks between the Red Sox [team stats] and Cleveland Indians, the Red Sox have agreed to pick up all of Byrd’s remaining salary this season, an amount equal to about $2 million. The inclusion of any “player to be named” is nothing more than a procedural matter, and there was indication yesterday that there will, in fact, be no player at all.