You knew Ken Williams couldn’t make it through the week without making a trade. He saw all the wheelin’ and dealin’ by his fellow GMs and had to get in on some of that action. So mere days after proclaiming his chances of trading a reliever as “very, very, very slim,” K-Dub shipped beleaguered relief pitcher Damaso Marte to the Pirates for super utility man and Oak Lawn native Rob Mackowiak. Ken Williams, you sly dog.

In addition to giving the Sox another hometown boy—-he was a Sox fan as a kid-—Mackowiak fortifies the Sox infield depth and provides a left-handed bat off the bench. Mackowiak can play several positions, as last season alone he made appearances at 1B, 2B, 3B, LF, CF and RF, but he spent most of his time playing 3B or CF—the Sox two biggest areas of need. He hit .272 with 9 HRs, 58 RBIs and 8 SBs last year, batting in every spot of the line up except lead off for the Pirates. He represents insurance for Joe Crede’s back, and will get significant playing time considering his versatility and manager Ozzie Guillen’s desire to give his starters days off.

With the Red Sox offering arbitration to potential White Sox targets Tony Graffanino and Bill Mueller and the Padres trading away Sean Burroughs and Mark Loretta, the Sox saw the pool of quality infielders shrink and thus pounced on the 29-year-old Pirate when it became clear he was available. You can pretty much wave bye-bye to Willie Harris, Timo Perez and possibly even Ross Gload now, as they are all likely to be released or traded later this month.

Marte was once among the most dominant left handed reliever in the American League and considered a sure-fire closer in the making, but lost his control, velocity and confidence somewhere along the way to the point where his departure is actually addition by subtraction for the Sox. That’s how far the poor guy fell. His role as a lefty-specialist, or LOOGY as the cool kids are calling it (Lefty One Out Guy) would have been best awarded to free agent Mike Myers, who would have thrived in Ozzie Guillen’s match-up-driven bullpen. But Myers agreed to sign with the Yankees, so the Sox will have to look elsewhere.

Considering the scarcity of left-handed relievers, Marte’s potential for dominance and the rumored league-wide interest, I thought the Sox might be able to get a little more in return than just a back up/utility man. But the Sox didn’t need any “big” deals, and this fills a specific need, so it’s a good move for K-Dub and the defending champs. If the Sox can get a lefty for the bullpen to replace Marte, it will be a great move.