The Red Sox have placed first baseman Adrian Gonzalez on waivers, and there is a "remote possibility" he could be traded to the Dodgers, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.

The scenario is somewhat complex -- first off, it would require Gonzalez to pass unclaimed through the entire American League and all National League teams with worse records than the Dodgers. Then, the Red Sox would require top prospects -- Dilbeck mentions pitchers Rubby De La Rosa and Allen Webster as well as outfielder Jerry Sands. Finally, the Red Sox would also have to shed the toxic contracts of Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett.

So it's a somewhat outlandish idea. Step one could be difficult, as there is a good chance a team ahead of the Dodgers claim Gonzalez. Specifically, Baltimore has little stability all season and has shown willingness to pay top dollar for a free agent first baseman in the past -- they offered roughly $150 million for Mark Teixeira in 2008, very similar to the contract Gonzalez is on. Gonzalez is in the first year of a seven-year, $154 million contract and would be owed $133 million over the next six seasons.

The prospect cost also would be quite large for the Dodgers. Only Webster can be found on Baseball America's top 10 prospects list for Los Angeles (at number two behind Zach Lee), but De La Rosa and Sands would likely be in the top five if not for their brief stays at the major league level last season. De La Rosa was a top-100 prospect entering last season with one of the biggest fastballs out of a starting pitcher in the league, averaging 95.2 miles per hour. Sands has shown big power in the minors, with 53 home runs in 212 games at Triple-A.

And then there's the contracts the Dodgers would have to take on. Crawford is owed $107 million after this season and Beckett another $34 million. Although these players could still be useful, they haven't played up to the level that initially earned them such huge paydays. The Dodgers would therefore be taking on $274 million in salary between the trio of Red Sox -- just $47 million less than the value of the Oakland Athletics according to Forbes -- a trio that is unlikely, in the aggregate, to be worth such a sum all while sending out a significant amount of future prospect value.

So one understands why the possibility is called remote. But the Dodgers have shown a big willingness to spend since new ownership took hold this summer. We'll see what happens over the next few days as the waiver process runs its course.