WEEI.com’s Jessica Camerato has learned Red Sox infielder Nick Green will undergo back surgery on Monday in Boston. Green suffered a back injury in September and was not active on the 2009 playoff roster. The Red Sox outrighted him to Triple-A Pawtucket yesterday.

Green was sidelined with what was believed to be a slipped disc in his back since mid-Sept., with his last at-bat coming on Sept. 16 when he drew a bases-loaded walk in the ninth inning of a win over the Angels.

The shortstop, who complained of a ‘dead’ right leg throughout the last few weeks of the season, played in 103 games with the Red Sox in 2009, hitting .236 with six homers.

The 31-year-old has spent parts of five season in the major leagues, having previously played in the Braves, Rays, Yankees and Mariners organizations.

Jessica Camerato of WEEI.com has learned Red Sox infielder Nick Green will undergo back surgery on Monday in Boston. Green suffered a back injury in September and was not active on the 2009 playoff roster. The Red Sox outrighted him to Triple-A Pawtucket yesterday.

As mentioned in today’s story, the Red Sox are hopeful that outfielder Jeremy Hermida represents a lottery ticket with the chance for a nice return: a player who controls the strike zone and has the potential for power as a corner outfielder. Hermida — who is arbitration eligible for the second time — will likely pull in a bit more than $3 million in salary in 2010, too rich for a Marlins team on which his role would be ill-defined, but an acceptable risk for the Sox for a player with at least the potential to develop into an above-average corner outfielder.

Because the Marlins had to deal Hermida or face the prospect of making him a non-tender free-agent (there was no chance Florida was going to offer the 25-year-old salary arbitration), the acquisition cost was relatively low. The Sox gave up a pair of left-handers without a clear path to their major-league roster in Hunter Jones and Jose Alvarez. Here’s a brief primer on how each fit into the Sox system:

HUNTER JONES

Jones was one of the great scouting finds in the Red Sox organization, an undrafted free agent whom scouting director Jason McLeod saw on the Cape and brought into the Sox system for $35,000. He completed a remarkable and unlikely journey (this cannot be understated: he was never supposed to be able to throw over 85 mph after fracturing his ulna and requiring the insertion of a metal rod in his forearm) by reaching the majors this year.

But even though Jones is a strike-thrower with good deception and plane on his fastball, he has yet to develop a consistent breaking pitch that would allow him to be a real contributor in the Red Sox bullpen. He also didn’t prove particularly effective against lefties.

And so, with Dustin Richardson (recently named an All-Star in the Arizona Fall League) having passed him on the organization’s left-handed depth chart, he became a replaceable part who could be moved. For Jones (who has one option remaining), the opportunity is potentially an excellent one, as he gets to audition for a bullpen role with a Marlins franchise that is close to his hometown.

Jones has one option remaining, but with the Red Sox, there was little chance that he could be more than a last-man-in-the-bullpen type. Particularly given the number of established roles in the bullpen, Jones likely would have spent 2010 back in Pawtucket (for the third year), with the occasional call-up when the Sox needed some innings in their bullpen. With the Marlins, he faces a greater likelihood of big-league innings, in a ballpark and league that can only help his career.

JOSE ALVAREZ

Alvarez’ performance in 2009 — especially in Lowell of the Single A New York Penn League — was outstanding. He actually started the year in High A Salem, working out of the bullpen, as the Sox thought it would be more beneficial for him to have innings at an affiliate club than in extended spring training. He pitched credibly, especially considering that at 20 years old he was very young for the league. He had a 4.74 ERA in 12 relief appearances, where he struck out 11 and walked six in 24.2 innings.

When Lowell’s season began, he went to the Spinners to work as a starter, and his numbers jumped. Alvarez went 8-3 with a 1.52 ERA while pounding the strike zone, allowing just 10 walks against 63 strikeouts in 83 innings. He was an All-Star at the level.

His stuff is considered decent, if unspectacular. His willingness to throw strikes at a young age is impressive. He demonstrated a good feel for his changeup, a fringe-average fastball (high-80s, perhaps ticking 90 or 91) that he throws for strikes, and a breaking ball that remains a work in progress. The fastball/changeup combination suggests a pitcher better suited for the rotation than the bullpen, and he would have competed for a spot in the Greenville rotation in 2010, but with no certainty of cracking into that starting group.

Hours after trading for Marlins outfielder Jeremy Hermida, Theo Epstein spoke in a conference call about buying low on the once-upon-a-time top prospect and how the former 11th overall pick may fit in with the Sox. Here are some highlights.

On Hermida: “Hermida is a player who hasn’t fulfilled his potential yet and we acquired him today for a reasonable cost to see if he might be able to fulfill that potential enough.”

“He’s somebody who has positive indicators that his future performance might be better than his past performance. His minor league track record, his draft pedigree, [and] our scouting reports over the years indicated there’s a chance that he can turn into the player that he was once thought to be.”

“Certainly this was a good time to acquire him when his value was a little bit low and see if [in a] change of scenery he might be able to fulfill his potential.”

“He’s an average defender on the corners [and] a fairly well-rounded player, but coming out of the draft as the 11th overall pick and having an outstanding minor league performance as a young player throughout the minor league, he showed a lot of offensive potential.”

“When you acquire a player, sometimes you acquire them because you think there’s a chance that with a change of scenery they might grow into their potential and into their promise. He’s somebody who had and we feel may still have considerable promise.”

“[Hermida] was very young for each level he was at and performed extremely well, especially at Double A, and things just never came together for him in the big leagues. That’s not uncommon for young players. He’s about to turn 26 [and] move into his prime years. Sometimes talented young players who have struggled in the big leagues level put it all together and sometimes they don’t. When you have a chance to acquire one for what we deem to be a very reasonable cost, we think that’s the type of move that makes sense.”

On whether this is the start of a busy offseason: “This was not a blockbuster. This was a value trade, a chance to get a guy with unfulfilled potential for a reasonable cost. I don’t think we can draw grand conclusions about our offseason or the offseason throughout Major League Baseball based on this one transaction. It’s just a small move and I’m sure there will be increased activity with a lot of clubs when we get to the general managers’ meetings.”

On Hermida’s injuries: “I think that’s one of the things that has held him back and that has prevented him from reaching his potential. Most of the injuries he’s had have been soft tissue, head injuries, nothing that should be chronic, nothing structural that should impair him going forward. Again, often times young players get hurt early in their career and it really hampers them as they move closer to their prime and mature a little bit. Some figure out how to stay on the field and that helps them reach their potential, others don’t. We’ll see what happens with Jeremy.”

With the champagne from Yankees’ World Series celebration barely dry, the Red Sox made their first move in an attempt to catch New York next season. Boston traded left-handed pitchers Hunter Jones and Jose Alvarez to the Marlins for 25-year-old outfielder Jeremy Hermida.

Hermida, a left-handed hitter, batted .259 with 13 home runs, 47 RBI and a career-high 56 walks in 129 games this season. Splitting time between left field and right field, Hermida made just one error in 205 total chances for a .995 fielding percentage, sixth among National League outfielders. He appeared in just three games after Aug. 31 due to an intercostal strain on his right side.

Here’s the press release from the Red Sox announcing the move:

BOSTON, MA — The Boston Red Sox today acquired outfielder Jeremy Hermida from the Florida Marlins in exchange for left-handed pitchers Hunter Jones and Jose Alvarez.

The announcement was made by Executive Vice President/General Manager Theo Epstein.

Hermida, 25, hit .259 (111-for-429) with 13 home runs and 47 RBI over 129 games with the Marlins in 2009 and set a career high with 56 walks.  The left-handed hitter appeared in 81 games (73 starts) in right field and 51 (40 starts) in left.  He made just one error in 205 total chances for a .995 fielding percentage, sixth among qualifying National League outfielders.  He appeared in just three games after August 31 due to an intercostal strain on his right side.

Selected by Florida in the first round (11th overall) of the 2002 First-Year Player Draft, Hermida has a .265 batting average (452-for-1,708), 57 homers and 210 RBI in 516 career Major League games with the Marlins.  He owns a .996 (1 error/264 total chances) fielding percentage in 151 contests beginning August 8, 2008, second in the NL over that time behind only Randy Winn (1.000), and is 45-for-148 (.304) in his career against AL East opponents.

Jones, 25, made his Major League debut with Boston in 2009 and appeared in 11 games in relief.  The left-hander posted a 9.24 ERA (13 ER/12.2 IP) with the Red Sox, compiling nine strikeouts.  In 36 relief outings with Triple-A Pawtucket, he was 4-3 with two saves and a 4.25 ERA (25 ER/53.0 IP).  Signed by the Red Sox as a non-drafted free agent on July 23, 2005, Jones went 22-14 with 22 saves and a 3.09 ERA (116 ER/338.0 IP) in 178 career minor league games (6 starts) in the Boston organization.

The 20-year-old Alvarez combined to go 9-4 with a 2.26 ERA (27 ER/107.2 IP) and 74 strikeouts compared to 16 walks in 26 games (12 starts) between Single-A Salem and Short-A Lowell in 2009.  He led the New York-Penn League with a 1.52 ERA (14 ER/83.0 IP) while recording eight wins over 14 outings (12 starts) with Lowell.  Signed by the Red Sox as a non-drafted free agent on July 2, 2005, the left-hander has compiled a 23-15 record and a 3.21 ERA (116 ER/325.2 IP) in 76 career minor league appearances (48 starts) in the Red Sox system.

The Red Sox also today outrighted right-handed pitcher Fernando Cabrera, outfielder Joey Gathright and infielder Nick Green to Triple-A Pawtucket.

ESPN baseball insider Buster Olney checked in with Dale & Holley to talk Yankees, Red Sox and more. Following is a transcript. To hear the interview, check out the Dale & Holley audio on demand page.

Buster Olney is with is, good morning Buster.

Hey guys, how ya doin’?

Hey Buster, how do you think we’re doing? In Boston, Massachusetts, following a Yankees convincing World Series title.

Oh, come on, you’re in the middle of plotting how you’re going to take them down next year.

[Holley:] In all seriousness, we’ve been having a pretty spirited debate about the role of money for the Yankees in the World Series. I’d say money’s important, but you’ve got to do other smart things to put a great baseball team out there, and Dale sees it a little differently.

[Dale:] When I look at team payrolls, Buster, the Red Sox are closer to the San Diego Padres at 29 then they are to the Yankees, and that that’s a huge disadvantage to the Red Sox, and tough to overcome.

These next two statements are absolutely true in themselves: Number one, the payroll situation in baseball, the disparity, is getting to be an increasing problem and it’s only going to get worse in stuff that’s going to happen in the next 37 days. And two, I think the Yankees did a great job in the way that they spent their money, the way that they’ve changed the way they’ve operated really since the fall of 2005 when Brian Cashman went to George Steinbrenner and said, “Look, we have to change the way we do things, we have to catch the Red Sox and some of the other teams that are running organizations better than we are.”

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Former Red Sox G.M. Dan Duquette — the man who brought Pedro Martinez to Boston following the 1997 season — will drop by the Virtual Press Box on Thursday, Nov. 5, at noon to take questions in the fourth installment of WEEI.com’s Thursday baseball chat series.

Duquette was the G.M. of the Red Sox for eight seasons, from 1994-2001, following two years in the same role with the Montreal Expos. He traded for Martinez both when he was with the Expos (in exchange for Delino DeShields) and again as the G.M. of the Sox (for Carl Pavano and Tony Armas Jr.). Other notable deals that he made in Boston included trading reliever Heathcliff Slocumb for Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe, and signing Tim Wakefield. The Sox made the playoffs three times under Duquette’s stewardship, once as the A.L. East winners, and twice more as the wild card team. During his Boston tenure, the Sox went 656-574 while setting numerous attendance records.

Duquette is now the President of the Dan Duquette Sports Academy, a sports training center for boys and girls ages 8-18 who are interested in learning baseball, softball, basketball and life skills from distinguished high school, college and professional coaches. This summer, the Academy will host its first-ever All-Girls session, led by Justine Siegal who is the first women to coach a men’s professional baseball team.

PREVIOUS CHATS

Oct. 29 — Red Sox outfielder Jason Bay

Oct. 22 — Red Sox hitting coach Dave Magadan

Oct. 15 — Red Sox director of amateur scouting Jason McLeod