Deal is pending medical records, John Henry approval, and league approval. According to the story, Sox would eat most of Lowell's contract.
Ramirez
Quick take on Ramirez: Used to be terrible defensively, but has improved. Used to be a stud offensively, but had a weak year in 2009 with his first shot at AAA. A somewhat fallen top prospect. Many many skeptics about whether he can stick at catcher.
edit: only 1 bad year, not 2; also, he had wrist injuries that may have caused the bad year
more edit: Coming into 2009, Keith Law ranked Ramirez as the #8 prospect of the Rangers (#1 farm system in baseball), and #77 prospect in baseball
My guess is that the Sox might have been willing to let Lowell go for nothing if they would only have to pay about half his 2010 salary ($12m). If they are paying all his salary, then one way to think of the value of the transaction is that they are effectively buying Ramirez for $6m. A huge question mark is where and how well he will play defensively, but this guy put up some really strong offensive numbers before 2009.
UPDATE: Trade falls through

