Make no mistake, as an offensive player, Jason Bay is no Manny Ramirez in his prime.

By all accounts, Bay is a solid professional, a person who loves the game and plays hard, and is a nice, down-to-earth guy, to boot.

He’ll turn 30 on Sept. 20, which makes him six years younger than Ramirez, the slugger Bay is replacing in left field and in the batting order for the Boston Red Sox after yesterday’s three-team, non-waiver, trade-deadline deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

He’s also a two-time All-Star who has bashed 140 homers since breaking into the big leagues with San Diego in 2003, 139 of them for the Pirates, to whom he was traded by the Padres during the 2003 season.

He’s a right-handed hitter who should be able to take advantage of the Green Monster as well as being a defensive upgrade from Ramirez in left field.

That’s all well and good.

Just don’t expect him to team with David Ortiz in the middle of the Red Sox batting order and provide Boston with as fearsome a one-two slugging punch as Ortiz and Ramirez supplied for almost six seasons. And don’t be surprised if Ortiz sees fewer pitches to hit wherever he lands in the batting order now that Ramirez is gone.

Ortiz, batting third, and Ramirez, the cleanup hitter, formed arguably the most devastating back-to-back power hitters in a lineup in the history of the game. Since Ortiz arrived in Boston for the 2003 season, the duo combined for 422 homers and 1,325 RBI before yesterday’s trade.

The numbers are impressive enough, but just as important was the fear factor the opposition faced in their pick-your-poison moments in the late innings with the game on the line, trying to find, generally without success, the lesser of two evils to pitch to in those key situations.

Bay won’t do that for Boston. Ramirez is a likely first-ballot Hall of Famer. Bay hasn’t achieved close to that status yet. Ortiz, meanwhile, has lost some of his “protection” in the batting order with the dismissal of Ramirez, even though Ramirez’s bat had slowed some the last two years, generating less consistent power.

Clearly, the Sox wanted to part company with Ramirez, and the feeling was quite mutual, as vocalized several times within the last week by Manny. So the addition of Bay rids the clubhouse of Ramirez, who had become a serious distraction, no small factor in the Sox’ 1-5 record on this homestand with three games remaining, beginning with a game tonight against Oakland.

So now the big question facing manager Terry Francona and the Sox is where to bat Bay in the lineup.

One possibility would be to drop Ortiz into the cleanup spot vacated by Ramirez.

Back in 2003 and 2004, Francona would flip-flop Ortiz and Ramirez at times in the three-four holes. Neither one wanted to bat fourth. Ultimately, Francona settled on Ortiz third and Ramirez fourth, and that helped Boston win World Series crowns in 2004 and 2007.

If Ortiz does hit fourth, it’s possible Francona could insert Bay, a 6-foot-2, 205-pounder, into the No. 3 spot. Then Mike Lowell could bat behind Ortiz and be followed by J.D. Drew. That would give Boston a nice righty-lefty-righty-lefty batting order, forcing an opposing manager to think twice before he started to bring in his situational relievers.

As of now, with Jacoby Ellsbury struggling and dropped to the ninth spot, Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis are the top two hitters in the order. If Ellsbury begins to hit, the lineup will look deeper because Ellsbury and Pedroia would be hitting one-two and Youkilis could hit seventh.

Bay hit 22 homers and knocked in 64 runs in 106 games for the Pirates this season, compiling a .282 batting average. He has a pair of 100-RBI seasons under his belt despite playing for the lowly Pirates, so he knows how to hit with runners in scoring position.

Another option would be for Bay to hit fourth and leave Ortiz in his comfortable third spot. Or maybe move Lowell up to cleanup with either Bay or Drew hitting fifth, though Drew has been slumping lately. Maybe it will be a work in progress for a few games while Bay gets his feet wet in the American League.

For the record, Bay is a carrer .281 hitter who strikes out and walks a lot. He averaged 146 whiffs and 85 walks over the last three years, and this year he has fanned 86 times and walked 69 times in 106 games.

Another variable for Bay is how well he adjusts to playing in the glare of Boston as opposed to the indifference of Pittsburgh. Often such a move can energize a player and elevate his performance, but only time will tell on this issue as well as what kind of impact Bay will have on a Red Sox lineup that will be without Manny Ramirez for the first time since the 2000 season.

The Red Sox, meanwhile, aren’t likely to miss the other two players they lost in the deal. Craig Hansen, a first-round pick in 2005 after a stellar career at St. John’s, never consistently harnessed his ability. He was 1-3 with a 5.58 earned-run average and two saves in 32 games. Rookie right-hander Justin Masterson basically has supplanted Hansen in the Boston bullpen, making Hansen expendable.

Outfielder Brandon Moss, who had a few tours of duty with the Sox this season, was down in Pawtucket, looking up at a crowded situation in Boston. The trade represents a better big-league opportunity for him.

skrasner@projo.com