Red Sox Surprisingly Trade for Scott Podsednik From Phillies
The Red Sox have acquired outfielder Scott Podsednik from the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night in what is a brain teaser of a move. The Phillies will receive cash considerations for the veteran outfielder who will report to Triple-A Pawtucket according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com.
The reason the move is a peculiar one is for a few reasons. The first being Podsednik’s poor numbers offensively and that’s at the minor league level where he’s hit barely above the .200 line this year. Last season he hit .254/.340/.396 while playing in the minor leagues for both the Phillies and Blue Jays.
The second reason is he hasn’t played in the majors since 2010 when he played for the Dodgers and Royals. For Podsednik to get his timing back to the major league level will take weeks and by then Carl Crawford or Jason Repko could be activated from the DL.
Finally, he’s 36-years of age and his defensive skills are not what they used to be. To say they’re an upgrade over the current Sox outfield is a farce even if Cody Ross and Marlon Byrd haven’t looked completely comfortable in center field.
Podsednik does own a career line of .279/.340/.381 which is respectable. But based on the multiple reasons above I don’t see how this deal makes much sense for the Red Sox. It does bring up speculation that perhaps the Red Sox are either looking to make a major deal that may involve a current outfielder or someone is hurt and headed for the DL.
Should a deal be in the works, Podsednik would give the Sox a reasonable amount of insurance in the outfield for the time being until some of their major arteries return to action in the coming months.
Friday night’s game saw Cody Ross, Ryan Sweeney and recent call-up Daniel Nava patrol the outfield at Fenway with Marlon Byrd and Darnell McDonald on the bench. McDonald did pinch hit during the game and Byrd played Thursday so it’s difficult to pin point which outfielder may be nursing a nagging injury.
The Red Sox were interested in Podesdnik roughly three weeks ago but settled on Marlon Byrd from the Cubs. It was said that the Phillies were asking a king’s ransom for Podsednik before finally settling on cash considerations this time around.
It is worth noting that Podsednik does have an opt out clause of July 1 if he is not added to the Sox major league roster by that time.
Ahhh, as the world turns in the world of the Boston Red Sox. We can only wait and wonder why the Podsednik deal was made.
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