Red Sox think they were misled by Padres in Pomeranz deal
By Noah Small
The Boston Red Sox believe they were misled in regards to Drew Pomeranz’s medical records by the San Diego Padres.
As if the Drew Pomeranz – Anderson Espinoza swap couldn’t get any more sour for the Red Sox, it seems they may have been duped by the San Diego Padre’s management.
Recent reports are surfacing from the likes of ESPN’s Buster Onley stating the Padres were less the forthcoming in regards to Pomeranz’s health.
Sources: Padres drawing industry scrutiny and an MLB review over questions of medical disclosure. https://t.co/jwjIg7RTYq
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) August 5, 2016
The Red Sox wouldn’t be the only team to have been misled by the Padres in this trade deadline, as the Marlins traded for San Diego’s Colin Rea only to have his elbow injury flare up in his first start with Miami.
The Padres claimed innocence in the ordeal and even scrapped part of the original trade (that included Andrew Cashner) by accepting the return of Rea for minor leaguer Luis Castillo. They claimed they had not know of Rea’s elbow issues, the same ones that will now require season ending Tommy-john surgery, although Rea had said he was treated for the injury while in San Diego.
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And now, with the Red Sox also claiming ever important health information was kept out of their deal, the Padre’s are under heavy scrutiny from other teams as well as a league investigation.
But, as reported by Buster Onley, in a strange wrinkle it appears the Sox are not looking for any restitution or alteration of the deal, possibly leaving them with over-priced, damaged goods.
This is a peculiar case on several fronts. First and foremost, whether San Diego believed they could pull the wool over other team’s eyes and get away with this kind of deceit is surprising to say the least. Of course for a team as horrible as the Padres are and have been, always trying to get every ounce out of players and trades they partake in makes sense, but the bad faith that results in teams feeling taken advantage of could haunt their trading endeavors indefinitely.
For the Red Sox this adds all the more reason for criticism of management concerning the deal that many (including myself) felt was an ill-timed reach. Not only will Anderson Espinoza likely not be walking back though Boston’s door any time soon, but the already struggling Drew Pomeranz may be even less valuable than previously thought.
Pomeranz has now started four games with the Sox while picking up two losses and conceding five earned runs in half of them. He has also given up at least one home run in every start, and even in his last attempt which was likely his best, he walked six batters.
Not exactly the type of performances one would hope for after giving up a blue-chip piece such as Espinoza.
The trade was further insulted when it became known Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox was likely available at the deadline after his scissorhand-esque outburst in the clubhouse. An offer headlined by the likes of Andrew Benintendi and Anderson Espinoza would have been very tempting for Chicago’s front office, but was not a reality thanks to poor decision-making up top.
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It really might not matter all that much for the Red Sox what the league finds in their closer look at the Padre’s trades. A return of Espinoza is both unlikely and not being pursued by the Sox at this moment, leaving Boston with an oft-injured, unproven National League starting pitcher.