Red Sox: Grading Dave Dombrowski’s trade deadline moves
By Sean Penney
Third Base – Trade
The Red Sox acquired infielder Eduardo Nunez from the San Francisco Giants last week in exchange for right-handed pitchers Shaun Anderson and Gregory Santos.
Nunez isn’t the high-profile name fans hoped would save the third base position in Boston, but that type of player wasn’t reasonably attainable on the trade market. Given the dismal production the Red Sox have received at the hot corner this season, they didn’t need that type of player. If Nunez provides above-average production at third base then he’ll look like a superstar compared to the replacement-level options they have cycled through.
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A hot start in his brief tenure in Boston has given the team a much needed spark. Nunez is hitting .417 with a 1.417 OPS through his first three games in a Red Sox uniform. He’s obviously nowhere near this good, but he’s a quality hitter who will hit for average. He swiped a bag on Sunday to give him 19 total steals this season, tied for ninth in the majors and more than anyone on this Red Sox roster. There’s also reason to believe his home run power will receive a boost moving from a pitcher-friendly park in San Francisco to Fenway. He showed a glimpse of that potential with a two-homer game on Saturday.
Nunez is a rental, owed a reasonable $1.56 million for the rest of the season before he hits free agency. The haul sent to the Giants in return was a bit steeper than we would have liked. Anderson, a third-round pick in 2016, was Boston’s 18th ranked prospect at the time. His modest results in Class A ball are the result of transitioning from the bullpen to the rotation.
Santos is an expendable reliever who is years away from the big leagues in a best case scenario, but an intriguing lottery ticket. Not a bad return for San Francisco to get back for a rental.