Red Sox: Grading Dave Dombrowski’s trade deadline moves
The MLB trade deadline passed without Dave Dombrowski making a blockbuster deal, but moves he did make should help the Boston Red Sox.
The Boston Red Sox approached the MLB trade deadline with two vital needs. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has never been shy about pulling the trigger on a trade to improve the big league club in a pennant race, so being active at the deadline was a near certainty. While Dealin’ Dave didn’t make the type of splash he’s become infamous for, he did manage to swing a couple of trades that upgraded the team’s most glaring weaknesses.
Upgrading the third base position was essential. Red Sox third baseman rank near the bottom of the league in essentially every category and are dead last in OPS. They managed to patch the early-season defensive woes with Deven Marrero‘s glove, yet his weak bat was a drain on a scuffling lineup.
Boston’s bullpen ranks second in the league with a collective 3.03 ERA, although that figure is heavily influenced by the brilliance of closer Craig Kimbrel. The bullpen is littered with question marks behind him. Matt Barnes has struggled to consistently fill the setup role. Joe Kelly emerged as a reliable option, but doesn’t have a trustworthy track record and is currently on the disabled list. The Red Sox desperately needed to reinforce the bridge to the ninth inning, a need magnified by Sunday’s bullpen meltdown.
Dombrowski addressed both concerns in separate deals without breaking the bank or raiding their woefully thin farm system of its few remaining desirable assets. While these new acquisitions will help, the infusion of internal options must also factor into our analysis when grading Boston’s deadline moves.
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.
Third Base – Internal
While Nunez should prove to be a significant upgrade at third base, trading for him alone would have felt underwhelming if it were the only move to improve the lineup. Luckily, that’s not the case, as the Red Sox doubled down at the position by promoting top prospect Rafael Devers.
The 20-year old arrived in the majors well ahead of schedule but has more than held his own in his first taste of big league action. Devers is 6-for-20 (.300) with a double and a pair of home runs through his first five games in Boston. A Red Sox lineup that ranks last in the league in homers was in dire need of a slugger and it appears that the power Devers possesses will translate to the majors with immediate dividends.
Trading for Nunez may have been an insurance policy in case Devers became overwhelmed at this level after being rushed through the minor league system. However, the Red Sox should be able to find ample playing time for both. Nunez is capable of playing other infield positions. He’s filled in for Dustin Pedroia at second base the last couple of games and could spell a slumping Xander Bogaerts at shortstop on occasion. He could also see time at DH if Hanley Ramirez continues to see more games at first base.
We could see a platoon at third base. Nunez is hitting .311 against left-handed pitching, albeit with a bit less power than he’s shown against right-handers. He could be used at third against lefties if the Red Sox choose not to expose Devers to left-handed pitching.
The combination of Nunez and Devers should be a massive upgrade over what the Red Sox have trotted out to third base this season. Nunez alone wouldn’t have moved the needle quite enough, but pairing him with the power bat of Devers pushes the grade up to a more promising level.
Third Base Grade – B+
ATLANTA, GA – JUNE 11: Addison Reed (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
Bullpen – Trade
The Red Sox acquired Addison Reed from the New York Mets in exchange for a trio of right-handed relievers: Jamie Callahan, Stephen Nogosek and Gerson Bautista.
Reed had been filling in the closer seat for the Mets, logging 19 saves this season. He has a serviceable track record in that role, racking up 125 career saves over his seven seasons. Reed followed up a late-season emergence during New York’s World Series run in 2015 with a career year last season, posting a 1.97 ERA and 10.5 K/9 in 77 2/3 innings.
While not as dominant this year, Reed is having a solid season, posting a 2.57 ERA and 8.8 K/9. His fastball has declined to a career-low 92.6 mph, but he can get away with it due to his pinpoint control and a slider that generates swings and misses. He throws strikes, leading to a stellar 8.00 K/BB ratio that ranks 7th in the league among pitchers with a minimum of 40 innings this season – one spot ahead of Chris Sale.
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His tendency to work in the zone and rising home run rate (1.1 HR/9) seems alarming at first glance for a pitcher moving to a park where fly balls do more damage than they would in New York’s Citi Field. Except that four of the six homers he’s allowed this season came back in April, so it seems he’s put those issues behind him.
Reed is another rental eligible for free agency after the season, so it’s curious why the Red Sox had to surrender three prospects. They paid a price based on the Mets viewing him as their closer despite that he won’t fill that role in Boston unless Kimbrel is unavailable.
Callahan seems to have the most potential of the bunch heading to the Mets. The second-round pick in 2012 was the No. 20 prospect in the system, according to SoxProspects.com. He and Bautista were both eligible for the Rule-5 draft after this season. Callahan may have been protected by being added to the 40-man roster. It’s doubtful Bautista would have been, making him expendable. Nogosek was ranked as the No. 25 prospect by SoxProspects, but MLB.com ranked him as the top player in the deal at No. 18 in Boston’s system.
Once again, Dombrowski was willing to overpay a bit for a rental. With the Red Sox lacking a reliable setup man, the price should prove worthwhile if Reed meets expectations. The one concern is his workload, which Farrell will need to be cautious with (not his specialty). The relievers they gave up were unlikely to make it to the majors anytime soon, if at all. Boston needed help now and they got a quality pitcher to fill the void.
Bullpen – Internal
With all the injuries that the Red Sox have suffered to their pitching staff you may have wondered why they didn’t do more to bolster the bullpen. With few trustworthy options behind Kimbrel, is Reed going to be enough?
Fear not, as reinforcements are on the way.
Brandon Workman was added to the bullpen earlier this month and has been outstanding ever since. He’s allowed only two runs over 10 2/3 innings for a 1.69 ERA in eight appearances during this latest stint. He’s struck out 10 and walked only two over that span. Workman has been plagued by injuries the last few years, but this is a guy who pitched key innings in the postseason on Boston’s 2013 World Series run.
Joe Kelly is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment in Pawtucket on Wednesday, so a return to the Red Sox bullpen can’t be far behind. He’s been Boston’s second best reliever this year, posting a 1.49 ERA in 34 appearances. Kelly was emerging as viable setup man prior to the injury. He could still see time in that role on days that Reed or Kimbrel are unavailable, but bumping him down the hierarchy should allow the Red Sox to monitor Kelly’s workload more carefully and deepen the bullpen.
Let’s not forget about Carson Smith either. No, really. Don’t laugh. Smith was back on the mound facing live batters at Fenway on Monday, so a return could be on the horizon. We’ve waited over 14 months to see Smith make a contribution to Boston’s bullpen. If he’s even close to being back to the form he showed with the Seattle Mariners, Smith will be as good as any reliever the Red Sox could hope to acquire at the trade deadline.
Next: Devers making immediate impact
If the Red Sox manage to get all of these pitchers back – and keep them healthy – their bullpen will be stocked. If Dombrowski feels confident that these three relievers can be counted on down the stretch then adding Reed will be enough. However, that is a big if.
If a healthy Red Sox bullpen pitches to their potential then Dombrowski gets an A for acquiring a solid setup man without giving up any of their top assets. If their internal options struggle or continue to battle injuries then the grade sinks to below-average for failing to add more depth. Therefore we’ll split the difference.
Bullpen Grade – B