The rumored Red Sox trades may signal seller mode for 2020.
Trade discussions have an eerie way of being like a waistline in that they have a tendency to expand. The Philadelphia Phillies are in trade discussions concerning Brandon Workman, as noted by BSI’s Sean Penney. The term additional players with the Boston Red Sox means clearing out the old and bringing in the young.
The Phillies are in active talks with Red Sox to acquire closer Brandon Workman. Not final. But I hear multiple players are involved in proposed deal.
— Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyNBCS) August 21, 2020
Right-hander Heath Hembree possesses a rather minuscule 3.65 ERA by Philadelphia and Boston standards. Both bullpens are in a race for ineptness with the Phillies 0.00 fWAR matched against Boston’s -0.1 fWAR. Hembree does offer another year since he will not enter free agency until after the 2021 season.
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Other names have surfaced with Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mitch Moreland being mentioned. JBJ is also a free agent and in his usual hot/cold type of season. Moreland is leading the team in home runs with seven and is solid at first base.
These names being tossed in the hopper does not mean necessarily the Phillies trade but opens the door for others to step in. Will this be a rare Red Sox seller moment?
The departure of Workman and possibly Hembree means a return to the usual suspects. Righty Phillips Valdez has impressed at times, or the Red Sox could go to the usual standbys Ryan Brasier, Matt Barnes, and Marcus Walden. Or continue to toss into the fray the names most of us wish to forget.
The real possibility in the future and not the present and that means two lefties – Josh Taylor and Darwinzon Hernandez, both now recovered from COVID-19. With youth comes the usually expected inconsistency highlighted by binges of wildness, but in a season going down the chute that is essentially meaningless.
Moreland and Bradley do not represent a future for Boston. Both are now wily veterans who can help a team in transition or disarray depending upon your point of view of this 2020 product. The Red Sox have notable possibilities of youth resting comfortably in the Player Pool awaiting the opportunity. Jeter Downs – part of the Mookie Betts theft – could see some time in the infield. Bobby Dalbec, Triston Casas, and Jarren Duran make get a look-see.
A few days ago I wrote about the potential for the Red Sox going into a youth movement and I doubt if Chaim Bloom read the article, but this was done as a Captain Obvious moment. The team is duller than running your skates over cement and it is time to look forward.
If the Workman and other deals go forward that will be the start and though small that does not rule out the possibility of more adventurous moves. Bloom had never been bashful about swapping away key players – just ask Evan Longoria