Red Sox Trade Deadline: What Kyle Schwarber brings to Boston
Red Sox make late-night trade for Kyle Schwarber
With bated breath, Red Sox Nation sat on the sidelines as the league’s power players were wheeling and dealing. I was one of them, wondering if Chaim Bloom had forgotten that the deadline was back to being in July this year. Or maybe he was so stoked for the NBA Draft that the Trade Deadline had just slipped his mind. Well, in the dark of night our trusted CBO made the call and brought power-hitter Kyle Schwarber to Boston.
The #RedSox today acquired All-Star outfielder Kyle Schwarber from the Washington Nationals, in exchange for minor league RHP Aldo Ramirez.
— Red Sox (@RedSox) July 30, 2021
To make room for Schwarber on the 40-man roster, the Red Sox designated RHP Brandon Workman for assignment.
I think we all collectively believed that Anthony Rizzo was the route he was going to go but then the Yankees stepped in and nabbed him. That’s ok though, Schwarber has dynamite in his bat and was one of the best lead-off hitters in the game through the first half. This could allow Alex Cora to move Kiké Hernández out of the spot in the batting order, though that could be costly with how well he’s performing right now.
There is one big red flag with Schwarbs and that’s the fact that he is currently sitting on the IL. A pesky hamstring has kept him from playing and will do so for the foreseeable future. There isn’t a timetable yet for his return but MLB.com’s Ian Browne reports that he has been doing some jogging and taking batting practice. When he can make his return he’ll add some much-needed power to the left-side part of the plate where Rafael Devers and Alex Verdugo pretty much stand alone at the moment.
On the surface, it’s a confusing pick-up as Schwarber has only played first base once in his entire career that is the biggest weakness right now for the Red Sox. They have people that can defensively play the position but none of those players are hitting the ball, like, at all. This is why Rizzo felt like such a great fit for Boston but alas it wasn’t meant to be. I’m sure Cora will try Schwarber out at first to see if he can make it work a la Christian Arroyo, but it’s not his primary role.
Luckily for the Red Sox, they have an embarrassment of riches in the outfield and won’t need to plug him in right away. MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo mentions that per a source it looks like Boston will test him out at first, as well as, in the outfield and DH. My main worry about putting him at first is that he’s never done it and I don’t need a guy with an already wonky hamstring getting Arroyo’d. Give him plenty of practice time to see if it’s even a possibility before plugging him in during a game, learn from your mistakes AC.
The big thing that he offers this club, and I briefly mentioned it already is his bat. The man knows how to hit the cover off of a baseball and isn’t afraid to do so when called upon. Through 72 games in 2021, he’s hitting .253/.340/.570/.910 with 25 homers and 53 RBI. His 88 whiffs aren’t ideal but he at least comes close to balancing that number out with 31 free passes.
In June, he found himself in the record book as he tied an existed MLB record by hitting 12 bombs in a 10-game window and then set a new record by hitting 15 homers from the lead-off spot. Considering how much this team loves comeback wins, I’ll gladly take a dude with that kind of pop in his bat in this lineup. It seemed like every single night he was in another highlight package hitting a baseball to the freakin’ moon, and that’s pretty damn cool.
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In order to get Schwarber, the Red Sox had to deal their 19th ranked prospect, Aldo Ramirez. Considering the asking prices, some of these sellers are putting out there that’s not that bad of a deal. We’ve seen other teams either give up higher-ranked prospects or multiple in order to get their target. Bloom was able to do it by shipping off a guy who was in the bottom of the Top-20, I’m fine with that. If Chaim is going to move a higher-ranked prospect then I need a pretty damn good return coming back to Fenway.
To make room for Schwarber on the 40-man roster Boston DFA’d Brandon Workman, a move many had been anticipating anyway. Since returning to the Red Sox this season Workman has been a shell of himself. The curveball specialist has given up 11 ER in 20 IP through 24 hits and 14 walks with only 14 strikeouts mixed in. Bloom made an attempt at resurrecting the once unhittable reliever but it just isn’t clicking and Workman is more of a negative than a positive at this point.
Next. Brian Van Belle and the near perfect July. dark
To summarize my ramblings here in regards to Schwarber and what he brings to the Red Sox it pretty much boils down to one thing, his bat. He can play defense and will most likely get some time at the black hole that is first base, but his bat is why Boston went out and got him. He’ll add plenty of pop to the left side of the plate and can allow AC to balance out his righty heavy lineup. Though he has a mutual option for 2022 this feels more like a rental as the Sox make a playoff push, hopefully, the gamble pays off.