If you’re not already feeling the aches and pains of this trade yet Boston Red Sox fans, you will soon enough.
Jeffrey Springs seemed to come from out of nowhere with the Tampa Bay Rays. He was as dominant as it can get this spring, tossing 14 innings of shutout baseball while fanning 24. He was an effective reliever for the Rays in 2021 and shifted more into starting games for them in 2022. His first start of the season on Sunday included six no-hit innings with 12 strikeouts.
Why should Red Sox fans care so much? He was here in 2020.
The Red Sox traded Jeffrey Springs to the Rays and that's going to hurt more than ever this year
On February 17, 2021, the Red Sox sent Springs and Chris Mazza along with some cash to the Rays for Ronaldo Hernandez and Nick Sogard. Deals within the division always come with some risk. Considering Springs had an ERA over 7.00 in his short stint with the Red Sox, this one didn’t seem like it would be all that memorable.
Unfortunately, it’s going to matter. Springs has already signed an extension with the Rays and with the frequency he’ll face the Red Sox, this one is going to cause some scars for Boston.
Because this is a newer trade, it hasn’t earned its way onto the list of the absolute worst trades in Red Sox history just yet. Hernandez and Sogard are still with the organization. There is some hope that at least Hernandez becomes a productive member of the Boston sports landscape.
This does little to save Red Sox fans from grabbing Aspirin throughout 2023 each time Springs delivers gems for Tampa Bay. Undoubtedly, he’ll get a chance to remind the Red Sox it was a mistake to move on from him sometime this season.
Since joining the Rays, Springs is 15-6 with a 2.61 ERA in 186 innings. They saw something in him that the Red Sox apparently didn’t. The only question now is how bad this trade is going to hurt.