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Drew Pomeranz headed to Boston Red Sox after trade with San Diego Padres
Say this for the Boston Red Sox: They're going for it in David Ortiz's final season.
With the finish line in sight for their retiring franchise icon, the Red Sox didn't wait until the Aug. 1 trade deadline to get help for an underperforming starting rotation. And president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski didn't spare all of the organization's top prospects either, acquiring All-Star left-hander Drew Pomeranz from the San Diego Padres for touted 18-year-old right-hander Anderson Espinoza. A major league source confirmed this trade to ESPN on Thursday evening.
The San Diego Union-Tribune was first to report the trade.
The Red Sox and Padres were still in the process of exchanging medical information on the players, leaving team officials unwilling to comment.
Espinoza, who is No. 14 on ESPN Insider Keith Law's midseason Top 50 prospects list, was one of the most gifted arms in a Boston farm system that hasn't produced a homegrown starter since Clay Buchholz in 2007. But with the demand for pitching far outweighing the supply of available starters, the cost was always going to be exorbitant. Dombrowski had little choice, then, but to act quickly and pay a steep price.
Pomeranz's value has been built almost entirely over the past three months. A first-round draft pick of the Cleveland Indians in 2010, he earned his first All-Star selection this season after posting a 2.47 ERA and allowing 67 hits and 41 walks in a career-high 102 innings over 17 starts for the Padres. He ranks second in the majors in both opponents' batting average (.184) and opponents' OPS (.555).
Before this season, Pomeranz bounced between the rotation and the bullpen for the Colorado Rockies and Oakland Athletics, posting a 4.60 ERA and allowing 240 hits and 106 walks in 228⅔ innings. The lefty has now been traded four times.
But the Red Sox are betting on Pomeranz, 27, being a late bloomer because he has begun throwing a cutter this season. The Sox believe Pomeranz's cutter has made his fastball more effective because he doesn't have to throw it as frequently. In the past, he was primarily a fastball-curveball pitcher.
Pomeranz will join a rotation that includes ace lefty David Price, upstart knuckleballer Steven Wright and right-hander Rick Porcello. Red Sox starters have posted a 4.72 ERA in the first half, which ranks 19th in the majors.
The final two spots in the rotation have been a black hole, with six pitchers combining for a 7.22 ERA. The Sox are hoping lefty Eduardo Rodriguez, 23, has corrected mechanical flaws that contributed to an 8.59 ERA in six starts since he came off the disabled list in late May, but they also can't bank on a significant improvement from him.
Last weekend, Dombrowski said the cost of acquiring pitching "hasn't come down a whole lot" since the offseason. And with several contenders, including the American League East rival Baltimore Orioles and AL West-leading Texas Rangers, searching for pitching help, the Red Sox didn't want to miss out.
"It's not an easy starting pitching market out there," Dombrowski said last Saturday. "There's a lot of clubs looking for starting pitching and there's not a lot of starting pitchers out there. The names we don't want to trade always seem to start the conversation."
Dombrowski has demonstrated a willingness to trade prospects. Last November, in fact, he acquired closer Craig Kimbrel from the Padres for four minor leaguers, including touted outfielder Manuel Margot and infielder Javier Guerra. But Espinoza was widely regarded as the Red Sox's top pitching prospect and third-best prospect overall behind second baseman Yoan Moncada and center fielder Andrew Benintendi, both of whom are playing at the Double-A level and could conceivably reach the big leagues later this season before Ortiz exits the stage.
Espinoza is still years away from the majors. And after dominating the rookie-level Gulf Coast League with a 0.68 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 40 innings last season, he has struggled against older competition in the low-A South Atlantic League. In 17 starts for Greenville, he has notched a 4.38 ERA and given up 77 hits and 27 walks in 76 innings.
The Padres were able to leverage the seller's market for pitching to pry an elite prospect from the Red Sox. They also could sell high on Pomeranz because he isn't eligible for free agency until after the 2018 season. Pomeranz is making only $1.35 million this season, his first year of arbitration eligibility.
With the finish line in sight for their retiring franchise icon, the Red Sox didn't wait until the Aug. 1 trade deadline to get help for an underperforming starting rotation. And president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski didn't spare all of the organization's top prospects either, acquiring All-Star left-hander Drew Pomeranz from the San Diego Padres for touted 18-year-old right-hander Anderson Espinoza. A major league source confirmed this trade to ESPN on Thursday evening.
The San Diego Union-Tribune was first to report the trade.
The Red Sox and Padres were still in the process of exchanging medical information on the players, leaving team officials unwilling to comment.
Espinoza, who is No. 14 on ESPN Insider Keith Law's midseason Top 50 prospects list, was one of the most gifted arms in a Boston farm system that hasn't produced a homegrown starter since Clay Buchholz in 2007. But with the demand for pitching far outweighing the supply of available starters, the cost was always going to be exorbitant. Dombrowski had little choice, then, but to act quickly and pay a steep price.
Pomeranz's value has been built almost entirely over the past three months. A first-round draft pick of the Cleveland Indians in 2010, he earned his first All-Star selection this season after posting a 2.47 ERA and allowing 67 hits and 41 walks in a career-high 102 innings over 17 starts for the Padres. He ranks second in the majors in both opponents' batting average (.184) and opponents' OPS (.555).
Before this season, Pomeranz bounced between the rotation and the bullpen for the Colorado Rockies and Oakland Athletics, posting a 4.60 ERA and allowing 240 hits and 106 walks in 228⅔ innings. The lefty has now been traded four times.
But the Red Sox are betting on Pomeranz, 27, being a late bloomer because he has begun throwing a cutter this season. The Sox believe Pomeranz's cutter has made his fastball more effective because he doesn't have to throw it as frequently. In the past, he was primarily a fastball-curveball pitcher.
Pomeranz will join a rotation that includes ace lefty David Price, upstart knuckleballer Steven Wright and right-hander Rick Porcello. Red Sox starters have posted a 4.72 ERA in the first half, which ranks 19th in the majors.
The final two spots in the rotation have been a black hole, with six pitchers combining for a 7.22 ERA. The Sox are hoping lefty Eduardo Rodriguez, 23, has corrected mechanical flaws that contributed to an 8.59 ERA in six starts since he came off the disabled list in late May, but they also can't bank on a significant improvement from him.
Last weekend, Dombrowski said the cost of acquiring pitching "hasn't come down a whole lot" since the offseason. And with several contenders, including the American League East rival Baltimore Orioles and AL West-leading Texas Rangers, searching for pitching help, the Red Sox didn't want to miss out.
"It's not an easy starting pitching market out there," Dombrowski said last Saturday. "There's a lot of clubs looking for starting pitching and there's not a lot of starting pitchers out there. The names we don't want to trade always seem to start the conversation."
Dombrowski has demonstrated a willingness to trade prospects. Last November, in fact, he acquired closer Craig Kimbrel from the Padres for four minor leaguers, including touted outfielder Manuel Margot and infielder Javier Guerra. But Espinoza was widely regarded as the Red Sox's top pitching prospect and third-best prospect overall behind second baseman Yoan Moncada and center fielder Andrew Benintendi, both of whom are playing at the Double-A level and could conceivably reach the big leagues later this season before Ortiz exits the stage.
Espinoza is still years away from the majors. And after dominating the rookie-level Gulf Coast League with a 0.68 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 40 innings last season, he has struggled against older competition in the low-A South Atlantic League. In 17 starts for Greenville, he has notched a 4.38 ERA and given up 77 hits and 27 walks in 76 innings.
The Padres were able to leverage the seller's market for pitching to pry an elite prospect from the Red Sox. They also could sell high on Pomeranz because he isn't eligible for free agency until after the 2018 season. Pomeranz is making only $1.35 million this season, his first year of arbitration eligibility.