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Boston Red Sox acquire reliever Tyler Thornburg from Milwaukee Brewers for Travis Shaw, prospects
The Boston Red Sox acquired right-handed reliever Tyler Thornburg from the Milwaukee Brewers in a multiplayer trade that sent first baseman/third baseman Travis Shaw, infield prospect Mauricio Dubon and Class A pitcher Josh Pennington to Milwaukee.
Thornburg, a hard-throwing 28-year-old, posted a 2.15 ERA, 13 saves and 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings in 67 appearances last season, taking over as Milwaukee's closer after Jeremy Jeffress was dealt to the Rangers at the trade deadline. Boston manager John Farrell cited a lower arm slot as the primary reason for Thornburg's breakthrough as a power pitcher, while Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski called Thornburg's curveball a "dominant pitch."
"We feel like we're getting a guy at the absolute right time," Farrell said.
But Thornburg also dealt with elbow issues that caused him to get shut down midway through the 2014 season. He received a plasma-rich platelet injection that year and hasn't encountered any recurrence of the injury over the past two seasons.
The Red Sox were looking for an eighth-inning upgrade, an addition that Dombrowski labeled "a necessity." Koji Uehara and Brad Ziegler, who shared the role at times last season, are both free agents. Dombrowski said Monday that the Red Sox preferred to find a setup reliever with closing experience to pitch in front of closer Craig Kimbrel.
Thornburg fills that description. He also is inexpensive, no small detail for a Red Sox team that is trying to keep its payroll below $195 million for luxury-tax purposes. Thornburg made $513,900 this year and is eligible for arbitration for the first time. The Red Sox will control him through the 2019 season.
"We scouted him very thoroughly last year. He has nasty stuff," Dombrowski said. "We feel he's a guy that projects to be a quality eighth-inning individual for us that can also close a game, if needed. He was what we were looking to try to find."
And the Red Sox paid a steep price in talent, in particular by trading Dubon.
Dubon, 22, batted .323 with six homers and an .840 OPS between Class A Salem and Double-A Portland this year, putting him squarely on the prospect map. Dubon is primarily a shortstop, though, and was blocked by Xander Bogaerts, the 24-year-old All-Star who isn't eligible for free agency until after the 2019 season.
The decision to include Shaw in the trade underscores what Dombrowski and Farrell said Monday, namely that the Red Sox intend to trust Sandoval with third base after he missed almost all of 2016 because of shoulder surgery.
Thornburg, a hard-throwing 28-year-old, posted a 2.15 ERA, 13 saves and 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings in 67 appearances last season, taking over as Milwaukee's closer after Jeremy Jeffress was dealt to the Rangers at the trade deadline. Boston manager John Farrell cited a lower arm slot as the primary reason for Thornburg's breakthrough as a power pitcher, while Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski called Thornburg's curveball a "dominant pitch."
"We feel like we're getting a guy at the absolute right time," Farrell said.
But Thornburg also dealt with elbow issues that caused him to get shut down midway through the 2014 season. He received a plasma-rich platelet injection that year and hasn't encountered any recurrence of the injury over the past two seasons.
The Red Sox were looking for an eighth-inning upgrade, an addition that Dombrowski labeled "a necessity." Koji Uehara and Brad Ziegler, who shared the role at times last season, are both free agents. Dombrowski said Monday that the Red Sox preferred to find a setup reliever with closing experience to pitch in front of closer Craig Kimbrel.
Thornburg fills that description. He also is inexpensive, no small detail for a Red Sox team that is trying to keep its payroll below $195 million for luxury-tax purposes. Thornburg made $513,900 this year and is eligible for arbitration for the first time. The Red Sox will control him through the 2019 season.
"We scouted him very thoroughly last year. He has nasty stuff," Dombrowski said. "We feel he's a guy that projects to be a quality eighth-inning individual for us that can also close a game, if needed. He was what we were looking to try to find."
And the Red Sox paid a steep price in talent, in particular by trading Dubon.
Dubon, 22, batted .323 with six homers and an .840 OPS between Class A Salem and Double-A Portland this year, putting him squarely on the prospect map. Dubon is primarily a shortstop, though, and was blocked by Xander Bogaerts, the 24-year-old All-Star who isn't eligible for free agency until after the 2019 season.
The decision to include Shaw in the trade underscores what Dombrowski and Farrell said Monday, namely that the Red Sox intend to trust Sandoval with third base after he missed almost all of 2016 because of shoulder surgery.