Red Sox Rumors

Red Sox Shuffling Infield Alignment

By Steve Adams | June 14, 2023 at 1:05pm CDT

The Red Sox are shuffling up their infield alignment, most notably dropping Enrique Hernandez from the everyday shortstop role and returning him to his more familiar split between center field and second base, manager Alex Cora announced to reporters last night (Twitter links via Alex Speier and Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe). For the time being, utilityman Pablo Reyes will take the reins at shortstop. Cora also started Justin Turner at first base over Triston Casas last night, calling that the team’s best defensive alignment and noting that the Sox plan to work with Casas on his defense. (Turner, however, made a key error late in the eventual loss.)

Trevor Story’s offseason elbow surgery threw a wrench into the Red Sox’ infield plans, prompting the team to sign Adam Duvall to man center field and push Hernandez to shortstop — a position where he’d logged just 163 innings in the preceding four seasons combined. The Sox also picked up Adalberto Mondesi in a trade with the Royals, hoping he’d bring some additional depth, but he’s yet to play in a game this season due to ongoing injury woes.

Hernandez, 31, proved himself to be a lights-out defender in center field during his first season with the Red Sox in 2021, and Defensive Runs Saved has long credited him as an above-average second baseman. The shift to a less-familiar shortstop position wasn’t necessarily expected to be easy, but it’s been far more difficult than the team envisioned. No player in baseball has more errors than the 14 Hernandez has committed in just 411 innings at short. Defensive Runs Saved (-7) and Outs Above Average (-8) have graded him as one of the game’s six worst defenders at any position so far in 2023. As a team, the Red Sox rank 26th in MLB in DRS (-20) and are tied for last in OAA (-16).

Hernandez’s struggles haven’t been confined to his glovework. This year’s .228/.296/.356 is a near-mirror image of last year’s lackluster performance. When Boston inked Hernandez to a one-year, $10MM extension last summer, the hope was surely that his bat would rebound closer to it 2021 levels (.250/.337/.449) and that the versatile Hernandez would continue to provide premium defense at multiple spots. That hasn’t happened, and Hernandez’s trouble on both sides of the ball is just one of the many reasons Boston sits two games below .500 — 14 games out of the division lead and 5.5 games back in the AL Wild Card race.

Casas, too, has fallen shy of expectations — particularly at the plate. Were the burly 24-year-old performing up to expectations with the bat, the team would likely be willing to live with any defensive shortcomings at first base. Instead, Casas is hitting just .200/.324/.368 with seven home runs. He’s walking at a sensational 15.8% clip but also fanning in 26.6% of his plate appearances. On top of that, he’s been dinged for -6 DRS and -4 OAA at first base.

The veteran Turner is outperforming Casas in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage alike thus far, and he’s looked comfortable enough in his 133 innings at first base that it seems the Sox are comfortable giving him some increased work there. Cora didn’t declare that there would be a full-time switch from Casas to Turner, but it certainly seems the Boston club is taking a hard look at its defense as it searches for ways to improve.

Story’s eventual return could help to solidify things in the infield, though he’ll likely return as a designated hitter before he takes any reps in the middle infield. Story said just this week that he’s hoping to return in a DH capacity sometime next month, but he isn’t likely to play any defense until August. Yu Chang’s impending return could give the Sox a more experienced option at short than Reyes, though Chang is a utilityman with a career .206/.271/.358 batting line, so installing him into the lineup isn’t likely to help the Sox’ offense.

Trevor Story Targeting August Return To Infield, Potential DH Work In July

By Anthony Franco | June 12, 2023 at 11:02pm CDT

The Red Sox have been without Trevor Story all season. The middle infielder underwent internal brace surgery to repair the UCL in his throwing elbow in January. He’s been on the 60-day injured list since Spring Training.

Fortunately, it seems Story is progressing well in his rehab. The two-time All-Star met with the Boston beat today and reiterated he expects to be back in the second half (audio transcript via WEEI). He expressed confidence he could return to the MLB infield by August and suggested it’s possible he could be back as a designated hitter by next month.

Breaking back in at DH isn’t uncommon for hitters in this situation since swinging can put less stress on the elbow ligaments than throwing does. The Phillies, for instance, have used Bryce Harper as a DH since early May as he works back from last November’s Tommy John surgery. It’s possible Harper eventually gets back to playing defense — either at first base or in the corner outfield — but Philadelphia expedited his return by putting him in a bat-only role.

Story, of course, isn’t the same caliber of hitter as Harper. He’s a solid but not elite offensive player who’s coming off a .238/.303/.434 showing during his first season in Boston. That puts more pressure on him to provide the club some defensive value when he’s able, though the Sox would presumably be happy to welcome him back a few weeks earlier as a DH option.

The 30-year-old worked exclusively at second base last season. That was in deference to Xander Bogaerts, so the longtime Rockies shortstop is likely to move back to the left side of the infield once healthy. Story said today he’d been “expressive” about his desire to reclaim shortstop after Bogaerts signed with the Padres and that the organization is on board with him returning to his initial position.

Boston has given the majority of the shortstop reps to Enrique Hernández in Story’s absence. Hernández has struggled offensively for a second consecutive season, hitting .228/.296/.356 in 243 trips to the plate. Public metrics like Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average have also panned his defensive work, which isn’t too surprising given his lack of consistent experience at the position before this season. The Sox have given sporadic playing time to Yu Chang and Pablo Reyes too. Neither player is hitting well and Chang has been out since late April when he fractured the hamate bone in his left hand.

Second base hasn’t been any more settled. Enmanuel Valdéz tailed off dramatically after a hot start and was optioned a few days ago. Christian Arroyo is the starter for now but carries a .258/.289/.409 slash in 98 plate appearances. The organization’s hope that offseason trade acquisition Adalberto Mondesí could pick up the slack in Story’s absence appears to have been dashed. He’s still working back from an April 2022 ACL tear and seems without a clear return timetable.

All that makes Story’s health a pivotal question for the club. Adding to the group via trade could also be under consideration for the front office if the team can hang close enough to the playoff picture to make it worthwhile. After tonight’s extra-inning loss to Colorado, Boston dropped back below .500 at 33-34. There’s virtually no chance of winning the AL East at this point and they’re 4 1/2 games back of the Astros (with the Blue Jays and Angels also above them) for the final Wild Card spot.

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Mondesi, Mills, Weber, Belt

By Mark Polishuk | June 11, 2023 at 10:27pm CDT

The Red Sox are an even 33-33 after tonight’s win over the Yankees, and they remain 3.5 games behind the Blue Jays just to reach fourth place in the hyper-competitive AL East. Barring a big surge over the next month, the Sox might decide to look ahead to 2024, and the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham notes that the club has a number of interesting trade chips if it did opt to sell. Beyond the multiple players (i.e. Justin Turner, James Paxton, Adam Duvall, Enrique Hernandez) who could be free agents this winter, Abraham writes that the Sox could offer up more controllable options like Kenley Jansen or Chris Martin, who are both under contract for the 2024 season.

Such a decision, of course, would hinge on how the Red Sox are preparing to approach 2024, since naturally a quality closer like Jansen would be expected to play a big role on a would-be contender. In Abraham’s view, Jansen could be “the big prize” of Boston’s likeliest trade chips, given his postseason track record and how many teams are in need of bullpen help. The Red Sox could also see value in selling relatively high on Jansen considering that he turns 36 in September, and that his solid 3.48 ERA is undermined by a 12.8% walk rate that is among the highest of his career. Salary could also be a factor, as Jansen is owed $16MM in 2024.

Red Sox Release Raimel Tapia, Outright Matt Dermody

By Mark Polishuk | June 11, 2023 at 3:08pm CDT

The Red Sox announced that outfielder Raimel Tapia has been released, and that left-hander Matt Dermody has been outrighted to Triple-A. Both players were designated for assignment earlier this week.

Tapia signed a minor league deal with Boston during the offseason, and after his contract was selected, Tapia locked in a $2MM salary for the 2023 season. The Sox are still on the hook for the remainder (roughly $1.22MM) of that money owed, and that salary could be why teams passed on Tapia on the DFA wire. An interested club can now sign Tapia to a minors contract and only owe him the prorated MLB average salary, with the Red Sox covering the rest.

The 29-year-old Tapia is hitting .264/.333/.368 over 97 plate appearances this season, roughly in line with the career .277/.318/.392 slash line he carried with the Rockies and Blue Jays from 2016-22. Limited mostly to facing right-handed pitching this year, Tapia has a hit a strong .309/.373/.441 in 76 PA against righties, and he has seen action for the Red Sox in all three outfield positions.

Since Tapia has over five years of Major League experience, he had the right to reject an outright assignment to Triple-A and elect free agency. It could be that Tapia planned to take this avenue anyway, so the Sox simply opted to release him after no trade possibilities emerged when Tapia was on the waiver wire. Given Tapia’s track record as a respectable backup outfield option and his good numbers against right-handed pitching, it seems likely that he’ll catch on with another team in relatively short order.

Dermody has been outrighted before in his career, so he also had the option to elect free agency but he has instead decided to remain in Boston’s organization. In cup-of-coffee fashion, Dermody was selected to the Red Sox roster and then DFA’ed on the same day, with a four-inning start against the Guardians on June 8 sandwiched in between the two transactions. It marked the first Major League start for Dermody, though he has started regularly in the minors and in his non-affiliated stints in the KBO League and with the independent Sugar Land Skeeters.

That one outing gave Dermody appearances in five different MLB seasons, though 23 of his 31 career games came with the Blue Jays in 2017. The southpaw will likely continue starting at Triple-A Worcester, where he has a 4.50 ERA over 44 innings with a 24.4% strikeout rate and 4.7% walk rate.

AL East Notes: Crawford, Bleis, Blue Jays, Irvin

By Nick Deeds | June 10, 2023 at 2:07pm CDT

The Red Sox have given right-hander Kutter Crawford a vote of confidence as a starting pitcher, as The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham relays that the Sox are planning on keeping Crawford in the rotation going forward after a pair of short starts since joining the rotation at the beginning of June. While the starts lasted just 40 and 58 pitches, respectively, the overall numbers have been solid, as Crawford allowed three earned runs on seven hits and zero walks while striking out six.

It’s been a strong season for Crawford, who has posted a 2.20 ERA, 3.00 FIP, and 24% strikeout rate in 32 2/3 innings of work after a four inning, seven run outing to open the season against the Pirates. The success is particularly welcome after the 27-year-old struggled in a swing role for 77 1/3 innings last season, posting a 5.47 ERA and 4.34 FIP. With Crawford now in the rotation, the Red Sox still have Corey Kluber, Nick Pivetta, and Josh Winckowski in the bullpen as potential multi-inning relief options.

More from around the AL East:

Sticking with the Red Sox, top outfield prospect Miguel Bleis is expected to miss the rest of the 2023 season after undergoing shoulder surgery, according to Chris Henrique of Beyond The Monster. A consensus top 100 prospect who ranks as high as 39th over at Fangraphs, Bleis struggled in his first taste of full-season ball in 2023, slashing just .230/.282/.325 in 142 plate appearances at Single-A this season. Now sidelined until 2024, the 19-year-old Bleis was already expected to be several years away from the majors, though it’s possible the coming surgery slows his timeline further.
After 2022 AL Cy Young finalist Alek Manoah was sent to the minors earlier this week, the Blue Jays are expected to ramp up their search for external pitching options, even as the 2023 trade deadline is still several weeks away. GM Ross Atkins told reporters, including Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet, that the club has “intensified those discussions over the last several weeks”, referring to the front office’s exploration of external options for the pitching staff. Reinforcements could provide a huge boost to Toronto as they’re stuck at fourth place in the AL East race despite a strong 36-29 record, thanks in part to the struggles of key contributors like Manoah, Yimi Garcia, and Yusei Kikuchi.
The Orioles recalled left-hander Cole Irvin to start today’s game against the Royals, per a team announcement. Acquired this past offseason in a trade with the A’s, Ivin has not built on a strong 2022 campaign (3.98 ERA in 181 innings) during his first season as an Oriole, posting a 10.38 ERA in 13 innings of work in the majors. That being said, his work at Triple-A has been much better, with a 3.21 ERA in seven starts (42 innings). With youngster Grayson Rodriguez relegated to Triple-A for the foreseeable future, it’s possible Irvin could earn himself a more permanent spot in the rotation with a quality performance this afternoon.

Red Sox Transfer Chris Sale To 60-Day Injured List

By Darragh McDonald | June 9, 2023 at 3:25pm CDT

The Red Sox announced a series of roster moves today, some of which were previously reported, though some were new developments. Outfielder Adam Duvall has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list while left-hander Joe Jacques has had his contract selected. To open two active roster spots, lefty Matt Dermody has been designated for assignment while infielder Enmanuel Valdéz was optioned to Triple-A. To open one more 40-man roster spot, lefty Chris Sale has been transferred to the 60-day injured list. The Sox informed reporters, including Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe, that Sale has a stress reaction in his shoulder blade. He won’t require surgery but he will be shut down for three to four weeks before being reevaluated.

Sale, 34, was once one of the most dominant pitchers in the league but he has been severely held back by injuries in recent years. He averaged over 200 innings per season from 2012 to 2017 but was held to roughly 150 per year in the two following seasons. He made trips to the injured list in 2018 due to shoulder inflammation then dealt with elbow inflammation the following year. He ultimately required Tommy John surgery in March of 2020, causing him to miss that entire season.

He returned late in 2021 and was able to make nine starts that year. It was hoped he would be set for a return to full-time work in 2022 but he dealt with a stress reaction in his ribs that kept him out until July. He was hit by a comebacker in his second start, fracturing a finger. While on the injured list again, he broke his wrist in a bicycle accident that ended his season.

Here in 2023, it was again hoped that he could perhaps return to a regular starting role. That was the case for a while, as he made 11 starts with a 4.58 ERA, but he landed on the injured list again on June 2 due to shoulder inflammation. He’ll now be ineligible to return until August, though even that seems contingent on a bit of luck in the health department. The aforementioned shutdown period will keep him out of action for most of the rest of June. Even if he’s healthy after that, he’ll need most of July to build back up and go on a rehab assignment.

In the short term, the Red Sox will be figuring out how to proceed without Sale. They have recently been running out a group with veteran James Paxton alongside younger pitchers like Brayan Bello, Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford, while struggles from Corey Kluber and Nick Pivetta got both of those guys pushed into the bullpen.

In the long-term, the Sox will have to wonder what they can expect from Sale going forward. He is playing this year on a salary of $27.5MM and will make that same figure next year as part of the extension he and the club signed going into 2019. There’s also a $20MM club option for 2025 with no buyout. Due to his carousel of injuries, he’s pitched just over 100 innings since the end of the 2019 campaign.

Red Sox To Select Joe Jacques

By Nick Deeds | June 9, 2023 at 7:39am CDT

The Red Sox are poised to select the contract of left-hander Joe Jacques prior to this evening’s game against the Yankees, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The club will need to clear space on both the active and 40-man rosters to accommodate Jacques.

While it had previously been reported that the club plans to designate Matt Dermody for assignment today, that 40-man and active roster spot appears set to go to outfielder Adam Duvall, meaning an additional move will be needed to make room for Jacques. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe speculated last night that right-hander Bryan Mata, who has been on the injured list in Triple-A for the past month and does not appear close to a return, could be transferred to the 60-Day IL to clear a 40-man roster spot for another pitcher, though it certainly remains possible the Red Sox decide to go a different route in clearing space for Jacques.

The 28-year-old Jacques would be poised to make his MLB debut with the Red Sox. A 33rd round pick by the Pirates in the 2018 draft, Jacques has spent the past several seasons climbing the minor league ladder, eventually reaching Triple-A in 2021, though he posted a mediocre 4.31 ERA in 48 innings at the level that season. 2022 was far more impressive for Jacques, as the left-hander posted a strong 3.12 ERA in 43 1/3 innings pitched primarily at the Triple-A level. That performance was enough to catch the attention of the Red Sox, who selected Jacques from the Pirates during the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft.

Jacques has continued to succeed at the Triple-A level with his new organization this season, posting a 3.58 ERA in 27 1/3 appearances. Though his 20% strikeout rate might leave something to be desired compared to many power relievers in the majors, a 7.5% walk rate and a whopping 56.3% groundball rate both leave Jacques in position to potentially succeed at the big league level. In joining the Red Sox bullpen, Jacques would give Boston another left-handed option alongside Brennan Bernardino while Joely Rodriguez and Richard Bleier are on the injured list.

Red Sox To Designate Matt Dermody For Assignment

By Anthony Franco | June 8, 2023 at 9:29pm CDT

The Red Sox are designating left-hander Matt Dermody for assignment, manager Alex Cora told the team’s beat (including Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe). The move clears active and 40-man roster spots. That’s likely to go to outfielder Adam Duvall, as Pete Abraham of the Globe tweeted this afternoon that Duvall was expected to be reinstated from the 60-day injured list before tomorrow’s game against the Yankees.

Dermody was just selected onto the big league roster a few hours ago. He took the ball tonight against the Guardians, allowing three runs (all driven in on a pair of José Ramírez homers) across four innings. Knowing Duvall would be back on Thursday, it seems likely the Boston front office always viewed this as a one-off start for Dermody, which represented the first of his major league career.

The 32-year-old southpaw had spent the season in Triple-A Worcester after signing a minor league deal over the winter. He’d pitched reasonably well for the WooSox, working to a 4.50 ERA across 44 innings. He fanned just under a quarter of opponents, had a decent 45.3% grounder rate and kept his walk percentage to a stingy 4.7% clip.

Dermody has always had strong control but generally worked as a low-strikeout grounder specialist. The Iowa product has been a reliever for the bulk of his career, only moving to the rotation in Triple-A for the Cubs last year. He entered play tonight with a 5.60 ERA through 27 1/3 major league innings over 30 relief outings.

The Sox will have a week to trade Dermody or put him on waivers. The latter is the likelier course of action. Were he go to unclaimed, he’d have the right to test minor league free agency because he’s been outrighted before in his career.

Duvall will make his return to the Boston outfield when first eligible, 60 days from his initial IL placement. The offseason signee opened the season as the Sox’s center fielder after signing a $7MM free agent deal. He got off to an incredible start, blasting 10 extra-base hits (four homers, five doubles and a triple) in his first eight games. Those scorching two weeks were cut unceremoniously short when he suffered a fracture in his left wrist while diving for a ball in the outfield.

Boston has used Jarren Duran as the primary center fielder of late. The former top prospect has a solid .278/.335/.432 line through 179 plate appearances. He’s cooled significantly after a roaring start, though, hitting only .236/.292/.371 while striking out a third of the time since the calendar flipped to May.

Boston has gotten excellent corner outfield work out of Masataka Yoshida and Alex Verdugo, so Duran figures to be pushed into a fourth outfield role, joining the righty-swinging Rob Refsnyder as an option off the bench. Cora held Verdugo out of today’s game in response to what the manager cited as a lack of hustle during Wednesday’s contest, as noted by Ian Browne of MLB.com. However, Cora indicated Verdugo’s discipline would be limited to one game and he’d be back in the lineup for Friday’s series opener in the Bronx.

Red Sox Select Matt Dermody

By Anthony Franco | June 8, 2023 at 2:29pm CDT

June 8: Dermody’s contract has now been officially selected, per a club announcement, with Chris Murphy optioned in a corresponding move.

June 7: The Red Sox are calling up left-hander Matt Dermody to start tomorrow night’s matchup with the Guardians, tweets Ian Browne of MLB.com. Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe first noted that Dermody had a locker in the Boston clubhouse. He’s not on the 40-man roster, so the Sox will have to formally select his contract before the game.

Dermody signed a minor league deal with Boston over the winter. He’s worked primarily from the rotation with Triple-A Worcester, starting eight of nine appearances. While the southpaw’s 4.50 ERA isn’t eye-catching, he’s posted solid peripheral marks.

The 32-year-old has punched out just under a quarter of opposing hitters against a meager 4.7% walk rate. He has induced grounders at a decent 45.3% clip. A lofty .346 batting average on balls in play and middling 67.8% left-on-base rate have inflated his run prevention figure despite his other solid numbers.

Of course, Dermody isn’t a lock to carry over those decent rate stats against big league hitters. This will be his first MLB start. Dermody has only ever worked out of the bullpen at the big league level, with virtually all of that experience coming six years ago for the Blue Jays. He carries a 5.60 ERA with an 18.2% strikeout percentage in 27 1/3 MLB frames.

Dermody still has a pair of minor league options remaining. The Red Sox can send him back to Worcester at any point without exposing him to waivers. It’s possible this is just a spot start, although Boston has a rotation vacancy after losing Chris Sale to the injured list last week. The Red Sox turned to swingman Kutter Crawford today, but he was tagged for three runs in as many innings while taking the loss to Cleveland.

Boston already has an opening on the 40-man roster after designating Raimel Tapia for assignment on Monday. They’ll only need to create space on the 26-man active roster to accommodate Dermody’s promotion.

Best Deadline Rental Returns In Recent History, #9: Blue Jays Get Santiago Espinal For Steve Pearce

By Darragh McDonald | June 6, 2023 at 9:20pm CDT

With the trade deadline now less than two months away, we at MLBTR are setting our sights backwards for a bit to highlight past trades. With an arbitrary cutoff point of 2017, we’re counting down the top 10 returns that a team got when selling a rental player in recent years. We’ve already rounded up a few honorable mentions and highlighted the #10 entry. Now let’s move on to #9, with eight more still to come. If you disagree with our rankings, let us know! It’s all part of the subjective fun!

In 2018, the Blue Jays were in between eras. The previous core that took them to the ALCS in 2015 and 2016 was essentially gone. José Bautista bounced from Atlanta to the Mets to the Phillies in what would eventually be his final season. Edwin Encarnación was with Cleveland. Josh Donaldson was still technically on the team but spent most of the year on the injured list and eventually got flipped to Cleveland in a waiver trade as the season was winding down. The Jays leaders in WAR at Baseball Reference and FanGraphs were Justin Smoak and Randal Grichuk, respectively. The club and its fans were looking forward to a new core formed by prospects like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette though they wouldn’t debut until the following season.

As the Jays got to June 29, they were sporting a record of 38-43. Though that was just a few games below .500, they were already well back in the postseason race. The Yankees were at 53-26 while the Red Sox were 55-28, leaving the Jays 16 games back in the AL East. One of those clubs was also a lock for a Wild Card spot, of which there were only two at the time. With the Mariners and Athletics also off to good starts, the Jays were already 13 games back in the Wild Card race.

The trade deadline was still a month away but there was little reason for the Jays not to consider selling. Steve Pearce was an obvious candidate to move, as he was an impending free agent in his age-35 season. The Jays had signed him to a two-year, $12.5MM deal going into 2017. Pearce had long been an effective role player in the majors, carrying himself well at the plate while also having enough defensive versatility to play first base or the outfield corners. He had also had brief spells at second and third base, though 2016 was the last year for him at either of those spots.

Of course, as a role player, there were weak points to his game as well. For one thing, he was best utilized in the weak side of a platoon, as a right-handed hitter who fared much better against lefties. He eventually finished his career with a robust .264/.347/.491 line against southpaws that translated into a 126 wRC+. His output against righties was .247/.324/.410 for a 100 wRC+, or league average.

Another issue with Pearce was health, as he had made frequent trips to the injured list for various ailments in his career. The 102 games he played with the Orioles in 2014 were the most he ever tallied. Those injury concerns continued into his time with the Blue Jays, as he only played 92 games in 2017 thanks in part to a calf injury that cost him over a month. In 2018, he landed on the IL in early May with an oblique strain and didn’t return until June 22.

Nonetheless, the Red Sox were intrigued enough by Pearce to acquire him just a week after he came off the injured list. The Jays included $1.66MM in the deal, a bit more than half of what Pearce was still owed for the remainder of the campaign. That was surely important to the Sox at the time as it kept them from going more than $40MM beyond that year’s luxury tax line, as doing so would have meant their top draft pick in the 2019 draft was pushed back by 10 spots. The club did eventually go over that line by acquiring Nathan Eovaldi and Ian Kinsler at the deadline, but the Jays eating some money in the Pearce deal kept the Sox shy of that line for the time being as they contemplated their options.

In exchange for giving up Pearce and a bit of money, the Jays received infielder Santiago Espinal. A 10th-round draft pick of the Sox in 2016, his prospect stock was on the rise at the time of the deal. In 2017, he had hit just four home runs in 123 Single-A games, slashing .280/.334/.358 for a wRC+ of 102. In the first half of 2018, he already had seven home runs in 65 High-A games, leading to a .313/.363/.477 slash and 136 wRC+.

Espinal then went through Double-A and Triple-A in 2019 before making his major league debut in the shortened 2020 season. His .267/.308/.333 line that year wasn’t especially impressive, but he got strong defensive grades playing mostly shortstop, as Bichette spent close to a month on the injured list with a knee sprain.

At the very least, Espinal seemed like a solid depth piece but he moved a bit beyond that in the next two seasons, earning fairly regular playing time. In 2021, he was frequently optioned to the minors and also spent close to a month on the injured list due to a hip flexor strain but still got into 92 games. The club had signed Marcus Semien to play second base and bumped Cavan Biggio to third, but Biggio made multiple trips to the IL due to back issues. Espinal filled in admirably with a .311/.376/.405 line, stealing six bases and getting good defensive grades at the hot corner. He finished that year with 1.9 wins above replacement in the eyes of FanGraphs and 2.4 according to Baseball Reference.

Going into 2022, Semien signed with the Rangers and the Jays acquired Matt Chapman to play third, moving the Espinal/Biggio tandem over to second base. Espinal ended up essentially as an everyday player, getting 491 plate appearances in 135 games. His .267/.322/.370 line amounted to a wRC+ of 99 while he also swiped another six bags and continued to be graded very well on defense. He was selected to the All-Star team that summer and eventually tallied 2.3 fWAR and 2.2 bWAR.

Espinal started 2023 slow and just came back from the injured list this evening, but the Jays have to be quite happy with how the trade turned out. They exchanged a 35-year-old role player and impending free agent for a prospect who has become a valuable supporting member of their new competitive window. He has already tallied 4.3 fWAR for his career and 5.0 bWAR and can be retained via arbitration through 2026.

Of course, the Red Sox have no regrets about their end of the deal. Pearce stayed healthy for the remainder of 2018 and went on a tear. He hit seven home runs in 50 games for the Sox down the stretch, slashing .279/.394/.507 for a wRC+ of 143 as Boston went 108-54, their best record in franchise history. They then cruised through the postseason, beating the Yankees 3-1 in the ALDS, the Astros 4-1 in the ALCS and the Dodgers 4-1 in the World Series. Pearce hit four home runs in that postseason run and produced a line of .289/.426/.658. Three of those home runs came in the World Series, including two in the final game, leading to Pearce being named MVP of the series.

The Sox re-signed Pearce for 2019, but he got into just 29 games while dealing with back spasms in what ultimately proved to be his final season. Nonetheless, this looks like a trade that worked out extremely well for both sides. The Sox got a complementary player who caught fire at the right time and helped them win a title. The Jays, meanwhile, weren’t in a position to take advantage of that explosion but turned it into a solid piece of their future.

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