The Red Sox announced that they have traded infielder/outfielder Hoy Park to the Braves. In exchange, they will receive a player to be named later or cash considerations. Park was designated for assignment earlier this week.
Park, 27 in April, has been bouncing around the league over the past couple of seasons. Originally a Yankee farmhand, he got out to a blistering start in 2021. In 48 Triple-A games, he hit .327/.475/.567 for a wRC+ of 180. On the heels of that torrid stretch, he went to Pittsburgh in the deal that sent Clay Holmes to the Yankees.
Unfortunately, his performance since that deal has made that hot streak look like a mirage. He hit .195/.297/.336 in 45 games for the Pirates after the deal. In 2022, he spent most of his time in Triple-A, getting into 89 games and hitting just .225/.332/.354 for a wRC+ of 86. He also got into 23 big league games but slashed a meager .216/.276/.373, 79 wRC+.
The Pirates designated him for assignment in November and then flipped him to the Red Sox for prospect Inmer Lobo, only for Boston to send him back into DFA limbo again a few weeks later. Despite the tepid offense over the past season and a half, Park continues to get interest due to his defensive versatility and speed. He regularly posts double-digit steal totals and can play all three outfield slots as well as the three positions left of first base. If his bat can even take a little step forward to be average-ish, he could be a valuable contributor.
For the Braves, they have most of their infield set with Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley in place. Shortstop is still a question mark with Dansby Swanson having hit free agency and still on the open market. If he ends up signing elsewhere, it seems the plan would be to install Vaughn Grissom there. In the outfield, Michael Harris II and Ronald Acuña Jr. have two spots accounted for with Marcell Ozuna, Eddie Rosario and Sam Hilliard candidates for another. Park still has two option years remaining, which will allow the club to keep him in the minors as depth to be brought up as needed. But he could also compete for a bench/utility role with the likes of Orlando Arcia, Braden Shewmake and Ehire Adrianza.
Goodddd bloom
I see the Braves are taking their massive gaping holes at SS and OF seriously
How would you solve the “massive gap” in LF”? Ozuna, Rosario, and Hilliard on the roster already
Don’t feel bad the redsox have been doing the samething all the holes we have and here bloom the clown is just sitting here thinking this is all a game and a joke too him as long as he drives there payroll down management is going too keep him here and it’s sicken I wish he would be banned from MLB I can’t stand him .
Feel for the Red Sox fans. Bloom was handed a top 10 team…drove that right down into the ground. Almost feels like with they need to tear it down and rebound when Mayer is ready.
No other way to say say this but Bloom is paid in part to develop the farm and in part to be the public fall guy for ownership. I’ve posted this already. My issue is everything costs so much to visit Fenway. The team should simply lower prices. When Houston totally rebuilt, they didn’t charge prices like in Boston. The Cubs did but everyone knew the team was in rebuild mode. Sox ownership has tried to thread a fine needle and 2021 set fans back mentally. Would rather have had the team not answer questions about Bogie this off-season. The market went nuts but if he seemed to truly want to stay (unlike Betts) and the team could have kept negotiating. Their $30m one year extension was an opening offer the same way they shot for the moon back in February or March. Had the team made a three year $80m extension offer, it too would have been rejected but there probably would have been a counter and negotiations could have continued. They either didn’t want him back or ownership screwed up and misread the market.Why though blame Bloom for everything? in today’s world GM’s are simply messengers.
@Ido – Mayer may never be anything. He hadn’t even faced advanced pitching let alone shown he could adapt as mlb caliber pitchers attack him differently at the plate once they get a book on him.
Tough to say plan a rebuild around a guy who isn’t anything yet. That could be 3 or 4 more years of bloom tanking purgatory
I mean, wow, at least you aren’t getting crazy about it or anything……
Of course there is a chance that Mayer never pans out just like any top prospect…. but don’t let you doom and gloom BLOOM, get in the way that he was the consensus Top player in the Draft and basically after 1 year in the minors he is already in the top 10 of all Major league prospects…. my guess is by the time he ready he could be in the top 5 and potentially #1.
More Bloom magic
Bloom is doom!!!
You miss Hoy Park? The Sox essentially traded an 18yo pitcher for a PTBNL. This is not the end of the franchise.
Read the comments Ketch, this is the end of the franchise.
No I miss winning!
Why
Provides depth. He will get an invite to spring training and see what happens. Very little risk like a lottery ticket. Each year some depth piece steps up and become a good addition
Because they needed the roster spot. They designated him (hoping to get him through waivers, just like the Pirates before them) and the Braves claimed him, so this is the trade they worked out. pretty standard stuff when someone is designated.
Utility guys are always worth taking a low risk shot at. They can be so valuable to a contending team
and the Red Sox are a contending team?
Not to the extent as the acquiring Braves
I dont get the above anger. Red Sox get rid of a sub-mendoza line player who never played a game for the team and people are upset?
People just really like to b**** about Bloom. I mean, I do the same with Bob Nutting (why did we sign Hoy Park anyways)?
Bloom is just another Ivy league, stat geek, analytics nerd who throws things against a wall and when something sticks the media anoints it “genius”.
You put “genius” in quotes. Can you direct me to one time media anointed him a “genius”? I’ll wait.
If Bloom was hired to re-create the Rays, then figure on having no players worth buying a jersey of playing in Boston for too long. It’s not a bad strategy, the Rays win a lot of games using analytics and bunch of non-household names in the lineup. But I don’t think that is what Red Sox or any other fans want. Fans want the wins, but they also want stars on their team.
Soooooo true!!! And for the guy getting technical by asking “who called em genius?” That does seem to be what people/writers were implying. Especially when the Ivy League/never so much as held a ball in their lives guys first started getting popular.
I say how many titles does Tampa Bay have? They may have wins but they are not going deep and winning it all. Sorry.
So he wasn’t called a “Genius”. So is it a gross exaggeration or he doesn’t know how to use quotes?
Personally, I’d argue the media has been all over Bloom. Go to BoSox Injection, OverTheMonster, Either talk radio stations. NO ONE is calling him a “genius” but many are calling him “terrible”. And yes I put terrible in quotes, because I understand how quotes work and that word has been used. Personally, I think Angry Talk Radio is where 90% of the ‘I hate Bloom’ fuel comes from. The sheeple eat it up.
They could have not gotten involved with this schmuck in the first place and had an extra 40 man slot around the R5 draft.
Because a lot of Red Sox fans live in a fantasy land they’ve created in their own minds where if only Chaim Bloom had never been hired we’d still have Betts, Bogaerts, Renfroe, Schwarber, etc and would have won the World Series each of the past 3 years.
In fairness kingken.. A lot of the of the wall Sox fans came about only after Sox won the 1st couple of WS crowns.. The fan base wasn’t that cracked up before is my 2c.. Sure, the NE media has been for decades (writers), but fan base was more into winning C’s and B’s.
The 2, then 4 WS crowns last 20y has brought out the unhinged.
Kingken67 – YOU NAILED IT “if only Chaim Bloom had never been hired we’d still have Betts, Bogaerts, Renfroe, Schwarber, etc and would have won the World Series each of the past 3 years.”
THAT IS EXACTLY HOW MANY RED SOX FANS ACT! Lol, lol, lol
Chan Hoy Park
Sounds racist Mr. Rocker.
Love all the Sox fans thinking Ward is the next Mo or something.
Wow, I can’t believe Boston got anything back for this guy! I thought he’d clear waivers no problem. I’m sure it is a super low level prospect they’ll receive but I’m still surprised they got something for him. Bloom’s master plan in working!
Let’s see what they can get for Jeter Downs next.
They might just be getting the famous prospect that’s been passed around for decades—-Cash Considerations. Great name, but he can’t hit or field.
Hey! They just built a ballpark. Why do they need another one?
Doom got 0.00 for Betts!!! His strategy deserves to be in question. Bogey gone with nothing in return and Devers soon to follow..
So in essence Chaim Bloom considers a player to be named later or cash considerations to be worth more then Thad Ward?
Stole my exact comment I was about to make!! Jeter downs same thing lol. Just no rhyme or reason for any move really
So if they waived Park before the Rule V to save Thad Ward. Are you saying Ward would’ve cleared waivers today? This doesn’t make sense.
Is Thad Ward out of Minor League options? If he still has options you don’t have to worry about him clearing waivers as long as you keep him on your 40 man
Huntington Grounds: Correct. The Red Sox value Ward more than anyone DFA’d in the offseason because Ward still has a chance to return. We need to look at the 40 man roster down the road and see who is left and compare them to Ward. BTW, the first pick in the last Rule 5 draft was returned.
@All in the suit: Davey Martinez said Ward is going to start out as long inning relief and then work his way to a starting role since he only had 51 innings. That boy aint coming back to Boston lol.
I didn’t say Ward is definitely coming back. I said it’s better to be subjected to the Rule 5 draft than to be added to the 40 man roster only to be quickly DFA’d. Let’s see if Ward can make the jump to MLB and amount to something.
“Is Thad Ward out of Minor League options? If he still has options you don’t have to worry about him clearing waivers as long as you keep him on your 40 man”
==========================================
The 40 man roster is full. Red Sox just signed Masataka Yoshi
You had to make a spot today for Yoshi, regardless of who’s name is on the 40-man. Whether its Thad Ward, Hoy Park, or somebody else, somebody had to go. Replacing Hoy’s name with Ward’s doesn’t give you an extra 40-man roster spot.
What does ‘Minor League Options’ have to do with it. I think youre confusing 40-man with 24-man rosters.
I was under the assumption Jeter Downs being DFA’d yesterday made room for Yoshi today.
Hilliard? Braden Shewmake? What is he a leprechaun? Writer is really digging in the trenches here for players.
When Park was actually given consistent playing time at one position (last month or so of ’21), he was actually pretty decent. He technically does have positional flexibility but he really seems to be much better suited for the infield. Pirates jerked him all around the field and batting order and it should be hard for most players to find consistency with the glove and bat when you get that kind of playing time.
Seems like a low-risk flier that adds AAA depth at worst and could be a serviceable UTIL infielder at best.
As far as ATL goes offensively let’s not forget Acuna could have an improved OPS next year and Albies missed giant chunk of season and didn’t hit when he played. Those two spots in the order are likely to improve IMO so is it really that dangerous to let SS or LF be filled in house? Rosario has been a good hitter his entire career. He was starting to hit the ball much harder towards end of season and played first part with blurred vision. I think he’ll be ok. And Grissom has done nothing but hit since he was signed. If Arcia works harder on his SS defense he could be the excellent fielding SS he was when he came up. They are not it a bad position, at all. They need an outfielder most I think.
Thanks for the braves update.
If it’s just cash I’m fine with it. If they get a ptbl it’s a coup for Red Sox. Running out of prospects to trade at this point. I guess AA is going for it.
Like all teams, the Braves have minor leaguers who’ll never spend a day in MLB. For example, they could give up 2019 2nd round bust Beau Philip (picked #60.) Sox fans would see a recent 2nd rounder coming their way and think they stole something. Braves fans would know that Philip was an under slot senior sign that freed up money needed to pay over slot bonuses for lower draft choices (Michael Harris II, Steven Paolini, Vaughn Grissom, Rickey deVito, etc.) It’ll be ok Mercenary. Braves may just send them cash. Pretty good chance that most Braves fans will have no idea who the player sent to the Sox even exists.
The braves are just being cute now. Careless mistake after mistake after mistake. Such a shame. With the demise of the Falcons and now the braves what was once a average sports town is now just a place with a senseless airport and far too many chicken wing joints
Have you considered cutting out dairy? Claiming a near zero cost utility player, reliever, etc for depth purposes is standard procedure. Dozens of guys like this will get spring training invites. Most will fill mil roster spots.
Too many chicken wings, too many Waffle Houses, too many mouth breathers.
Can I make a suggestion for the PTBNL?
Ozuna from the Braves
Braves have to pay Ozuna’s full contract AND plus his wife’s facial reconstruction and medical bills .
You’re trying too hard
The player to be named later will be Hoy Park.
Harris and Grissom will regress. Acuna and Albies will continue to get injured.
That is very possibly true for Harris. Good point. I still think he’s a fine player tho. As far as injuries I don’t really see any indication yet that they are injury prone in general (Albies has had injuries before but he’s played several years healthy since the initial minor league injury, until 2022). I mean fracturing the finger the first day back is practically some act of fate. I don’t think it implies he’s injury prone tho.
I didn’t I initially respond about Grissom cause I think everyone expects regression. But it’s possible he puts up at least a 700 something ops. And anything more is great. But he could struggle, no doubt. He really was outmatched last few weeks of season
That’s fair. Acuna seemed to be treading water at times last year. A different coaching staff and teammates might be necessary to unlock the full potential.
He was just trying to do too much when he came back. He went overboard stealing bases (even played like this on rehab from what was reported) and started getting sore after awhile and he was having trouble making it through the season. He was supposedly told by the doctors/med staff that it was ordinary soreness expected to linger for awhile after surgery. Even this offseason he wanted to play for his home country for awhile instead of just resting more.
Yikes. Are we sure we don’t want to just hold onto PTBNL? =)
Ahoy there, hit it out of the park!
I read today that Truist was the first person to congratulate Hoy on the conference call by welcoming him to back to the family. He was also gushing it loud that family needs to stay together.
Dumb.
The Braves sent
out a press release today that Hoy will be allowed to Park for free. The Braves will also introduce Park’N’Ride parking locations along Interstate 285.
And dumber.
I’ll never understand the internet hate. This is a ZERO risk move, and the kid has proven he can play. I actually love this signing, If he tanks and is cut during Spring Training…IT’S NO BIG DEAL. Another savvy, under the radar pick up by AA to further SS depth when Dansby inevitably signs elsewhere.
Zero risk but even for a depth piece I don’t love this move lol. Oh well, no risk