The Red Sox have officially announced their trade that sends right-hander Matt Barnes to the Marlins and sees lefty Richard Bleier come to Boston. To make room on the roster for Bleier, right-hander Franklin German was designated for assignment. Barnes was already off the roster since he was designated for assignment last week.
German, 25, was a Yankee farmhand that came to the Sox in the Adam Ottavino trade in 2021. He had primarily been a starter in the minors but he was used exclusively in relief in 2022. The move seemed to suit him well, as he posted a 2.72 ERA over 49 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. His 9.6% walk rate was a tad high but he paired that with a 32.5% strikeout rate. That showing was impressive enough to get him to the majors, though he was lit up for eight earned runs in his first four innings.
The Red Sox will now have a week to trade German or pass him through waivers. Though his first taste of the majors didn’t go well in terms of results, he did average 97.7 mph on his fastball. He could intrigue other clubs with his youth, excellent performance in the minors last year and full slate of options. He has just a few days of MLB service time thus far and can be affordably retained for the foreseeable future.
Guy had good triple A numbers last year
This must be another situation where a trade has already been seriously talked about because this kid is not #40 on the Sox roster. At least not in my eyes.
He won’t last long. 25 year old who throws 100 with a couple good minor league seasons under his belt
Let’s be Frank and speak English, dude ain’t there yet…
Let’s be Franklin?
Okay. I’ll be Frank Cady. a.k.a. Sam Drucker.
Showing you’re age Milt lol I remember Frank Cady in a few older movies, but always be remembered as Sam drucker
I’ll be Frank Bank who played Clarence Lumpy Rutherford.
Well it’s not okay… or is it??? ( hank kimbel)
The Red Sox have built enough depth compared to a few years back that some children will be sacrificed.
I hope next time you think before letting that garbage disposal of a mouth let trash fly loose. What “depth” a bunch of .220 hitters? Half who spent 2022 on the IL? I bet you think Bloom is doing a great job gutting a world series winning team to a glorified AAA team that belongs in Tijuana.
Why does Bloom continue to hold on to a 30 year old Kaleb Ort who has proven he cannot pitch in the majors? German is so young and still full of promise. Sure he struggled in his brief call up last year but he was 24 years old and still has 6 years of control left. He will be snatched up off of waivers very quickly. I truly don’t understand this move unless German has a long term injury I am unaware of.
@Dorothy, what happened to your classic photo?
Where is Cyril
I tried to change my photo and the site wouldn’t allow me to upload any of the pics I wanted to use so I had to sacrifice Cyril unfortunately!
It could be a couple of things.
1-With these low-end guys, it might be more of a matter of what they can do for us in 2023, as opposed to their long-term value.
2-It could also be a matter of what they can get back. Ort would probably get us nothing. German might net us a someone not tied to the 40-man roster.
As we saw with Darwinzon & Barnes, we will find out if German has any value by the kind of offers we receive.
I don’t know normally I agree with you but I’m having trouble justifying giving up on German vs continuing to employ Braiser. I got it before but this one is tougher to justify.
I’m thinking a larger trade is brewing with the Sox giving more on their 40 than they’re getting back. Not sure what but remember Bloom still wants another infielder.
Boston will be horrible in 2023. Should be looking for the future. Lol
Yup and Brasier too. Ridiculous decision. Sorry but more intrigued with the potential than what Brasier has shown.
Dorothy,
Because the Red Sox are one of the worst teams in baseball history at developing, fixing, or improving young pitchers. German would require some work to develop further, and perhaps either add a pitch, or work on grips/slot to get a little more consistency. We all know they can’t do that. Many franchises would look at a 25-year-old with that kind of stuff and assign someone to maximize his strengths, and tinker with his weaknesses.
As to why we have kept Ort and Brasier while letting go Song, German, Seabold, Hernandez, Ward, Politi, etc. will be a mystery that only God will reveal at the end of times. I am sure it will have to do with the master plan of building a consistent and sustained winner that can compete for a division title every year. When that starts is to be announced.
” Song, German, Seabold, Hernandez, Ward, Politi, etc.”
Thats not an impressive lineup of pitchers.
Song: At least 4 years away from helping a major league roster, yet once he’s activate and begins pitching, you’d have to keep him on the 40-man the whole time. 1st time pitcher sucking up a roster spot, not good.
Seabold: He looks terrible the last 2 years
Hernandez: 5.43 ERA, 1.48 Whip in 2022 for Worc.
Ward: Constantly injured
Politi: Potential to be a middle reliever
Maybe that guy “Etc.” is the guy your referring to? Dont know anything about him.
A single instance of Tommy john which is no longer rare in today’s pitchers is different than multiple different injuries. Sure it takes time to rehab and come back, but, many pitchers are highly effective after.
So. Query: who is more injury prone, Ward, who was on an upswing and had talent (remember how Whitlock became available as well) or mondesi?
Talent and impact ability within a lineup need to be considered evenly. If you’re going to argue ceiling makes injury prone worth it on one player, you can’t turn that sword back on your argument regarding another. Either neither one is worth carrying, or both are. But cannot selectively argue injury prone only when it fits the narrative.
GASox
Ward had an ‘oblique strain’ in 2022. He had another injury during the Arizona Fall League and had to be shut down.
Thats what I found with 30 secs on online searching. Not sure why you think a minimum of 3 injuries is a ‘single injury’. He’s missed three years to injuries. But, more importantly, with injuries in late 2022 and fall of 2022, it shows he’s injury prone, and probably not healthy right now.
Thats not an impressive lineup of pitchers.
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It’s not. Nothing makes RS prospects more beloved than being traded. Ward is 26. Politi 26, Darwinzon 26, Seabold 27. These aren’t long-term development projects, hoping that they will work their way onto the RS roster by age 28-29.
And none of these guys were likely to help us this year. Ort probably won’t either, but is likely higher on the pecking chart than these guys.
Minor soft tissue strains when trying to return to form after the long layoff of a Tommy john and rehab aren’t uncommon. You’re getting back into motions you haven’t made in the better part of 2 years.
We aren’t talking repetitive broken bones and torn ligaments, things like that which have more lasting effects.
Joe, of those you name, seabold and darwinzon bother me little in thay theyre gone. They had chances and extended looks. Maybe could’ve been packaged and traded better, but, it’s not the end of thenworld they’re out of town.
Politi never really got a try out at mlb level to see what he could do. Some of his aaa numbers indicate he could have success, others less so, but he should’ve at least gotten a look last fall if nothing else.
Ward they cut bait too early on, especially as he worked back from Tommy john and looked promising at times. Whitlock fell to Boston in much the same fresh off Tommy john manner, and, could’ve contributed this season.
I’d like to see the paxton vs ward comparison at year end, I’m inclined to think ward will have better park and defense neutral metrics than paxton.
Darwinian sadly had such little value that the team that picked him up ended up DFA’ing him what two weeks later? Getting money for both Seabold and Hernandez was probably the best return the red sox could have hoped for.
GA “A single instance of Tommy john which is no longer rare in today’s pitchers is different than multiple different injuries.”
Oblique Strain is your rib cage. Tommy John is your elbow. Two completely different injuries. Just the facts.
Next year it will be his knee, because his form is rusty from the TJ Surgery, and he landed on it funny. This could go on for years.
Rsmith, and yet, by your logic guys like Verlander should leave the game right? TJ and done for everyone. Look at how many TJ guys come back and are highly successful.
Yes, I know the oblique is rib cage. My point is you have long lasting injuries with recurring side effects, and, you have on the other hand soft tissue injuries that aren’t of the ‘made of glass’ persona.
I think there’s a big difference. We can agree to disagree on that, and it’s fine. But there are multiple types of injuries, and, in 99% of cases soft tissue strains aren’t of the chronic impact nature the way others are, the majority of exceptions being when the soft tissue issues are symptoms themselves of the larger issue, and not a rehab accident.
“by your logic” A guy driving to a TJ surgery appointment gets in a car crash and breaks both his legs. Since he was driving to the appointment, its all part of the one injury.
Theres no way an oblique strain a year after TJS is (in your words) “a single incident of Tommy John Surgery”. No matter how you spin it.
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What I’m saying is ‘guys that are injury prone tend to keep getting injured, and the oblique strain tells me that he probably hasnt been keeping himself in top-notch shape.’ — The Red Sox brass would have inside information on this, and we do not.
So tell me how you evaluate Ort and Brasier
Came to Boston from NY along with Ottavino in a salary dump. Interesting. He was thought of as a good arm
Apparently the Yankees got all the Germans they could!
I dont really care for this move. He got hammered when he got called up, but he pitched 4 innings. He had pretty good numbers at AA and AAA last year though. One would think that as young as he is theres hope he could iron out last years wrinkle. God knows there are other worthy candidates to DFA instead.
Brasier.
Brasier, Duran, Dalbec, Hamilton and especially Ort.
WHY
Bloom!
While we still keep ort and brasier
Based on Rule V Draft, and trade value of players who cant make 40-man roster, Red Sox have one of the deepest 40-man rosters in baseball. Good sign for the future.
I’ve been looking at that lately. The quality of the guys being squeezed off of the 40-man reflects the quality of the guys that remain on.
That’s one interpretation. The other is you just have a massive clump of AAAA type players with little ability to separate one from another to pull ahead of the pack.
A deep collection of fringe players is just that – a deep collection of fringe players. Doesn’t mean anything for the rest of the squad.
Or the decision-making for who goes vs who stays.
Scouting report at SoxProspects says German has no secondary plus pitch and projects as a middle reliever as of late 2022. About the same as Ort.
Still possible they work out a trade for German, as they did with Barnes.
Ort, btw, throws harder than German.
Ort wasn’t as bad as his ERA suggests. He allowed 8 runs in the TO fiasco, otherwise his ERA would be under 4.00. Deciding between him and German, based on minor league numbers, is not something we amateurs should be speculating on.
Totally forgot about that, Joe. He was the victim of the infamous inside the park grand slam, right?
Still not understanding why I should care if a guy is 23 or 31 if he is throwing 100, in pre-arb and has an option.
Still not understanding why I should care if a guy is 23 or 31 if he is throwing 100, in pre-arb and has an option.
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I view this slightly differently. I think of guys as long-term projects in one bucket, and who is going to help me in 2023 in the second bucket. German is young enough to be considered bucket 1, but the rest of these guys were bucket #2. Once it is bucket #2, I have like Ort a lot better than Darwinzon, Ward, etc.
There is a reasonable chance that Ort could get promoted to cover for an injury, and deliver a 4.50 for 3-4 weeks.
and once in a while Ort will throw strikes. Once<while.
Full German summary from soxprospects.com:
“Potential up-and-down depth reliever. Ceiling of a middle reliever. Stuff has improved since he moved to the bullpen in September 2021. In short bursts, his velocity has increased and his secondaries have improved. Lacks a plus secondary pitch right now. Has shown bat-missing ability with both splitter and slider against minor league competition, but there are questions about how they will translate against MLB competition due to a lack of consistency and command. If one of his secondaries takes a step forward along with his command, has a better chance to carve out a full-time role in a major league bullpen.”
Fangraphs ranks him #32 in our system. Some folks are over-thinking this.
Joe: I’d much rather take a chance on a guy like German vs keeping Braiser. The other guys that were DFA’d before him I get but a younger cheaper guy like German probably deserves more of a look at this point than Braiser. Essentially his ceiling was the same as Braiser’s and he’d cost less (not that Braiser is making big money all things considered) My hope is that Braiser is in included in some type of deal to lower the 40 man number the way Taylor was but that might be a bit wishful.
Fangraphs had Ort’s fastball at 96.3 and German’s at 97.9.
Ort touched 100-101 several times in September. German’s got velo, but he’s never done that.
I hope he stays in the organization because there’s a chance he turns into more than a middle reliever, but they do have several other RH short inning guys with options, and idk, I’m willing to bet that 2 HR in 50 IP last year doesn’t mean he’s going to carry a minuscule HR rate in MLB.
People need to give it a rest with Brasier, tbh – organization has made it very clear he’s got a bullpen spot unless he loses it. I agree with that decision.
Hi
Why can’t I post
Finally a DFA that actually makes sense, though Bloomie got out of the Barnes one with a nice trade.
Peddy – He paid a team $5MM plus the new guys salary to take Barnes. Financially, this is another Bloom reduces the payroll move.
If you assume the cap is a line not to go past this year, each buy down reduces the available money to field a team in 2023. Like in 2020, the Price buy down was extremely poor judgement by Bloom especially after he opted out and cost nothing in 2020, all buy outs are dumb. They reduce available pay under the CAP. You are better off giving away prospects that have no chance of being good rather than money because that allows you to back fill the loss with the money saved. Bloom saved no money on this deal, he swapped a player who if dealt could have been moved off the books and received a player at over $6MM less who also could be moved off the books and a locked in commitment for $5MM that can’t be reduced thus lowering available payroll by $5MM in 2023.
Bloom puts his team at a competitive disadvantage each time he does a buy down. He lost $48MM of available payroll with the Price deal over 3 years and this deal lost $5MM for the Red Sox in 2023. Was it worth dropping available payroll by $5MM to get rid of Barnes? He wasn’t that bad and obviously it doesn’t matter in 2023 but still the financial irresponsibility that Bloom shows with many of his deals is very disturbing to the finance guys in the audience.
You really don’t understand how any of this works, do you?
Barnes had a guaranteed deal. He was getting paid no matter what once he was DFA’d. Bloom turned that lost $10.9MM ($8.4 this year, plus the $2.5 buyout next year) into a much-needed, controllable lefty while also trimming the luxury tax calculation for 2023 by $1.375MM ($9.375MM for Barnes alone in 2023 to $8MM for Sox share of Barnes plus Bleier). That’s a win.
The other things the swap did is get another lefty with at least passable mlb caliber stuff back in the pen, and, got an option on a pen arm next year for under half the price of taking brasier’s option. That also has potential value assuming everyone does perform.
I think an underdiscussed aspect of the Red Sox offseason is that despite being under fire and potentially with pressure on his job, the CBO has not deviated from his stated plans and made any desperation / rob Peter to pay Paul type moves. It sucks seeing Bogaerts retire elsewhere, but otherwise, I am actually very encouraged by continued discipline despite louder public pressure, and more confident in the front office group than I was this past midseason. They have the right person for the job.
Some people in this position would have signed two or three QO types at the expense of the entire 2023 draft class, or done something reckless like trading Miguel Bleis for immediate help. We have better leadership than that.
Detroit used to have a hard throwing pitcher named Franklin German. I wonder if they’re related.
What is Bloom doing???
Never even gave German a real chance after he dominated in the minors last year. He has real potential to be an impact reliever as soon as this season. Keeping Kaleb Ort and Ryan Brasier over German (or Thad Ward) is just ridiculous.
This off-season has been an absolute disgrace for the Sox. I wish John Henry would fire Bloom and then fire himself.
What a bizarro series of moves. I wouldn’t trade this guy for Bleier straight up.
I guess the September callup was enough for Bloom. Feels like they are giving up on German too soon but are probably hoping he sneaks through waivers (probably unlikely)
If the goal is to sneak someone through waivers, 31yo Kaleb Ort is far likelier. Teams have been passing on him for years already.
This is like churning stocks by a day trader. Which does not end well.
Ort is only a handful of days from turning 31 and has pitched just 28.2 innings in the majors.
This has happened a few times. Bloom makes a trade and takes on salary with a prospect. He then dumps the prospect a season or two later. Didn’t he do this with the JBJ and Mitch Moreland trades? Something will happen the prospects in the Vasquez trade. He is terrible….
Sorry,poor grammar, “happen to the”
Jury is still out on both prospects but Binelas hit 25 HR’s between A/AA and Hamilton stole 70 bases at AA and is learning to play CF, which could be a faster path to Boston as Binelas is currently blocked by Devers and Casas
Simply put, there’s a glut of prospects that are OK, with flashes of potential, but not great and who don’t play well enough to force their way onto the roster.
Instead of packaging some of these guys to get at least average pieces with a year or two if control left, or, a higher end prospect for a number of such players, the front office is playing the odds by holding them and hoping someone makes a leap, forcing their way onto the 26 man spot.
So far the gambles haven’t worked. It could’ve, you never know, but they’re making the decision to keep trying. That’s a judgment call, one I personally disagree with, but, it’s the reason why the rule 5, waivers, and pattern to trading guys for lesser non-40 man talent have been so prevalent this offseason.
Contrast that to a couple offeasons back when SD realized they would lose players if they didn’t trade them as not everyone could be protected let alone played on the roster.
No. The Sox still have both Hamilton and Binelas from the Bradley trade. They did DFA both Hudson Potts (later resigned) and Jeisson Rosario from the Moreland deal, but what type of prospects did you expect when trading two months of Mitch Moreland?
I think I’d rather 6 years of 25 yr old German, than 2 years of 35 year old Bleier. I like the move for Barnes, but I’ve seen enough of Braiser already.
I think it’s worth asking how commonly teams hang onto middle relievers through arbitration. Perhaps we are overthinking age and total years of control for a role where that’s maybe less impactful than other positions.
Ok. “How commonly do teams hang onto middle relievers through arbitration?”
Heh, so if middle relievers are non-tendered fairly often, we probably shouldn’t be looking at – or should at least be discounting – years 4-6 of pre-FA. Even ones who are not non-tendered are less likely to have surplus value in arbitration than starting pitchers or position players, since middle relievers command much less money on the open market than those roles do.
Obviously, that’s all a type of question you can make a Fangraphs deep dive out of, but just at a quick glance, I see 39 relief pitchers (you could probably count Yarborough here if you wanted), and 36 players at all other positions. I missed two players somewhere since I just went back and counted 77 total non tenders. The larger point is that more than half of the pool was full of middle relievers.
Why do I care about what a middle reliever is going to do once he is out of options and on the arbitration scale? Seems like the comparison ought to be three years of German to two years of Bleier. One of these is an established MLB reliever and one is not.
Another Bloom BBB gone by the wayside
I think the idea is that they were able to get something for Barnes in the first place. The money ends up being a wash but the Sox basically get Bleier for the same money as they were already going to pay Barnes and vice/versa for the Marlins and still probably cheaper than Moore, Chafin, or Hand would cost
There’s a very good reason Bleier is cheaper than those guys!
So often it feels like Bloom is a guy seeking a great radio station by very slowly moving the selector on the fringe of the bandwidth. There are next to no stations there and the ones that are don’t play good music, don’t carry good sports and have no great talk shows!!
Not a NPR fan, huh? Tell me more about that.
Yanks could use another German.
That’s what France said..
Ty France?
I wonder if Hazen has checked in with his old friends in Boston about this guy…
He would be a welcome addition to the Detorit Tigers. Convert to a reliever in AAA and come up to the big club.