Boston Red Sox Acquire Drew Pomeranz From Padres
By David Hill
The Boston Red Sox have been in the market for an upgrade to their starting rotation. They may have found a player who can not only help this season, but also for the long haul, in their trade for Drew Pomeranz.
During the offseason, the Boston Red Sox and the San Diego Padres made a blockbuster move, with former All Star closer Craig Kimbrel being sent east for a number of top prospects. With the Red Sox once again in need of pitching help, this time in the starting rotation, General Manager Dave Dombrowski once again turned to A.J. Preller, acquiring Drew Pomeranz for top prospect Anderson Espinoza.
In Pomeranz, it may be fair to wonder if the Padres are selling high. A journeyman who had bounced between the rotation and the bullpen, Pomeranz is in the midst of a breakout season. His 8-7 record belies his 2.47 ERA and 1.059 WHiP, with 115 strikeouts in 102 innings of work. He was rewarded with his first All Star Game appearance, and had proven to be quite the bargain for the Padres.
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The Red Sox certainly have to hope that he can retain his production. After trotting the likes of Clay Buchholz, Joe Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez to the mound, Boston has a 4.72 ERA and a 1.36 WHiP, numbers that would be much worse without the surprising contributions from Steven Wright. Even though Pomeranz is not being counted on to front the Red Sox staff, he is still expected to solidify the middle of the rotation.
It is fair to wonder if that will happen. Thus far, Pomeranz has permitted just a .242 batting average on balls in play against, far below his career mark of .276. He is also going from two relatively pitcher friendly ballparks to Fenway, leading to the question of whether or not his strong performance will translate in Boston.
There is also the question of Pomeranz’ workload. He has already pitched more innings than he has in any major league season, and after only 291.2 innings in the majors from 2011 through 2015, he may well run into the wall at some point this year. The Red Sox are certainly taking a chance that Pomeranz can be the cure for the ills of their rotation.
To find out, they have paid a hefty price. Even if Anderson Espinoza is the only player heading to San Diego, Preller got quite the haul for what may realistically be termed a reclamation project. Recently named the 14th best prospect in baseball by Keith Law in his midseason look at the top 50 prospects in the game, he immediately slots in as the jewel of the Padres system.
Only 18 years old, Espinoza has been compared to a young Pedro Martinez, lofty praise for such a young pitcher. Armed with a sinking fastball that has hit triple digits, he has posted a 5-8 record with a 4.38 ERA and a 1.368 WHiP, striking out 72 batters against 27 walks in 76 innings in the South Atlantic League. Even though those numbers may not be impressive, he is already pitching in full season minor league ball at this young age, and could well end up in the Padres rotation in a few years if he continues to progress.
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It is no secret that the Boston Red Sox needed pitching help, and Drew Pomeranz was one of the top names expected to be available. However, he came with quite the cost for Boston. Only time will tell if it was worth it.