This is brewing all day, but it seems like things have been done, or at least to the point that there is no turning back. After rumors of the afternoon began to creep in about a trade percolating between the Red Sox and Phillies, and later reports indicating that Heath Hembree’s name was also mentioned, reports indicated that the deal was done. Alex Speier was first on the news. It soon became apparent that Boston would get a pitcher back in Nick Pivetta and Connor Seabold.
De #Red socks today, RHP’s Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree and cashover deals, along with a player later referred to as casho considerations, traded to the Phillies, in exchange for RHP Nick Pivetta and minor RHP Connor Seabold.
– Red Sox (@RedSox) August 22, 2020
As we talk about this afternoon, the Phillies trade for bullpen help makes all the sense in the world. While they are below .500, they still have roughly a 50 percent chance of making this expanded postseason field and an impulse bullpen will only help those chances. For as much talent as they have anywhere else on the roster, the relief corps has been brutal, introducing Friday’s action with an ERA above 8.00, easily the worst mark in any baseball.
They did not get any elite, elite relievers back, but both Workman and Hembree should be of great help in this unit. Workman, as we know, was incredible for the Red Sox in 2019, embracing his running curveball to help him dominate with his solid fastball en route to a sub-2.00 ERA. The walks are a concern and he has a bit of regression in a small sample this year, but there is not much reason to expect that he will not be very good in the stretch. He is set to ride free agency this year. Hembree meanwhile certainly has issues with command consistency, but is very good against rights and can provide service innings for the Phillies. He is under control for another season after this.
We can not really speculate about the player who will later be named as part of this, but that may be loosely tied to the performance of one or both of those guys in the stretch. Keep in mind that players who need to be named later this year are a bit more complicated, as anyone who is technically not in the 60-man player pool gets that designation. Teams have six months to announce a player to be named later.
As for the comeback, we will have more details on these two right-handed pitchers tomorrow, but may provide an overview in the meantime. Pivetta became a hot name among some more stat-oriented analysts a few years ago when he paired his 4.77 ERA with a 3.75 FIP and a 3.40 DRA that season, thanks to a strikeout rate above ten per nine innings. However, he has never done well with those peripheral devices, and this season he has returned to a 15.88 ERA over 5 2⁄3 innings in three relief performances with four strikeouts and a walk. Last season, he set up after a 5.38 ERA split between the rotation and bullpen over 93 2⁄3 innings. Pivetta is 27 (he turns 28 in February) and will face arbitration for the first time this winter.
Seabold, meanwhile, is a 24-year-old who was drafted in the third round from Cal State Fullerton in the 2017 draft. The judge made it to Double-A, but comes out of a rough 2019 that was hampered by an injury. His season started too late due to a slim injury at the end of the spring and he threw only 56 1⁄3 innings over three different levels, though he counted to a 2.70 ERA at Double-A over 40 1⁄3 innings. He also got some time in the Arizona Fall League, pitching to a 1.59 ERA with 22 strikeouts and three walks over 17 innings.
Ultimately, this is a move that the Red Sox should make, even though they are not exactly getting elite talent back. Like I said, we’ll have more on this this morning.
