The Philadelphia Phillies’ attempts to support their bull have led to the first notable trade of Major League Baseball of the season.
According to Abraham Globe’s Pete’s of the Boston Globe, the Phillies have reached an agreement with the Boston Red Sox that will transfer veteran savers Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree.
The Red Sox will also get casho considerations into the deal. The Red Sox will get right-handed pitchers Nick Pivetta and Connor Seabold.
Of the #Red socks: RHPs Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree and casho considerations along with a player later referred to as casho considerations to the Phillies for RHP Nick Pivetta and minor league RHP Connor Seabold.
– Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) August 22, 2020
Phillies have the worst bullpen of MLB
The motivation is simple from the Phillies side. They entered the weekend with the worst bullpen of MLB (8.07 ERA) and they are also without their best reliever, Jose Alvarez, who came on the injured list on Thursday after taking a 105 mph line drive from his body .
Upgrades were desperately needed. This trade gives them two reliable veterans who can handle multiple roles.
Workman, 32, spent part of 2019 as Boston’s closer. He flourished in the role, recording 16 cuts. He finished the season with best careers in ERA (1.81) and FIP (2.46). This season, he has a 4.05 ERA over seven appearances.
Hembree, 31, has made 251 appearances for Boston since 2014 back. He has slowly started this season with a 5.59 ERA through his 11 appearances, but has been stable throughout his career with a 3.60 ERA and 4.22 FIP.
Red Sox starting to rebuild?
According to the Red Sox site, this may be the first of several trades before the August 31st trading date. Boston currently ranks last in the AL East at 8-18.
There are more questions than answers in various places on the Boston roster. Most notably, they traded short in the starting rotation with Chris Sale and Eduardo Rodriguez out for the season. A turnaround this season is highly unlikely, making this a good season to welcome back or possibly embark on a major rebuild.
Boston has several emerging free agents and big salary players who may be prone to attacking teams. Workman is the first of those players to be traded, although the yield is light at the same time.
Nick Pivetta ended his Phillies career with a 5.50 ERA in 396⅓ innings, the highest by any Phillie with so many innings since 1931.
– Corey Seidman (@CSeidmanNBCS) August 22, 2020
Boston’s 6.01 ERA, introduced Friday, was the second worst in MLB, so any new addition could be considered an upgrade.
Seabold, 24, has something up. He posted a 2.25 ERA and 2.77 FIP at Double A last season.
Other Red Sox trade candidates include designated hitter JD Martinez, first baseman Mitch Moreland, outfielders Kevin Pillar and Jackie Bradley Jr.
