The Red Sox traded up and coming 25 year old Anthony Ranaudo to the Texas Rangers for floundering 25 year old relief pitcher Robbie Ross. WHAT???
Ranaudo set the Portland Sea Dogs record for strikeouts in 2013 and won the Triple A version of the Cy Young last year. He also won a few games for one of the worst offensive teams in the majors last year....but apparently that wasn't good enough.
So who is Robbie Ross and why did the Sox give Ranaudo away for him? Ross came up as a 22 year old rookie in 2012 and had two good seasons (2.62 ERA combined) before American League batters started to figure him out. He pitched miserably out of the bullpen before being demoted to Round Rock, and then he came back up as a starter and floundered in the rotation as well. If that's not bad enough, he's not a prototypical lefty as he struggles against lefty batters. So basically the Red Sox just traded a potential ace for a below average reliever who may not even make the opening day roster. As with any trade, its too early to tell whether or not it was a bad one....but giving the credentials of both men involved, this looks like a rape for Texas.
Now with Ranaudo gone, Pawtucket's rotation looks like Henry Owens, Edwin Escobar, Brian Johnson, Keith Couch and Eduardo Rodriguez. Potentially devastating but if Ross flops in Boston, they won't need him in AAA with Drake Britton their top lefty.
