As the hot stove heats up this winter, the Boston Red Sox made a shocking trade with none other than their rival New York Yankees. Sox GM Chaim Bloom acquired relief pitcher Adam Ottavino and 23 year old pitching prospect Frank German for either cash or a player to be named later. This is a bizarre move for the Yankees to essentially give something away and the Sox are in desperate need of bullpen arms.
Ottavino is 35 and past his prime, posting a hideous 5.89 ERA last year for the Yankees but the real steal was German. The 23 year old was drafted in the fourth round of the 2018 draft and was a starter for their high A Tampa Tarpons team in 2019. As with every minor leaguer, he lost a year of development due to COVID but he didn't pitch too bad in A ball in 2019. So far Sox GM Chaim Bloom has been accumulating prospects going all the way back to last year's Mookie Betts trade. He's trying to repair the farm system destroyed by previous GM Dave Dombrowski piece by piece. German may get traded, flame out or develop but essentially the Yankees gave him and Ottavino away for nothing of value yet. Unless Ottavino and German completely suck, this is a win for the Sox.
