Sox Get Bryant in Osich Trade (2/27/21)

Back on August 31st of last season, the Boston Red Sox sent relief pitcher Josh Osich to the Chicago Cubs for a player to be named later. That player was finally named and it was 22 year old pitcher Zach Bryant. Bryant was a 15th round pick out of Jacksonville U by the Cubs in 2019 and he struck out 24 batters in 21 innings bouncing between rookie ball and Low A. As with every minor leaguer, he lost last season due to COVID so development has been delayed. Whether or not he is traded, flames out or develops is anyone's guess but the fact that Sox GM Chaim Bloom was able to get something for Osich is a miracle in itself. Welcome aboard Zach, see you in Salem.....if there is a season.

                                                              He looks happy....for now.

Sox Make Trade With Rays, Get Hernandez & Sogard (2/17/21)

In what goes down as one of the biggest "huh?" trades in recent memory, the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays made a peculiar trade today. The Red Sox sent cash, Jeffrey Springs and Chris Mazza to the Rays in exchange for 23 year old infield prospect Nick Sogard and 23 year old catching prospect Ronaldo Hernandez.

                                                                 OUT

                                                              IN

Obviously Tampa's thinking.......I don't know WHAT the hell they're thinking! Mazza and Springs were apart of the most ridiculous pitching staff since the days of Bill Veeck and for some reason Tampa thinks they can get something out of them. Anyone who suffered through the Sox last year knows Springs gave them nothing and Mazza every now and then could go a few innings. Other than that, this trade makes no sense for the Rays at all.

Now what did the Sox get? Sogard is the cousin of MLB infielder Eric Sogard. He graduated from Loyola Marymount University in 2019 and had a good showing for the Hudson Valley Renegades at the end of that year. Like with everyone else, his 2020 season was wiped out by Covid. The Rays don't think too highly of him but if nothing else, he'll fill out the roster in A ball. Hernandez seems to be the centerpiece of the trade. The catching prospect had a breakout year for the Single A Bowling Green Hot Rods by slamming 21 home runs and knocking in 79 runs at the age of 20 in 2018. He regressed in 2019 as he made the jump to High A, hitting only 9 home runs while driving in 60. Just like everyone else, his 2020 season was cancelled by Covid. The Sox already have Connor Wong to start the season in Worcester so it looks like Hernandez will be catching down in Portland to start the season.

All in all it looks like yet another player for prospects dump by Sox general manager Chaim Bloom. Unlike the other trades where they gave up the careers of Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi, this time they were the ones that look to have won the trade. Just the fact Bloom got anything for Springs and Mazza after how bad 2020 was is a miracle in itself. If nothing else at least Worcester, Portland, Salem and Greenville will at least have respectable rosters in 2021....if there is a season that is.

Andrew Benintendi Traded To Royals (2/10/21)

In 2017 the Boston Red Sox boasted the best young outfield in baseball. Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley Jr were all home grown by the Sox system and were perennial favorites. Andrew Benintendi finished second in Rookie of The Year voting in 2017 while Mookie Betts took home AL MVP honors in 2018. Also in 2018, Jackie Bradley won ALCS MVP as the Sox took out the defending 103 win Houston Astros on their way to the World Series. 4 years later all three of them are gone. Thank's a lot Chaim Bloom. Betts was traded a year ago, JBJ is currently a free agent and Andrew Benintendi was traded to the Kansas City Royals tonight. Goodbye Killer' B's

                                                       Sox found a way to screw this up

Benintendi was sent packing in exchange for often injured, all or nothing outfielder Franchy Cordero, 22 year old pitching prospect Josh Winckowski and 3 players to be named later. Benintendi is coming off two declining years so the Sox weren't going to get much for him, but they traded him anyway.

                                                                        OUT

                                                                             IN

So who are these guys? Cordero has battled injuries and ineffectiveness his whole career. He's another one of these "launch angle" guys that can hit the ball a mile once every five days while striking out more often than not...and that's if he's healthy. Winckowski was drafted out of high school by the Toronto Blue Jays and has no control.

You can look at it two ways, with pessimism or optism. For most of us who want to throw banana peels at Bloom for trading Benintendi, they essentially gave up on a 26 year old because he had a below average year and a half. If he turns out to be more like Dwight Evans than we think, this will turn out to be a bad, BAD trade given the low return. The optimistic route focuses on what they will get in the future more than what they gave up. The centerpiece of the deal was the 3 players to be named, 2 from the Royals and 1 from the New York Mets. Since there were no minor league games last years, scouts and talent evaluators had nothing to work with and therefore, it would be unwise to deal for unproven commodities. If the season starts on time and with minor leagues unchanged, Bloom now can watch the Royals and Mets systems like a hawk and pick who he likes. This is a huge risk because the only time a PTBNL turned out to be anything was when the Sox shipped Felix Doubront to the Cubs for Marco Hernandez. If someone like Hernandez is all you're going to get from the Royals and Mets, the Sox are screwed.

Time will tell if the Sox can fix Winckowski's control or pick someone out of the Mets and Royals hats that can be good, but if Benintendi turns his career back into what it was from 2016-18, the Sox essentially lost this trade no matter what happens on their side. After all, as good as Alex Verdugo was in 2020, this was the last image of that season burned into the minds of Red Sox fans and personnel alike:

                                               Thanks a lot Bloom, you're welcome LA

Dustin Pedroia Retires (2/1/21)

Not to anyone's surprise, star Red Sox second basement Dustin Pedroia called it a career today. The baseball equivalent of Dave Cowens of the Boston Celtics hung up the spikes when his problematic knee wouldn't allow him to be Dustin Pedroia anymore. He was the ultimate underdog from 2006 to his last game in 2019. He missed a good portion of 2017 and nearly all of 2018 and 2019. It was time for him to step away before he did any permanent damage to his knee. We'll miss Dustin for sure and hopefully see him in Cooperstown.

                                                             Thanks for the memories

Pedroia came up at the end of 2006 and hit .191 as a backup to Mark Loretta and fill-in for Alex Gonzalez. Fans at the time didn't see him doing much despite his reputation for spraying base hits all over the field in the minors. 

                                                                Pedroia in 06

At the beginning of 2007, Pedroia was struggling to hit as the starting second basemen. Fans and radio personalities were calling for him to be demoted in favor of backup second basemen Alex Cora....yes, THAT Alex Cora. Dustin then suddenly transformed into Bobby Doerr as he captured AL Rookie of the Year honors with .317 batting average, 8 homers and 50 runs batted in. He teamed with fellow rookie Jacoby Ellsbury as a 1-2 punch in the post-season that helped the Red Sox win the World Series.

                                                         World champs

Pedroia looked like the next great second basemen when he bettered his stats in 2008. He led the league in runs, hits and doubles and captured American League MVP Honors. Injuries to Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell derailed the Red Sox in their quest to repeat as World Series champs although it was Pedroia's leadoff home run in Game 7 that accounted for Boston's only run of that game.

                                                           Pedroia's Game 7 homer

Pedroia led the league in runs scored in 2009 for another Sox team that made the playoffs but his injury woes started in 2010 when he tore a knee that ended up limiting him to just 75 games. Pedroia had a good bounceback season in 2011, taking a backseat to his partner Ellsbury's MVP runner up season. After Bobby Valentine stunk up the 2012 Red Sox, Pedroia was an integral part of the 2013 World Series run. A bad wrist sapped him of his power but he still managed to hit .301 out of the three spot for the eventual world champs.

                                                    Pedroia's last real hurrah in the World Series

As with the rest of the team, Pedroia had a down year in 2014 (for him that is) as he hit "only" .278 as the Sox plummeted into last place. The bad knee once again limited him to just 93 games in 2015 but had one last good season in 2016. He hit .318 with 15 homers including a go-ahead shot against the Angels in Anaheim. Dustin also made a Spiderman-esque romp to home plate in Tampa to secure Boston's 11th win in a row in September of that season. If fans want to remember Dustin as the player he was before he retired, that's the season they should think of.

                                                            Mr. Mookie approves

The knee clearly bothered him in 2017 as he appeared in 105 games for the AL East champs and he was never the same. He appeared in just 3 games for the 108 win World Series champs in 2018 and just 6 in 2019. He didn't play at all in 2020 and finally called it a career on the eve of the 2021 season. Its a shame things ended how they did but rarely does a player go out on top like David Ortiz. Someday Dustin may be enshrined in the Hall of Fame, he may not. He was always fun to watch for the last 14 years. Goodbye Dustin, and thank you.