Red Sox land Pomeranz
The Boston Red Sox strengthened their bullpen with the acquisition of Brad Ziegler from Arizona last week. They bolstered their lineup with the acquisition of Aaron Hill from Milwaukee exactly one week ago. Thursday evening they added an arm to the shaky back end of their rotation. Often a trade partner of the Red Sox, the San Dieo Padres sent Drew Pomeranz to the Red Sox for pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza. Pomeranz was the fifth overall pick, in the 2010 MLB amateur draft, by the Cleveland Indians. Since then he's moved around as much as an Army brat. He was traded to Colorado in 2011 as a part of a multi-player deal to land pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez. In 2013, he was shipped to Oakland in a deal that sent pitcher Brett Anderson to the Rockies. And, last year he was part of another multi-player deal that was basically an exchange of parts.
After a mediocre career as a reliever and spot starter, the 27-year old blossomed this season. He made his first All-Star team after putting up an 8-7 record with a 2.47 ERA in 17 starts. He also averaged 10.1 K/9 IP allowed just 67 hits in 102 innings pitched. He'll join a rotation that consists of David Price, Steve Wright, Rick Porcello, and Eduardo Rodriguez. Starter Clay Buchholz has been ineffective and/or injured for the last few seasons and the Red Sox have pretty much had enough of not seeing him succeed. For now, he's in the Red Sox bullpen. Espinoza is an 18-year prospect from Venezuela. The right-hander threw 10 games for the Red Sox team in the Gulf Coast League (GCL) in 2015, as well as one game for Single-A Greenville (SALL). As is often the case with first year players, Espinoza dominated rookie ball, but this season he's had to make adjustments to more mature hitters. His strikeouts have diminished a little, from 9.0 to 8.5 K/9 IP and his WHIP is just under 1.4. According to Soxprospects.com, Espinoza has a fastball in the mid-to-high 90's and has hit triple digits on the radar gun. He throws a solid 12-to-6 curveball and has a changeup that is a work in progress.