Red Sox Failing to Get Pitching Help in Reworked Mookie Betts Trade is Very Confusing
By Sean Facey
After weaseling their way out of an initially weak trade package for Mookie Betts and David Price, the Boston Red Sox managed to bring back top prospect Jeter Downs and Connor Wong, in addition to centerpiece Alex Verdugo, in a reworked deal.
It was a bit of a departure from the three-team deal with the Minnesota Twins that would have sent pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol to Boston.
And that's what's so strange about the new trade package. It completely fails to address Boston's sudden need for pitching depth.
The Red Sox remain short on pitching, especially now that they're getting three position players (and not Graterol). So I'd expect further moves to address that, potentially soon.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) February 9, 2020
One would think that after they abandoned Graterol, they would have turned their eyes towards other pitching options, especially from the Dodgers, a team with no shortage of pitching trade chips.
Between maybe-an-Angel Ross Stripling, Tony Gonsolin and Josiah Gray, the Red Sox could have easily gotten some sort of help on the mound. It's truly head-scratching that they didn't acquire a single pitcher, considering they shipped out one of their key starters in David Price.
The Dodgers turned Kyle Farmer, Matt Kemp, Alex Wood and Yasiel Puig into Josiah Gray and Jeter Downs
— Jack (@MidwestDodger_) February 9, 2020
Jeter Downs just got them Mookie Betts, they kept Josiah Gray and they also brought back Alex Wood pic.twitter.com/BD1kLivDpY
And of course, none of this is even taking into account the lack of impact arms in Boston's pipeline. Even a simple pitching prospect would have sufficed.
It just makes so little sense. Pitching was a major problem for the Red Sox in 2019, and they gave up a starting rotation member in the deal. The least they could have done was get something to address their need for arms.
With an $8.5 Million projection for Eduardo Rodriguez the Red Sox payroll is at $190.4 Million leaving them with $17.6 Million available for pitching.
— Boston Strong (@BostonStrong_34) February 10, 2020
There's no doubt that the Red Sox got some quality talent in Verdugo, Downs (who'll likely move to second base) and Wong. They just failed to acquire an influx of talent at a position of major need.