Red Sox Trade Catcher Jhon Nunez to Tigers for Lefty Matt Hall
By Sean Facey
The Red Sox and Tigers swapped depth pieces on Friday afternoon.
Boston sent 25-year-old catcher Jhon Nunez to Detroit in exchange for 26-year-old left-handed relief pitcher Matt Hall.
The Detroit Tigers today acquired C Jhon Nunez from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for LHP Matt Hall. Nunez will be a non-roster invitee to the Tigers Major League Spring Training camp.
— Tigers PR (@DetroitTigersPR) January 17, 2020
Nunez, who will join the Tigers' major league camp in Spring Training, had a strong season in Double-A last year. He posted .746 OPS in 232 plate appearances, far above his career mark of .683 in the minors.
As for the Red Sox, they're getting a reliever who has struggled to find his stuff at the major-league level. Since he debuted in 2018, Hall has posted an appalling 9.48 ERA in 31.1 innings of relief work.
His curveball spin rate ranked in the 96th percentile in 2019, however. The high spin rate is similar to that of other Red Sox relief acquisitions from the past few years, such as Colten Brewer, who ranked in the 90th percentile last year.
Matt Hall in 2019
— Baseball Focus (@baseball_focus) January 17, 2020
Fastball: 66.3% usage, .385 wOBA, .345 xwOBA
Curve: 24%, .285 wOBA, .300 xwOBA
Curveball spin rate also ranked in the 96th percentile, per Baseball Savant.
It gives both teams something that they're in need of. The Tigers get some minor-league catching depth with some potential upside, and the Red Sox get some much-needed relief depth.