McAdam: Trade season kicks off early as Sox deal Workman, Hembree for two Phillies starters

The selling season began in earnest Friday night for the Red Sox, who shipped two members of their bullpen — Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree — and cash considerations and either a player to be named later or additional cash to the Philadelphia Phillies for righthanded starter Nick Pivetta, 27, and righthanded pitching prospect Connor Seabold, 24.

Workman, 32, will be a free agent after this season while Hembree, 31, was under control for another season.

The Red Sox paid the Phillies $815,000 as part of the deal, which will help the Phillies pay the salaries of the two relievers down to essentially the major league minimum.

The Phillies were in desperate need of a bullpen upgrade after dropping a doubleheader to the Blue Jays Thursday in which they blew late-inning leads in both defeats, although Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said talks between the two teams had begun earlier. The Phils had the worst bullpen ERA in the National League and were in danger of falling out of a contention in the N.L. East.

Pivetta, 27, will be under the Red Sox control through the 2023 season. In parts of four major league seasons, he's 19-30 with a 5.50 ERA. Pivetta had difficulty pitching in cozy Citizen Bank Park, giving up 72 homers in three-plus seasons. He's been optioned to the Red Sox' alternate training site.

Seabold is ranked as the Phillies' No. 23 best prospect, according to MLB.com's MLBPipeline. He pitched at several levels in 2019, from Rookie Ball all the way up to Double A, and went 4-3, 2.24.

The timing is a bit curious, given that the deadline is almost 10 days away still, and in theory, the Sox could held out for more as the deadline got closer.

But the Sox like what they were offered and were ready to pull the trigger early.

"The timing the trades is not always something that you can foresee,'' said Bloom. "They really wanted to complete something and any time you have a situation where you've got some time before the deadline, you're not just looking at the the trade in a vacuum; you're also trying to think about 'What are the options that you could have?' between now and the deadline.

"Obviously, that's something we have to weigh. But we felt that this return was a really good fit for us. We got two pitchers that not only fit an area of need, but are also players that we like and that can be part of this thing for many years. So we thought that was worth doing right now.''

BSJ ANALYSIS



In making the deal, the Red Sox added two starting prospects to their system. Given that this has been an area of weakness for the organization for the past decade, it's a logical area of focus as the team begins its rebuild.

The current rotation is threadbare after season-ending injuries to Chris Sale and Eduardo Rodriguez, and the Red Sox have been rotating a succession of journeyman and openers to fill the remaining spots.

The team's best starting pitching prospects -- Jay Groome, Noah Song and Bryan Mata -- all need additional development, and of pitchers who started at Triple A, only Tanner Houck and Kyle Hart are projected as possible major league contributors, and even then, profile as backend starters.

Adding two more candidates -- one with major league experience and another who would have likely pitched at Triple A this season had there been a minor league season -- increases the organizational depth significantly.

In Pivetta, the Red Sox get a big power pitcher who's displayed the ability to get swings-and-misses, but has also struggled with control and given up a lot of homers.

"He'a big physical, power pitcher,'' said Bloom. "He's a guy who's shown the ability to carry a starter's workload and a lot of the underlying traits there have shown the potential for a lot more success than he's enjoyed in terms of his results. Again, a power pitcher that we think should be capable of holding down a rotation spot. We really feel like he's a good fit going forward and we've got a chance to help him reach a level that he has not yet in his career despite good stuff.''

SCOUTING REPORT FROM VETERAN N.L. TALENT EVALUATOR:

"Four-seam fastball, 94-95 mph...can be hit-or-miss...Command an issue...Curveball is 79-82 mph and was a legitimate strikeout pitch, but relied on it too much in relief, losing its effectiveness...shows slider inside to lefthanded hitter...Changed his style of pitching after having some initial success....Has to have his confidence rebuilt and get re-programmed back to using his fastball and curveball primarily..Also must refine mechanics...Very much a guy in need of a change of scenery.'

The Sox are sending him to their alternate training site to work on his confidence and iron out some issues with his mechanics.

"This is a guy we have a lot of faith in as a starting pitcher,'' offered Bloom. "But just for right now, knowing that he's been through some ups and downs, role changes over there, a lot of different things. We thought the right thing right now was to get him to the alternate site, get our arms around him a little bit, get to know him and then we can figure out a plan for the rest of the year.''

Seabold is viewed by some as either a back-end starter or perhaps a set-up candidate down the road, but Bloom was quick to label him as a potential starter.

"He's a starting pitching prospect who really has a good feel to pitch,'' said Bloom. "He's got an arsenal that should work against both sides. He's got quality pitches, including a changeup. He really knows how to pitch, how to use his stuff and is a really nice addition to the starting pitching depth in the upper levels of our system.''

SCOUTING REPORT FROM LONG-TIME N.L. TALENT EVALUATOR:

Throws three-quarters...athletic kid...fastball has inconsistent life...bores in on hitters, cuts some...relatively straight at 92-94 mph...Slider is 84-86 mph, with some quickness and good tilt...changeup is deceptive vs lefties...Needs to cut down on breaking ball usage and develop fastball command.