Dave Dombrowski stayed up late Thursday
night wheeling and dealing, sending MLB’s 14th ranked prospect
Anderson Espinoza to the San Diego Padres for left handed pitcher Drew
Pomeranz.
The trade should not come as much of a
surprise to Red sox fans. Dombrowski has a history of trading prospects for
established major league talent.
Still, the price for Pomeranz, the fifth
overall pick in the 2010 MLB draft, seemed high. A pitcher without much history
who caught on as a starter in San Diego—home to a pitcher’s ballpark—currently
has an 8-7 record and a 2.47 ERA in 17 starts, pitching 102 innings while
striking out 115. Most would attribute his season to a “career year” and
something he will never accomplish again.
I disagree with that notion, siding with
Dombrowski on this trade.
Pomeranz began his career with the
Colorado Rockies after being traded by the Cleveland Indians for pitcher Ubaldo
Jimenez. He had little success in Colorado, as most pitchers do, pitching to a
4-14 record and 5.20 ERA in 34 games (30 starts). After then being traded to
the Oakland Athletics, Pomeranz began to assert himself as a big league
pitcher. In his age 25 season, Pomeranz had a 2.35 ERA in 20 games (10 starts)
with 64 strikeouts in 69 innings. The following year Pomeranz pitched 86
innings in 53 games (9 starts) and had a 3.66 ERA and 82 strikeouts.
Now in his age 27 season, Pomeranz has
continued his success with the Padres. He is what some would call a “late
bloomer,” similar to pitchers R.A. Dickey, Koji Uehara (to an extent) and
player Jose Bautista. At 27 Pomeranz, how is much younger than those named, is
just finally living up to his 5th overall selection.
I don’t blame Dombrowski for wanting this
guy. I don’t blame him for trading Espinoza for him either.
At 18 years old, Espinoza is nothing but a
lottery ticket. He has great promise, with great signs of success. He can hit
95 mph regularly on the radar gun with his fastball, warranting a comparison to
Pedro Martinez. But how many 18 year old pitchers receive the comparison to
Martinez? A lot and not many of those pitchers live up to the hype.
At 18 years old, a lot can change from
Espinoza that no one can project. Getting Pomeranz is a more secure bet on a
pitcher who has already had success at the major league level.
Dombrowski has also had a successful track
record of acquiring/dealing pitching. He traded away pitchers Jair Jurrjens,
Andrew Miller and Burke Badenhop while acquiring Max Scherzer, Joakim Soria,
Anibal Sanchez and David Price. Although Miller has panned out much later in
his career, and was traded for Miguel Cabrera—a move we would all
make—Dombrowski has a great track record with his pitchers. I believe that
Dombrowski knows more than the public about Espinoza. This is why I agree with
the trade.
Although it feels rather sad for Red Sox
fans to be giving up a player who could become an ace, Pomeranz was a much
needed addition to the rotation. The Sox needed a reliable pitcher to give six
quality innings each start if they wanted to compete for a playoff spot and in
the playoffs. The price might seem hefty now, but in a couple years, Sox fans
will be glad they made the deal.
