Drew Pomeranz (13) competing in the 2016 Major League Baseball All-Star Game (Photo by Allen Kee / ESPN Images)(BOSTON) — In the final season of Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz’ career, his team is doing all it can to put themselves in position to win the World Series.
On Thursday, the Boston Red Sox traded one of the top prospects in all of baseball, 18-year-old pitcher Anderson Espinoza, for left-handed pitcher Drew Pomeranz from the San Diego Padres. The Red Sox are currently in a three-way heat for the American League East title, tied with the Toronto Blue Jays and two games behind the division-leading Baltimore Orioles.
Red Sox President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski said he would have preferred to trade three less highly-touted prospects for Pomeranz, but that “that wasn’t appealing to San Diego. They really wanted more of the focus of the premium guy.”
Pomeranz is expected to make his Boston debut at home on Wednesday, facing the San Francisco Giants.
ESPN MLB Insider Keith Law listed Espinoza 14th on his midseason prospects list. The hurler was one of the most talented arms in Boston’s system and had been compared to Red Sox legend Pedro Martinez.
Pomeranz, once a highly-touted arm himself, built up his value in the first half of this season. He had been a first round draft pick of the Cleveland Indians, and pitched in the majors for the Colorado Rockies and Oakland Athletics. He had a career 4.60 ERA before this year, but ranks second in the major leagues this year in opponents’ batting average (.184) and opponents’ On-Base Plus Slugging Percentage (.555).
Pomeranz has now been traded four times in his career.
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