BOSTON — The Red Sox are parting ways with prospect Anderson Espinoza in a trade that will bring All-Star lefty pitcher Drew Pomeranz to Boston.
Pomeranz played in Tuesday's All-Star Game in San Diego, after posting a 2.47 ERA with the Padres in the first half of the season. The 27 year-old from Tennessee has an 8-7 record this year with a 1.06 WHIP.
Pomeranz will make his Red Sox debut Wednesday, July 20 when Boston hosts San Francisco at Fenway Park.
"We've had a list of starting pitchers that we've been working from, talking to various clubs, having scouts out there and gathering information," said Dave Dombrowski, the Red Sox president of baseball operations. "We really weren't close, to my knowledge, on anything. I've had some talks with San Diego over the last couple, three weeks. Never were really able to come to an agreement on a name or names that they were asking for.
"There were only a couple of pitchers that we thought would have a chance to be available that we thought could substantially upgrade us in our rotation, Drew being one of them. Conversations picked up over Tuesday and Wednesday."
Pomeranz began his career in the Cleveland organization before being traded to Colorado, where he made his major league debut.
He then spent two seasons in Oakland. This year was his first in San Diego with the Padres, who are currently 38-51 and in fourth place in the NL West.
"He has three quality pitches and he's really changed the mix of his pitches," said Dombrowski. "He's got a premium, above-average breaking ball. He's got a fastball that he knows how to use. He gets it up to 94 but he changes speeds on it. He's got a cutter.
"This guy was a premium guy coming out of college. He was the fifth pick in the country back then. We absolutely loved him (with the Tigers). We were saddened that he stayed in our division at the time. He then got traded in a big trade, when Cleveland acquired Ubaldo Jiminez and he struggled a bit, but sometimes it takes time for guys to find themselves."
Espinoza is considered to be one of the Red Sox top prospects, an 18 year-old pitcher from Venezuela who opened the 2016 season in Greenville.
"We knew it was a strong price to pay," said Dombrowski. "He's not someone we wanted to give up. We were able to protect other players by making it a one-on-one deal."
Thursday's trade is the fourth in eight days completed by Dombrowski. The Red Sox have recently acquired infielder Aaron Hill from Milwaukee, infielder Michael Martinez from Cleveland, pitcher Brad Ziegler from Arizona and now Pomeranz.
To make room on the 40-man roster, the Mets moved infielder Josh Rutledge to the 60-day disabled list retroactive to June 15. Rutledge is suffering from left knee patellar tendinitis.
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