On July 2nd, the Red Sox lost to the Angels 21-2. They had fallen to 4.0 games behind the Orioles for the division lead, and they had dropped 8 games in less than a month. The pitching was a complete disaster, the offense was cooling off, and I was utterly disgusted. Since then, quite a bit has changed. The Sox have gone 10-2, with a return to their baseball-destroying form on offense and even some reasons to be hopeful about the pitching staff. They are tied for 1st place in the AL East, and with the Twins, Tigers and Angels left on the schedule for July, there's a real opportunity to build a lead before the Dog Days of August. They really need to take advantage of this chance, as they have only 1 off day in August and play 18 of 30 games on the road.
I have been on record as saying that the front office needed to make some moves in order for this team to become a serious championship contender, and to their credit they have. Team President Dave Dombrowski has a reputation for making moves to acquire veteran talent, and over the All-Star Break he pulled the trigger on another big one, trading for left-handed starter Drew Pomeranz from San Diego. Pomeranz made the NL All-Star team this year, with a 2.47 ERA in 17 starts. He has always had great stuff, but has never been able to stay healthy; in fact, he has already posted a career high for innings pitched this year in only half a season. If Pomeranz can stay healthy, he can fill a gaping hole in the Sox rotation and possibly put them over the top and into the playoffs. He is also just 27 years old, and has 2 more years left on his contract, so he is more than a short term rental. However, there are two major problems with this deal that make it a huge risk for Dombrowski to take:
Problem #1: Pomeranz has spent his entire career in small markets on the west coast, and has never experienced anything like the pressure that comes with pitching in the midst of a pennant race in Boston. He didn't exactly make a good first impression either, giving up 5 runs in just 3 innings at Fenway. I'm not going to write the guy off or anything, but it's definitely cause for concern.
Problem #2: The price. In order to bring Pomeranz in, Dombrowski had to send the Padres Anderson Espinoza, the 18 year old pitcher who is considered the best pitching prospect in the Red Sox farm system and a guy with one of the highest ceilings in all of baseball. He was clocked at over 100 MPH at the age of 17, which is downright ridiculous. Pedro Martinez says Espinoza reminds him of himself and "has it all". It really hurts to send this guy away, and if he realizes his enormous potential it is going to suck to watch him dominate for years to come.
However, even with both those very real problems, I like this trade. Pitching prospects fail to pan out all the time, and there is just so much that can go wrong in Espinoza's development that would prevent him from becoming an ace or even making an impact in the majors. More than that though, this 2016 offense just looks too special to waste; it's our last year of Big Papi, and a ton of guys are having outstanding seasons all at the same time. Offenses like this don't come along all that often, and the Sox need arms with the proven ability to get MLB hitters out. There's an opportunity to chase a title this season, and you simply have to do it.
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