Red Sox acquire Aaron Hill from Brewers for Aaron Wilkerson and Wendell Rijo.
EDIT: Per Pete Abraham, the Brewers sent cash, as well.
EDIT: Per Pete Abraham, the Brewers sent cash, as well.
Red Sox get Aaron Hill for Wilkerson and Rijo
- Thread starter johnnywayback
- Start date
Bit of a head scratcher. He's never played the outfield in his big league career, and that would seemingly be where the game time would be for a RHH like Hill. Unless they intend to platoon him with Shaw at 3B.
can play 2B and 3B...so this replaces Mauro? better bat and insurance in case Shaw is really hurt. he is having a nice year
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hillaa01.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hillaa01.shtml
I had two thoughts on this. First: Hey, what could go wrong with asking a career infielder to try LF at Fenway?! Second: Hill's someone I'd be fine playing at 3B every day, which could mean that Shaw's injury is serious...
...or it could mean that teams with starters to trade are focused on getting back major-leaguers in return, and Shaw's the guy who's going to go.
also, trading Wilkerson means either theya re close to getting a starter back or theya re close to acquiring a starter becasue he's like the 6th starter right now
“
“@JMastrodonato: So Red Sox lose Wilkerson, potential back-end starter, at a time when they’re desperate for SP. Have to assume there’s more in the works…”
@JMastrodonato: Would think if Red Sox are comfortable trading Wilkerson, Dombrowski is close to acquiring a starter.”
“@JMastrodonato: So Red Sox lose Wilkerson, potential back-end starter, at a time when they’re desperate for SP. Have to assume there’s more in the works…”
@JMastrodonato: Would think if Red Sox are comfortable trading Wilkerson, Dombrowski is close to acquiring a starter.”
So this could be an impact concerning any of the following:
- Hernandez
- Holt
- Shaw
If Shaw was hurt to the point that they need a full time replacement for him, I would expect he'd have been the one removed from the roster to make room. Instead it was LaMarre.
That Wilkerson was the one dealt doesn't say to me that a deal for a starter is imminent. It says to me that they don't view him as a candidate for the rotation at all. With or without acquiring another starter, if Wilkerson is high on the rotation depth chart, he's someone I would expect they'd want to hang on to (or at least give a shot to before moving on).
That Wilkerson was the one dealt doesn't say to me that a deal for a starter is imminent. It says to me that they don't view him as a candidate for the rotation at all. With or without acquiring another starter, if Wilkerson is high on the rotation depth chart, he's someone I would expect they'd want to hang on to (or at least give a shot to before moving on).
Scott Lauber ESPN Staff Writer
Aaron Hill will give the Red Sox a right-handed bat off the bench and positional versatility (2B, 3B, SS), which should enable them to keep Brock Holt primarily in left field. Hill, 34, was batting .283/.359/.421 with eight homers in 254 at-bats for Brewers. He's owed approximately $6 million in final year of his contract.
Aaron Hill will give the Red Sox a right-handed bat off the bench and positional versatility (2B, 3B, SS), which should enable them to keep Brock Holt primarily in left field. Hill, 34, was batting .283/.359/.421 with eight homers in 254 at-bats for Brewers. He's owed approximately $6 million in final year of his contract.
Maybe they are just really confident in Sean O'Sullivan? It does seem strange, with the decision already made to convert Kelly to the bullpen.
I'd bet you see Shaw moved, Moncada moved to third, and a good solid long term starter aquired and I'd be absolutely thrilled with that sequence of events.
I wouldn't be surprised if they're not sold on Wilkerson at all and this is--sort of--selling high.
He's hit well at Fenway, though most of that was when he was with Toronto, quite awhile ago.
I'm chomping at the bit to hear what's next: trade(s), injuries, etc. I think DD really wants to have Papi go out with a bang. He's got to get the pitching right. I would not be surprised to see Shaw in a package for a starter.
I'm chomping at the bit to hear what's next: trade(s), injuries, etc. I think DD really wants to have Papi go out with a bang. He's got to get the pitching right. I would not be surprised to see Shaw in a package for a starter.
As for the trade in a vacuum, makes perfect sense for a team that thinks they are a couple moves away from being a legit contender, tough to dislike it.
Why? You have Shaw's replacement both long term and short term in Moncada and Hill, and you have a "proven" major league 3B-1B on the cheap to deal for a major league pitcher.
Kind of odd. Hard to not like the deal in terms of talent exchange, but I was also thinking that Hernandez getting more run wasn't a bad thing.
Barring injury this probably puts to rest any thought of Moncada following in bogaerts 2013 footsteps unless he really forces the issue.
I also don't think people were knocking down the Sox doors for Wilkerson and Rijo. So I'm having trouble figuring why I'm so meh on this trade, and yet there I am.
Barring injury this probably puts to rest any thought of Moncada following in bogaerts 2013 footsteps unless he really forces the issue.
I also don't think people were knocking down the Sox doors for Wilkerson and Rijo. So I'm having trouble figuring why I'm so meh on this trade, and yet there I am.
If Hill just plays 3B against lefties, pinch hits for catchers late in games, and makes us all feel a little less freaked about the prospect of Josh Rutledge, Everyday Player in the event of an injury, that's a really fantastic return for a non-prospect pitcher the FO clearly didn't think was an option for this year and a far-away MI prospect who desperately needed a change of scenery.
Just a half-season under Farrell, though.
Think of Hill as an upgrade on Jeff Rutledge and Wilkerson-Rijo as not much of a price to pay, and it's a solid depth move
Or Brock Holt is traded and Benintendi is called up, which is 145th of probable outcomes.
He was traded away on August 23rd so a little bit more than half a season. I haven't seen Hill play in a long time but if he hasn't lost too much in the field I feel a lot more confident with his glove than I do Josh Rutledge's.
edit: Traded by the Toronto Blue Jays with John McDonald to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Kelly Johnson.
That's gotta be the whitest most mediocre trade in history.
I'm saying that Moncada is moved from 2nd to 3rd. Hill takes over at 3rd ROS.
It isn't an insane idea.
Pete Abraham @PeteAbe 58s59 seconds ago
Dombrowski said the Sox did not see Wilkerson as a viable option.
Dombrowski said the Sox did not see Wilkerson as a viable option.
He made that statement about this trade, or has something else been announced?
IIRC, Aaron Hill is friends/rivals with Pedroia. Both are from Northern California. Both played college SS for big programs (ASU, LSU) at the same time. They came 1-2 for a lot of collegiate awards. That should be an interesting dimension to this.
This is an excellent return for Wilkerson and Rijo, IMO. Hill is a pretty decent ballplayer, a league average defender with positional flexibility who's up and down with the bat.
I also suspect that Shaw is going in a deal for a pitcher. He's a good, prearb player who doesn't seem like an immutable part of the team's core. He has real value in trade, but not so much that you need a real ace coming back if you're not going to just drain value out of the organization.
This is an excellent return for Wilkerson and Rijo, IMO. Hill is a pretty decent ballplayer, a league average defender with positional flexibility who's up and down with the bat.
I also suspect that Shaw is going in a deal for a pitcher. He's a good, prearb player who doesn't seem like an immutable part of the team's core. He has real value in trade, but not so much that you need a real ace coming back if you're not going to just drain value out of the organization.
Does this strike anyone else as a bit weird? Why piss on a guy on his way out the door? Maybe there's something lost in translation, but when GMs make trades, isn't the protocol to talk about the benefits of the guy you got and not to dump on the guy you gave up? Sometimes you'll hear a guy say, "X is a really talented player, but given our strength at that position we decided to trade using some of that strength" or something like that. This quote sounds like bus-throwing-under to defend your trade.
Maybe he was talking about the Mega Millions jackpot.
All true, plus there's this guy named Sandoval out there who could somehow fight his way back into the 3B picture for 2017.
I didn't like that either. The right answer to that question — "why trade pitching when we need pitching?" — is something like, "Milwaukee really loved Wilkerson's potential, and were willing to give up value."
Good point. Presumably Dombrowski knows a lot more about what's up with him than we do, also.
Yeah, or you say, "We like (player whoever) but you have to give up talent to get talent."
Hill is more or less a RH version of Shaw, very viable replacement if Shaw is on the move. Wonder if Shaw+ could get someone like Pomeranz.
If sounds better if you're thinking of it in the context of needs for the current season.
I have been thinking about this for a few days but due to a variety of reason I haven't posted. DD is in a heck of a position. The major trade chips he would be comfortable giving up are either injured (Swihart, Sam Travis, Brian Johnson) or ineffective (Henry Owens). Nobody trading a pitcher is going to want a bunch of A ball chips coming back. So while Dever and Kopech could be part of a deal they won't be able to be a center piece. Teams are going to want players that are either major league ready or close to it, and the only two we have that fit that description are AB and Moncada. It seems the best chip DD can give up is Shaw. Hill can take over third with Holt playing left. Hopefully Chris Young or Swihart come back to allow Holts versatility play up. As for next year the Sox can fill the 1b/3b/DH role with a combination of Holt, Sandoval, Travis and eventually Moncada. I have to imagine a 26 year old, cost controlled 1b/3b can fetch something useful. I am not suggesting Shaw can be the center piece in a Sale/Harvey/Fernandez trade, but possibly Teahren or Grey.
There might be more to what DD said that isn't tweeted here. For example, maybe the question was "Why not give Wilkerson a shot in the rotation?" and DD's answer was more like "We didn't see him as ready to help in this current season."
I'm shocked that it takes an idiot like me to point out that Hill has a reverse split this year and almost identical career LHP/RHP splits.
It would be odd if he didn't bat against RHP, regardless of the game situation.
Am I reading things correctly?
It would be odd if he didn't bat against RHP, regardless of the game situation.
Am I reading things correctly?