While Thornburg hasn’t pitched, Travis Shaw has emerged as a potential All-Star third baseman for the Brewers, hitting .292/.339/.530 with 10 homers, 27 extra-base hits, and 40 RBIs.. . .
The Red Sox, meanwhile, have endured the lowest OPS in the majors from their third basemen (.605) and defense that has bordered on horrendous at the position, save for when Deven Marrero has played there.
Yet the trade looked even worse given the inclusion of the Red Sox’ best middle infield prospect and an intriguing pitcher with a big arm. (Mauricio Dubon is hitting .294/.346/.383 with 25 steals for Milwaukee’s Double A affiliate. Hard-throwing righthander Josh Pennington hasn’t pitched this year following an elbow-chip cleanup in the offseason).
The deal became more imbalanced with news on Monday that Milwaukee would receive another highly regarded prospect, shortstop Yeison Coca, as the player to be named in the deal. Coca, an 18-year-old switch-hitter, posted a .307/.370/.409 line in the Dominican Summer League last year.
Evaluators considered him a potential everyday shortstop given his glove, speed, athleticism, bat-to-ball skills, and potential doubles power. After Dubon’s departure, I ranked Coca as the second-best shortstop prospect in the Red Sox system, behind only 2016 second-rounder C.J. Chatham.
In a farm system now short on players who project as potential everyday players, the departure of Coca thins the Red Sox’ inventory of either future depth or trade chips. (Other teams had shown interest in attempting to acquire Coca via trade.) He represents the continuation of the Red Sox’ willingness to deplete their supply of middle-of-the-field players who eventually would have given the team the greatest flexibility in plugging holes.
Thanks to a pair of four-for-one trades (with the White Sox for Sale and the Brewers for Thornburg), there is a good chance that the offseason of 2016-17 will come to represent an organizational turning point for the Red Sox. The team’s hope is that it is most remembered for the acquisition of Sale rather than the holes created by the eight young players who departed.