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Worst Deadline Deals in Red Sox History

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Following up my article covering the best trade deadline deals in franchise history, this article goes over the worst ones the team has ever made. The top worst trade can probably be guessed, as it is an iconic trade, but what comes after that?

1. Jeff Bagwell for Larry Andersen

With the Red Sox in the playoff hunt, they wanted to shore up their bullpen. So, they acquired Larry Andersen from the Astros in August. Larry Andersen was a good reliever, going 5-2 with a 1.95 ERA for Houston before the trade. Andersen did his job in Boston, pitching to a 1.23 ERA over 22 innings pitched as the Red Sox won the division. In no way does he deserve the bad name recognition that came with this trade, he did his job exceptionally well.

The problem is, Jeff Bagwell became a Hall of Famer. August trades don’t usually yield that much value, yet alone a prospect like Bagwell who was ranked 32nd in baseball at the time. He was walking a bunch and hitting a lot of doubles in the cavernous field at Double-A New Britain. Bagwell had an .880 OPS as a 22 year old at the time of the trade.

Here’s the worst part; the Astros asked for several other players before getting to Bagwell. Pitching prospect Kevin Morton, who had a fantastic Major League debut, was one. He never did much after the debut. Scott Cooper was another third base prospect the Red Sox for some reason preferred to Bagwell; oops. At least Mo Vaughn became a fan favorite and an MVP winner. But Phil Plantier, Daryl rvine and Dave Owen are others the Astros were rumored to maybe have taken in return.

2. Freddy Sanchez for Jeff Suppan

This trade doesn’t get as much publicity as some of the other bad moves, but it’s arguably worse. The deal also had more moving pieces, but it was essentially Freddy Sanchez and cash for Jeff Suppan. A little over a week earlier, the Red Sox had traded Brandon Lyon and Anastacio Martinez to the Pirates for Mike Gonzalez and Scott Sauerbeck.

When a problem was found in Brandon Lyon’s physical, the two teams tried to work things out to make it right. Lyon and Martinez were traded back to the Red Sox along with Suppan for Sanchez, Mike Gonzalez and cash. They essentially just swapped everyone back, with cash replacing Scott Sauerbeck. If you included those pieces in with the trade, it would get even worse for the Red Sox, as Mike Gonzalez had a better career than anyone the Sox got.

As for the main pieces, Jeff Suppan was having his best season to date, pitching in the National League Central. However, reacquired by the Red Sox who he had started his career with, Suppan’s pitching reverted back to where it was during his first stint with the team as a youngster. He posted a 5.57 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and only 4.6 strike outs per nine innings over 10 starts and one relief appearance for the Red Sox. He wasn’t even used in the postseason.

Freddy Sanchez, who was the Red Sox top prospect at the time of the trade, went on to become a batting champion. He hit .291 as a rookie in 2005, then led the league in hitting in 2006 with his .344 average. He was an All-Star in 2006, 2007 and 2009. Meanwhile, the Red Sox kept shuffling through shortstops and second basemen for a few seasons after the trade, both positions Sanchez could have played.

Freddy Sanchez won the batting title in 2006 and made three All-Star Games in a four year stretch for the Pirates. Jeff Suppan fared so poorly he didn’t pitch in the postseason.

3. David Murphy, Kason Gabbard & Engel Beltre for Eric Gagne

This is mostly due to how bad Eric Gagne was for the Red Sox, as two of the players traded didn’t do a lot. It is kind of surprising they had to give up this much though, as David Murphy was a former first round draft pick and Kason Gabbard, although he didn’t possess great stuff, was 4-0 with a 3.73 ERA for the Red Sox that season. Including the season before, Gabbard had a 3.65 ERA over 11 starts and three relief appearances for the Red Sox. He didn’t pitch as well in Texas however, going 4-4 with a 5.14 ERA over 20 starts the next two seasons.

David Murphy turned into a solid outfielder in Texas. From 2008-2013, his average season was .283 with 14 home runs and a .795 OPS over 425 at-bats. He often didn’t play against lefties, leading to the average of just 425 at-bats. 2012 was his best season, as he batted .304 with 15 homers and an .859 OPS.

Eric Gagne was coming back from injury that season, having thrown just 15.1 innings over the previous two seasons. He was pitching well in Texas, going 2-0 with a 2.16 ERA and 16 saves. It all came unraveled in Boston, and it never came back. In 20 games the rest of the way, Gagne pitched to a 6.75 ERA and 1.88 WHIP over 18.2 innings. He gave up three more runs in 4.1 postseason innings. Generally, you could count on him to give up a run or two.

Boston, MA – 08/14/07 – Sox reliever Eric Gagne enjoyed little to no success in Boston. (Barry Chin, Globe Staff) Section: Sports, Reporter: Amalie Benjamin, slug: 15redsox.

4. Ty Buttrey & Williams Jerez for Ian Kinsler

The 2018 Red Sox, historically great as they were, had a need for some relief help. It was odd they had a guy like Buttrey, throwing 100 and dominating in Triple-A, left down in the minors while others got turns to help the bullpen. It was more baffling still when he was traded, along with another minor leaguer, for an over-the-hill second baseman.

Buttrey was called up to the Angels pretty soon after the trade. Since getting the call, he has been used in late innings by the Angels as one of their top setup men, sometimes going more than an inning at a time. His blazing fastball has led to 10.7 strike outs per nine innings pitched. The Red Sox could certainly use a guy like him in their bullpen.

Williams Jerez should have been almost enough for an aging free agent. He had a 3.63 ERA and struck out 69 batters over 52 innings in Triple-A. He’s pitched three innings at the big league level so far this season. Jerez and one other guy of lesser talent should have done the trick for Kinsler, who was an unnecessary add anyways.

Ian Kinsler was 36 years old at the time of the trade. He had batted .236 in 2017, and was hitting .239 for the Angels in 2018. His bat speed was gone, which was painfully noticeable in the playoffs when he swung and missed at fastballs all postseason long. He hit .242 with a home run for Boston in the regular season, then batted .206 with 14 strike outs in 34 at-bats in the playoffs.

Yes, the Red Sox won the World Series, but they would have won it without Kinsler. He didn’t add anything. They would have cruised to victory with the guys they had been going with, or with Brandon Phillips, who they had signed midseason. In fact, they might have swept the World Series with a different second baseman. His error in the 13th inning of game 3 directly led to a blown lead in an eventual loss. This is one of their worst deadline trades.

Ty Buttrey seems to have hit a wall of late, which can happen to rookies often. However, his ERA was well below 3.00 a week ago as he was pitching in dominant fashion.

5. Curt Schilling & Brady Anderson for Mike Boddicker

This trade is much higher on most people’s lists, but I think it is judged unfairly. It is one-hundred percent, long-term hindsight that makes this a bad trade.

The Red Sox traded for Mike Boddicker in 1988 on their way to a playoff appearance. He went 7-3 with a 2.63 ERA for them the rest of the way. Boddicker would spend two more years as the Red Sox number two starter behind Roger Clemens. After winning 15 games in 1989, Boddicker went 17-8 with a 3.36 ERA over 228 innings pitched in 1990 while winning the Gold Glove. He was a good pitcher for Boston. His totals in Boston were a 39-22 record with a 3.49 ERA.

But, they gave up Curt Schilling, who should be in the Hall of Fame and is one of the all-time greatest postseason performers in the history of the sport. They also gave up Brady Anderson, who was a good prospect putting up some high on-base percentages in the minor leagues. Steep price to pay, but for a top starter that’s generally the price.

Here’s the other kicker for me, the part that makes this unfairly judged. This trade took place in 1988, neither Schilling nor Anderson broke out until 1992, four years later. Boddicker was already gone from the Red Sox. At the end of his tenure in Boston, this trade would have been considered a big win.

From 1988-91, Anderson batted .219 with 10 home runs in the big leagues. He broke out with 21 home runs and 53 stolen bases in 1992 and went on to a fine career that saw him hit 209 home runs and steal 307 bases for the Orioles. But by 1992 when he broke out, who’s to say the Sox wouldn’t have traded him in another deal by then?

As for Schilling, he was traded again, twice! After showing nothing for two years, Schilling had some success in 1990 out of the bullpen. He was then traded to the Astros before 1991, where he was mediocre in relief. He was then traded again, straight up for Jason Grimsley of all people. It’s then, with the Phillies, where he broke out in 1992. That season he had a 2.35 ERA and led the National League in WHIP.

At the end of the day, this is on the list, but in the last spot, because of the players Schilling and Anderson eventually became. This trade catches way too much flak though.

Mike Boddicker was 39-22 with a 3.49 ERA over 2.5 seasons for Boston.

Feature image from HouseofHouston.com

Curt Schilling Is The Equal Of John Smoltz & Belongs In The Hall Of Fame

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On January 22, 2019, the 2019 Baseball Hall Of Fame class announcement occured. Curt Schilling did not matriculate. From here it is obvious that Schilling is the equal of John Smoltz. While Smoltz sailed in on his first chance in 2015, Schilling is still waiting. Why is that?

Schilling & Smoltz

The bare bones tell the story.Here are Curt Schilling‘s and John Smoltz‘s career numbers:

Wins/Losses/Saves/Games/Starts/Innings/Strikeouts/WHIP/ERA/WAR

Schilling 216/146/22/569/467/3261/3116/1.137/3.46/79.6

Smoltz 213/155/154/723/481/3473/3084/1.176/3.33/69.1

Smoltz has more games and saves, and a lower ERA. Schilling has more strikeouts and walked less, which resulted in a lower WHIP. WAR is an attempt by the Sabermetric community to equate the value of players across eras, teams, ballparks, etc. Schilling outclasses Smoltz there.

Curt Schilling played for the Philadelphia Phillies for eight and a half years. Other than the first year or two of Schilling’s time with them, the Phillies were a doormat in the National League. By contrast, Smoltz was part of one of the greatest collection of starting pitchers of all time, the perennially contending Atlanta Braves of the 1990’s. Smoltz was blessed to have fellow Hall of Famers Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux in the same rotation. Consequently, that team famously went to the MLB Postseason every year from 1991 to 1999, yet only won one World Series.

Postseason Dominance

These guys are Titans of the playoffs. This is because they both stepped up when the bright lights came on. Smoltz goes from a 3.33 career ERA and 1.176 WHIP, to a 2.67 ERA and 1.144 WHIP in the playoffs. Schilling goes from a career 3.46 ERA and 1.137 WHIP, to a 2.23 ERA and .968 WHIP. Smoltz has one career Complete Game in the postseason, Schilling has four. Smoltz is 15-4 in the postseason, Schilling 11-2.

John Smoltz’s most iconic performance is Game 7 of the 1991 World Series. Smoltz was out-dueled by fellow Hall of Famer Jack Morris in a 1-0 extra innings loss. Curt Schilling had his bloody sock in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees. That was on the road to the Red Sox first World Series win in 86 years in 2004. And Schilling’s teams did something Smoltz’s teams never could: beat the Yankees. That’s why Schilling has three World Series Championships to Smoltz’s one.

The Real Difference.

John Smoltz received 87.92% of the vote his first time on the ballot in 2015 (75% of the vote is needed to be elected to the baseball Hall of Fame by the writers). Meanwhile, Schilling’s percentages have wavered since his first time on the ballot in 2013: 38.2, 35.43, 45.62, 58.5, 50.3, 57.5, and 64.7 last year. This is a very strange pattern. Most of the time, players start low and gradually increase over time. Schilling’s numbers have wavered from year to year.

While John Smoltz is busy being an advocate for the shoulder safety of young kids, and announcing postseason games on all the big networks, Curt Schilling is seen as a social pariah. Schilling had a failed software company in Providence after taking tax breaks from Rhode Island, talked about voting Bush during the 2004 Presidential election while in Democrat country, and had some poor taste on social media.

In short, John Smoltz is seen as a choir boy, Schilling a bad seed.

The Hall of Fame is not the Hall of Good People

The Hall of Fame is a museum chronicling the history of baseball. For many years the baseball writers and players were drinking buddies. The writers celebrated the players. This was a result of the Black Sox scandal in 1919, and the concentrated effort by all involved to rehabilitate baseball’s image in American society.

In 1970, Jim Bouton‘s book Ball Four came out, and blew the lid off the narrative that baseball players are heroes. Bouton details rampant drinking, womanizing, ballplayers sneaking around looking through bathroom windows to see women showering, and PED use by Hall of Fame players. Since then, stories about cocaine use, gambling and PED use have disabused most of us from the notion that ballplayers are anything but fellow humans.

Thanks to Ryan Thibodaux’s meticulous Hall of Fame vote tracking sheet, we can see the details of the vote for 2019. Schilling received 64.7%, but only 41.2% on private ballots. In 2018, Schilling received 25.8% fewer votes on private verse public ballots. This year it was 23.5% less. Schilling still has a massive mountain to climb to reach the Hall of Fame.

Hopefully the writers will get off their high horses and see the truth: Curt Schilling belongs.

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The Greatest Red Sox Legends by Uniform Number: 36-40

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The greatest Red Sox to wear the numbers 36-40 is next up in the series.  Although as a group this one drops off a bit, there are still some good names here.  One is a postseason hero, while another is the oldest player to win a professional game.

Number 36 – Tom Gordon

Tom Gordon wasn’t with the Red Sox a long time, nor was he always effective, but he did enough to be the choice at number 36.   Gordon signed with the Red Sox as a starting pitcher for 1996.  Despite a 12-9 record, Gordon was not effective, allowing more earned runs than any other pitcher in baseball.  Gordon was pitching better the following season despite a 6-9 record, but was moved to the closer’s role following the epic trade of Heathcliff Slocumb.  Gordon saved 11 games to close out the season.

1998 was Gordon’s signature season for the team.  He made his first All-Star Game that year and led the league in saves.  His 46 saves still stand as a Red Sox franchise record for one season.  He was 7-4 with a 2.71 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in the fantastic year.  He only blew one game, which came in Mid-April.  The next season he extended his streak to 54 consecutive saves without blowing one, a Major League record.  At the end of May he had a 2.08 ERA with 11 saves and zero blown saves.  He blew back-to-back games in June and didn’t pitch again until the very end of the season.  Gordon would have to undergo Tommy John surgery for a torn UCL.

Honorable Mentions: Junichi Tazawa, Aaron Sele, Mike Myers

Number 37 – Bill Lee

The “Spaceman” gets the nod over Hideki Okajima for number 37.  Both of them boast strong arguments.  Lee pitched much longer and was an effective starting pitcher, so he’s my choice.  He still plays baseball where he can find the opportunity, and in 2010 was the winning pitcher for the Brockton Rox, becoming the oldest person to ever win a professional baseball game.

Lee broke in with the Red Sox in 1969 and spent most of the seventies with the club.  He started pitching mostly out of the bullpen, going 16-6 with a 2.95 ERA and 7 saves between 1971 and 1972.  In 1973 he moved to the starting rotation and made the all-star team.  He finished the year at 17-11 with a 2.75 ERA.  This was the first of three consecutive seasons winning 17 games for “Spaceman.”

After a couple down seasons, Lee was having a bounce back year in 1978, when Don Zimmer inexplicably banished him to the bullpen as the team collapsed down the stretch.  Lee pitched out of the bullpen three times in September, and never after September 10th.  The move made zero sense, and may have helped aid the teams collapse.  Lee finished the season with a 3.46 ERA over 24 starts and four relief appearances.  He finished his Red Sox career with 94 wins.

Honorable Mentions: Hideki Okajima, Jimmy Piersall, Heath Hembree

Number 38 – Curt Schilling

Curt Schilling was a huge acquisition for Theo Epstein and the Red Sox, and his presence paid immediate dividends.  Schilling solidified himself as one of the all-time great postseason performers.  He also seemed to wrap up his spot in Cooperstown while in Boston, but the writer’s association has yet to vote him in.

Schilling’s first season in Boston cemented him as a Red Sox hero, helping break the 86 year World Series drought.  He led the American League with 21 wins, going 21-6 with a 3.26 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 203 strike outs.  He finished second in the Cy Young vote for the third time in four seasons. In the playoffs, he dominated as usual.  After injuring his ankle in game one of the ALCS, Schilling famously had a surgery that temporarily allowed him to pitch, while putting off the main surgery until the offseason.  On a hobble ankle, bleeding through his sock, Schilling returned for game six and allowed only one run over seven innings to pick up the win.  The effort was heroic.  In the World Series, Schilling allowed just an unearned run over six innings in Game 2 to pick up another win.

Schilling had difficulty recovering from his offseason surgery and struggled in 2005, even pitching out of the pen.  In 2006 he was back to pitching 200 innings and winning 15 games.  After a solid, yet unspectacular 2007, Schilling stepped up his game for the playoffs.  He was 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA including another World Series victory in the postseason.  Schilling finished his Red Sox career at 53-29 in the regular season, and 6-1 in the postseason.

Honorable Mentions: Jim Willoughby, Jeff Gray

Number 39 – Mike Greenwell

Mike Greenwell was a fantastic player early in his career, and finished with a career .303 batting average. He homered four times in 31 at-bats during his first cup of coffee in 1985.  As a rookie in 1987, Greenwell batted .328 with 19 home runs and a stellar .956 OPS.  By the next year he was an MVP candidate.

1988 was “Gator’s” signature season.  He finished second in the MVP vote to roided up Jose Canseco.  Greenwell was red-hot during the summer months, finishing the season with a .325/.416./.531/.946 batting line, 22 home runs, 39 doubles and eight triples.  He walked 87 times that year versus only 38 strike outs.  Greenwell made his first All-Star Game and won the Silver Slugger.

Greenwell was an all-star again in 1989, batting .308 and driving home 95 runs.  Greenwell remained a good hitter until the end, but never hit for the power he did in his first two seasons.  He rebounded from an injury-plagued 1992 to bat .315 with 38 doubles in 93 games.  He battled a bad back and injuries the rest of his career, which came to an end after the 1996 season despite a .295 average.  He had one huge final game that season, hitting two home runs and driving in all nine Red Sox runs in a 9-8 victory over Seattle in September.

Honorable Mention: Jarrod Saltalamacchia

Number 40 – Rick Wise

Rick Wise had a nice career, but that was mostly with Philadelphia.  He pitched a no-hitter with the Phillies and homered twice in the same game!  It wasn’t the last time he would hit two home runs in a game either.

Wise came to the Red Sox in 1974, and had a shortened season due to arm problems.  He recovered to win 19 games in 1975.  He also nearly had another no-hitter, losing one with two outs in the ninth inning against the Brewers.  Wise was solid in 1976, going 14-11 with a 3.53 ERA.

1977 was his final season in Boston, going 11-5 despite a 4.77 ERA.  He was then included in a trade to Cleveland to get Dennis Eckersley to Boston.  Therefore, his impact for the Red Sox went beyond what he accomplished on the field with them.  He finished his Red Sox career 47-32 over four seasons.

Honorable Mentions: Ken “Hawk” Harrelson, Billy Conigliaro, Erik Hanson

 

Featured picture from Lookout Landing

Nathan Eovaldi Is Back

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The Red Sox have re-signed Nathan Eovaldi to a 4 year, $67.5 Million deal.  The postseason horse is back in the barn.  Because of the lack of home grown talent, and a shallow free agent pool, this was a move the Red Sox needed to make.

Overpaid?

Well respected and knowledgeable baseball minds are trumpeting how bad a deal this is.  To whit:

Framingham’s own Lou Merloni was on the airwaves of WEEI and NBCSN last night saying essentially the same thing.  Because of Eovaldi’s injury history, this is an over-pay.

It is true that Eovaldi has not been consistent in his career.  Therefore, the Red Sox could paying for only potential.  But where does this deal stack up against a different set of peers than the esteemed Mr. Massarotti put forth:

  • Yu Darvish $21 Million
  • Jeff Samardzija $18 Million
  • Hyun-Jin Ryu $17.9 Million
  • Nathan Eovaldi $16.875 Million
  • Mike Leake $16 Million
  • Wei-Yin Chen $16 Million
  • Rich Hill $16 Million

In this context, Eovaldi almost looks like a bargain.

October Performance

Songs have been sung about Eovaldi’s guts in Game 3 of the World Series alone, because these numbers are positively Schilling-esk:

22.1 Innings, 2-1 record, 15 Hits, 3 Walks, 16 Strikeouts, 1.61 ERA

He pitched in three of the five World Series games, and was the hard-luck looser in the longest game in World Series history.  Because of his 6 innings of extra innings work in Game 3, the bullpen was saved, as well as the other starters.  This ultimately resulted in a World Series Championship.

Nathan Eovaldi Is Necessary 

The Red Sox have almost no starting pitcher talent in the minor leagues.  Their best prospect, Jay Groome, underwent Tommy John Surgery in May of this year.  Beyond Groome, there is no one to speak of who could help the Red Sox in 2019.

If not Eovaldi, then what?  J.A. Happ: A 36 year old pitcher who pitched a grand total of 2 innings in the Yankees Game 1 loss to the Red Sox in the Divisional Round.  Dallas Keuchel: A 31 year old pitcher who has already had his best days.  Eovaldi’s best days are ahead.

Perhaps the Eovaldi signing leads to a bigger deal.  At the very least, the Red Sox have a solid #3 or #4 starter.  And he has the potential to be more, at a reasonable cost.

 

Why the BBWAA Shouldn’t Be Voters for the Hall of Fame

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With future Hall of Famers such as Curt Schilling, Mike Mussina, Edgar Martinez, and Jeff Kent not receiving entry after multiple years, one can only wonder when the MLB will look into changes for its yearly celebration of the greatest who ever lived.

Another year, another article about notable snubs from the Cooperstown Hall of Fame. With all of the notable errors the BBWAA has had over the last couple of years, there should be discussion over a new template. A board of non bias, but knowledgeable people in and around the sport: the elected players themselves.

Imagine all the living members of the Hall of Fame, the ones who know what it takes to make it. They gather around and introduce each year’s class on MLB Network. It makes total sense. Who knows more about the Hall besides the museum curators? The players who have had the honor of being inducted.

It would also provide a bigger audience to the announcement show. Who wouldn’t want to see Frank Thomas, Ken Griffey Jr, and many other players from their age? It tunes more people in because, let’s face it- a monotonous person just reading names off note cards isn’t entertaining, it’s lulling.

That’s not even the worst of it. Who remembers they years without a single member being enshrined? I remember watching the election show back in 2013. It was supposed to be “one of the biggest classes we’ve seen in decades” but no one was “good enough” for election. There is simply just too much bias to have that power. Ken Griffey Jr deserved 100% of the votes his first year. He won ten straight gold gloves, hit 630 home runs, and who players look up to even today. Even Phil Rogers of mlb.com can’t believe it.

While until free agency heats up, this debate will be put under the bed until this time next year. Unless there’s enough pressure to the commissioner, this hassle won’t be going away any time soon.