Red Sox Fill Out Rotation With Deals for Wade Miley and Rick Porcello

SAN DIEGO - The Boston Red Sox came to the winter meetings hoping that their former ace Jon Lester would rejoin them as a free agent. When Lester chose the Chicago Cubs, instead, the Red Sox quickly filled their rotation as the meetings came to a close.

After reaching agreement on a deal for the Arizona left-hander Wade Miley on Wednesday, the Red Sox acquired Rick Porcello from the Detroit Tigers on Thursday for outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, reliever Alex Wilson and Gabe Speier, a 19-year-old pitching prospect.

The Red Sox were also closing in on a deal with the free-agent right-hander Justin Masterson, who struggled with Cleveland and St. Louis last season but was an All-Star for the Indians in 2013. Masterson, 29, pitched for the Red Sox in 2008 and 2009.

Cespedes, who can be a free agent next winter, came to Boston from Oakland on July 31 for Lester and outfielder Jonny Gomes. The deal flopped for the A's, who limped to the finish, lost in the wild-card game to Kansas City and did not attempt to re-sign Lester. But it still could help the Red Sox, if Porcello pitches well in his final year before free agency.

Porcello, who turns 26 this month, had his best season in 2014, going 15-13 with a 3.43 earned run average. He is another ground-ball pitcher in a rotation loaded with them, underscoring the importance of the infielders Mike Napoli, Dustin Pedroia, Xander Bogaerts and Pablo Sandoval.

The Red Sox also have Clay Buchholz and Joe Kelly in their rotation, but lack a clear No. 1. They could still pursue top-tier pitchers because they still have payroll flexibility and almost all of their top minor leaguers. That group includes the team's best starting pitching prospects: Henry Owens, Eduardo Rodriguez, Brian Johnson and Matt Barnes.

The right-hander Brandon Workman, who struggled as a starter last season, now profiles best as a reliever, a role he filled well in Boston's run to a World Series title in 2013.

Trade Mat Latos and Alfredo Simon

The Reds arrived at the winter meetings in one of the more intriguing quandaries of any team. They have reached the postseason in three of the last five years - without success - and have a homegrown core of Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, Jay Bruce and Homer Bailey signed to long-term deals. But they would also like to re-sign their ace, Johnny Cueto, and have several other impact players nearing free agency.

On Thursday they dealt two of them, sending Mat Latos to the Miami Marlins and Alfredo Simon to the Tigers. The Reds acquired pitcher Anthony DeSclafani and the Class A catcher Chad Wallach from Miami, and infielder Eugenio Suarez and the Class A starter Jonathan Crawford from Detroit.

'It's a challenge, but we feel, with some of the other things we're working on, we'll be able to address some of the needs we have and get our payroll where it needs to be,' General Manager Walt Jocketty said. 'Our division is a very tough division, and it's getting stronger all the time.'

Latos, 27, is a three-time 14-game winner who further strengthens a Marlins team that also added second baseman Dee Gordon in a trade with the Dodgers on Wednesday. They also got the veteran starter Dan Haren in the Dodgers deal - although Haren may retire - and have added reliever Aaron Crow and starter Andre Rienzo in other deals.

'We're still trying to upgrade at first base, but the addition of Dee Gordon gives our lineup a speed component we haven't really had in a few years,' Marlins General Manager Mike Hill said.'So we're trying to create a deeper lineup offensively and we've added some depth to our rotation and bullpen.'

Simon, 33, was 15-10 with a 3.44 earned run average in 32 starts last season, coming into his own after six years spent mostly in relief. He replaces Porcello in the Tigers' evolving rotation, which has also added Shane Greene from the Yankees last week. Max Scherzer, of course, is a free agent.

'Early in his career, he's a guy that just wasn't quite able to get over the hump of being a really good pitcher,' Tigers General Manager Dave Dombrowski said of Simon. 'And then last year his performance on the field matched his stuff.'

The teams did not have to look far to execute the deal.

'Our rooms are right across the hall from each other,' Dombrowski said. 'We kept walking back and forth.'

Yankees Call-Up Signs With Rangers

Antoan Richardson became a footnote in Yankees history last Sept. 25 when he slid across the plate with the winning run on Derek Jeter's game-ending single in his final at-bat at Yankee Stadium. Richardson's brief Yankees career ended Thursday when he signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers.

The Rangers also chose a familiar name in the Rule 5 draft, selecting the Class AA outfielder Delino DeShields Jr. from the Houston Astros. DeShields, whose father had a long career in the majors, was the eighth overall pick in the 2010 draft and has 206 stolen bases over his last three seasons in the minors.

Lokasi:

Share :