Here are the pros and cons of the Boston Red Sox's trade deadline deals

We certainly expected the Red Sox to be active ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline.

What to make of Boston’s four transactions? You couldn’t say any of them were all that anticipated. It’s also impossible to know with any certainty when and how the franchise could be better off. 

First base and both corner outfield spots will now more often be manned by players traditionally trained at those positions — that should be classified as a win.

The Red Sox are unquestionably worse at catcher and didn’t bring in any pitching help for a staff that struggled its way through July — that feels like a pair of losses.

Perhaps most importantly, Boston eased the tension in a clubhouse that feared several of its veteran pieces would be moved for a combination of prospects and fringe additions — that could pay dividends over the next two months.

How do the Red Sox proceed from here and make a credible run at an American League playoff spot? Let’s take a look at what each trade means for the roster now and in the future.

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First up, Eric Hosmer

1B Eric Hosmer, minor league IF Max Ferguson, minor league OF Corey Rosier and cash considerations from the Padres for minor league LHP Jay Groome 

This deal doesn’t happen without a blockbuster earlier in the day. The Padres reeled in Juan Soto and Josh Bell from the selling Nationals for a host of prospects — and, for a couple hours, a veteran first baseman. Hosmer had Washington on a no-trade list of 10 teams, which threatened to freeze the deal.

Luke Voit was the late replacement from San Diego and the Red Sox stepped in smelling a salary dump. The Padres will pay roughly $44 million owed to Hosmer through 2025 — he’ll receive the veteran’s minimum from Boston or any other club who employs him. That should make him rather easy to keep or flip in another trade.

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Hosmer seemed to be headed out of the Gaslamp Quarter one way or another, and the Red Sox filled a hole at first base that’s been present since they traded Mitch Moreland in a 2020 fire sale. Franchy Cordero was an abject disaster with the glove and Bobby Dalbec was too inconsistent with the bat to nail down the job full time. Hosmer is a veteran, a World Series winner and a player who was deemed worthy of an eight-year, $144-million deal in free agency when he left the Royals.

Don’t be mistaken — Hosmer won’t block a possible callup for Triston Casas. Per FanGraphs, he’s worth 0.3 WAR since the start of 2018 — Dalbec, for all his stops and starts, was worth 0.5 WAR in 2021 alone. Hosmer is 15th in defensive runs saved and 16th in defensive runs above average among all qualified first basemen in that time frame — in short, he’s not an indispensable player at the position.

Competency was what Boston sought, along with a good clubhouse presence and a potential mentor for Casas — he was drafted 10 years after Hosmer out of the same Florida high school. Ferguson and Rosier are both run-first lottery tickets who haven’t appeared above Class A. Groome was a first-round pick in 2016 who has undergone Tommy John surgery and seen his velocity drop considerably — he now profiles as a potential reliever in the big leagues.

Christian Vazquez departs

Minor league IF Enmanuel Valdez and minor league OF Wilyer Abreu from the Astros for C Christian Vazquez 

This was the least popular deal in the Red Sox clubhouse by some distance. Boston — like it did in right field during the offseason — made itself demonstrably worse at a certain position for what the front office perceived as future gain.

Vazquez had been with the Red Sox from the time he was selected in the 2008 draft. He counts a pair of World Series rings with the club, including the 2018 version against the Dodgers where he emerged as the lineup’s backbone in the postseason. His knowledge of the pitching staff, reasonable offensive contribution and close relationships with several teammates are both tangibles and intangibles out the door ahead of his free agency in the offseason.

Valdez is an improving hitter without a set defensive position who will begin at Triple-A Worcester. Abreu is an outfielder with some speed who has swing-and-miss in his game and hasn’t played above Double-A. Both will slot in toward the back end of the club’s top 30 prospects per MLB.com.

Tommy Pham for outfield help

OF Tommy Pham from the Reds for a player to be named later or cash considerations 

Boston wasted four months attempting to shoehorn Christian Arroyo into a right field platoon with Jackie Bradley Jr.. Arroyo is a career infielder who has difficulty staying healthy. It would seem someone like Pham could have been signed relatively cheaply in the offseason and paired with Bradley to replace Hunter Renfroe, whose power and defensive ability have been missed in 2022.

This is the second time chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has acquired Pham — the first occurred in a 2018 trade from the Cardinals to the Rays. He eventually was shipped to San Diego less than 18 months later in a five-player deal. Pham holds a mutual option for $6 million next season after signing a one-year contract with the Reds.

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There are some off-field concerns here. Pham was stabbed in an altercation outside a San Diego gentlemen’s club in October 2020 and received roughly 200 stitches. He also slapped fellow outfielder Joc Pederson in the face during a public May dispute over a fantasy football league and was suspended for three games.

Reese McGuire for Jake Diekman

C Reese McGuire and a player to be named or cash considerations from the White Sox for LHP Jake Diekman 

This is the classic modern trade that focuses on prior evaluation, player control and salary structure. It pays little attention to performance or character.

McGuire was the 14th overall pick by the Pirates in the 2014 draft. He’s since been traded three times, designated for assignment by the Blue Jays and arrested in February 2020 for masturbating inside his vehicle in a Florida parking lot. You could argue he'd be out of baseball if he was selected somewhere in a double-digit round eight years ago.

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It takes binoculars to look past all that, but here’s what Boston might see — a player perceived at one time throughout the industry as a premium talent, a 27-year-old at a thin defensive position and a controllable asset who doesn’t hit free agency until 2026. The Red Sox accepted McGuire and more to move on from Diekman just four months into his two-year contract. His tendency to play with gasoline out of the Boston bullpen and propensity for walking opposing hitters in multiples won’t be missed.

bkoch@providencejournal.com    

On Twitter: @BillKoch25 

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Here are the pros and cons of the Red Sox's trade deadline deals