NEWSLETTER
We might soon get an actual, real trade in baseball – one that provides a data point for what kinds of trades can realistically be made this year, and how much value a rental player can have in this market. (UPDATES below.)
The Phillies, eager to improve the worst bullpen in baseball, have added David Hale today (a DFA’d Yankees reliever, so not QUITE a notable trade), and are reportedly working also to add Brandon Workman from the Red Sox:
The Phillies are in active talks with Red Sox to acquire closer Brandon Workman. Not final. But I hear multiple players are involved in proposed deal.
— Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyNBCS) August 21, 2020
Workman, 32, was dominant for the Red Sox last year and is an impending free agent. He has nasty stuff, though tends to be on the wild side. As a righty, he’s probably not where the Cubs would be looking to add another reliever at this point (they really need a lefty), but even if they were never involved, this is going to be a useful data point.
How much should a team give up for a good rental reliever in this season? Let’s find out.
UPDATE: It’s actually going to be an even bigger deal, with solid and controllable reliever Heath Hembree included:
Phillies get Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree from Red Sox. Return unknown.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) August 22, 2020
How much the Phillies are willing to give up in a deal like this in a year like this is going to be fascinating, because this is a “real” trade right here.
UPDATE 2: All right, here it is:
Deal official: Workman, Hembree and cash to Phillies for pitchers Nick Pivetta and Conor Seabold.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) August 22, 2020
Pivetta, 27, is a reclamation type arm headed for arbitration for the first time after this year. Lots of upside that he’s never put together in the big leagues, so this makes a lot of sense for the Red Sox. Seabold, 24, is a 2017 3rd rounder who has reached AA, and appears to be regarded as a possible future big leaguer, but is not a clear top 30 system prospect to most rankings. He’s not a nothing, but is not a significant prospect.
So, then, the return for a rental closer (who was dominant last year) and a controllable decent reliever is a post-hype starter who was a plausible non-tender after this season and not-super-significant prospect.
I’ll let more fallout develop before declaring anything definitively, but this looks like an extremely light return for the Red Sox, who also sent cash in the deal. That’s what I expected it to look like this year – teams are not going to be inclined to give up much future prospect value for short-term big league value, given the uncertain nature of this season and the (likely) coming major financial disruption.
UPDATE 3: My lord. This is how tight cash is:
Source: Red Sox including ~$815,000 in trade. Workman and Hembree owed combined ~$1.1M.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) August 22, 2020
And the Phillies, again, gave up very little future value in this deal. This is an extreme buyer’s market if you have any money at all to spare.
