Fort Myers, Florida: The Red Sox made their first major roster move of spring training on Saturday—a subtraction rather than an addition—when they sold reliever John Schreiber to the Royals in exchange for pitching prospect David Sandlin. In order to increase farm depth, the trade reduces Boston’s chances of making the playoffs in 2024 by taking a player off the big league roster. However, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow says the Red Sox felt compelled to make this decision.
After adding a few right-handed major league bullpen options throughout the offseason, Boston came into camp with an abundance of them. On the other hand, as a whole, the organization is devoid of starting pitching prospects. Though his big league roster continued to deteriorate, Breslow saw an opportunity to restore some balance.
Breslow stated, “We’ve talked about our right-handed relief depth for a while.” It’s something we are confident and passionate about. Additionally, there is a need to add more depth to the starting pitch when the chance arises. This, in my opinion, was one instance of an opportunity to do so.
The Red Sox have openly discussed trading from their relief group during the winter, but it’s surprising that they chose to sell Schreiber rather than a more expensive veteran like Chris Martin ($8.75 million) or Kenley Jansen ($16 million). Breslow may have believed that he could obtain a higher return for Schreiber—who is owed $1.175 million and has three more seasons left on his contract—than he could have from an older player, such as Jansen or Martin, who are nearing the end of their contracts.
The number of high-upside righties the Sox have assembled on their 40-man roster further renders Schreiber expendable. With Martin and Jansen expected to lead the back end, the race to fill the remaining slots will be fierce. Josh Winckowski, Tanner Houck, and Garrett Whitlock are vying for the fifth rotation place, but two of the three will probably wind up in the bullpen. With big league experience, Isaiah Campbell, Cooper Criswell, Zack Kelly, and Greg Weissert all still have minor league possibilities. Pickup under Rule 5 There are two other players in the mix: out-of-option former top prospect Bryan Mata and Justin Slaten. Both players must make the Opening Day roster to avoid being placed on waivers.
Slaten and Mata will be closely examined due to their distinct circumstances. Nonetheless, there is no barrier to entry. Three spots could be available for a combination of the aforementioned righties and possibly a lefty such as Lucas Luetge, Chris Murphy, Joe Jacques, Brandon Walter, or Jorge BenÃtez, assuming everyone is healthy.
According to Cora, “it opens the window for other guys to step up and try to win that spot.” We made a transaction from a position where we believe we have additional cards this year that will be helpful. We undoubtedly added some potential at the minor league level.
Breslow stated, “I think there are a number of guys.” “This summer, we have added certain players, like Campbell and Weissert. We’ll have to wait and see how it works out because some players who were in the pen are starting to get more playing time. We are rather pleased with the back end. It’s a spot we feel good about, depending on how the rotation competition goes and the acquisitions we make.
Similar to Breslow, Cora recognized Campbell and Weissert as early camp standouts. Both right-handers were acquired during the winter months; Weissert arrived in the Yankees’ deal for Alex Verdugo a few weeks later, and Campbell was acquired from Seattle in exchange for infielder Luis UrÃas in November.
In front of Cora and Breslow on Saturday, Campbell threw a live batting practice. The previous season, he had reverse splits in the major leagues, recording 33 strikeouts in 28 â…” innings and posting a 2.83 ERA for the Mariners. In the majors in 2023, Cora took note of Campbell’s ability to hold left-handed hitters to a.162 average and.483 OPS.
“Both Weissert and Campbell have impressed me so far,” Cora remarked. In particular, Campbell. We do know, for example, that he has the ability to disarm lefties. We didn’t do a fantastic job with it last year. Throughout the season, our righties had trouble with that. I’m at ease with the guys we have in camp, but we’ll see what transpires in the next few weeks. Someone is going to grab this position, run with it, and assist us in winning some games.
Although the deal on Saturday gives some younger pitchers more opportunities, it also reduces some certainty in the bullpen mix. In 111 Red Sox appearances over the previous three years, Schreiber had a 2.90 ERA and was a cheap, middle relief bridging option. In the end, Breslow claimed, the opportunity to include the fascinating Sandlin was too alluring to refuse.
Breslow stated, “We had recognized him from the beginning as someone who we think is on the rise and has the makings of a legitimate starting pitcher.” “I loved it, I loved the makeup, and we’ve seen a pretty big advancement in the stuff.” Every time you make a trade like this, you have to acknowledge that it was challenging because we were giving up a really good pitcher. It was undoubtedly not an easy choice. Having stated that, I believe it is my responsibility to act in the organization’s best interests. And I believe that now is the time to do it.
It’s not a choice we took lightly. It wasn’t easy, he continued. We feel that we have added depth to a few positions on the roster, so we must continue to strike a balance between our short- and long-term goals.
On Kansas City’s roster, Schreiber will be joined by former Red Sox pitchers Michael Wacha and Hunter Renfroe.
“They’ve been working really hard to get him, and they succeeded,” Cora remarked.
