Well they say things come in 3's and that is the case with the
Boston Red Sox front office as they continue to shuffle up the roster. In what is anticipated as being the last big move prior to the start of the 2024 season, the
Red Sox moved 31-year old SS
Trevor Story, 24-year old LF
Wilyer Abreu, and 21-year old 3B
Lyonell James to the
Detroit Tigers in return for 28-year old SP
Jack Flaherty, 24-year old RP
Tyler Mattison, and 19-year old SP
Paul Wilson.
Detroit retained 100% of
Flaherty's 2024 salary ($14M).
There are several layers to this trade. Foremost, this was about moving the salary of
Story (guaranteed $70M over the next 3 years, with player option for an additional year at $25M) and opening up the spot for newly acquired
Tommy Edman. The trade is also about backfilling the rotation spot that was created after
Giolito was dealt. While I was able to pick up some minor league pitching prospects, in order to pull off the trade I had to part with
Wilyer Abreu (#83 ranked
MLB prospect; #5 ranked prospect in
Boston's system). I tried to find some way to not deal
Abreu but
Detroit simply would not budge. Not everyone in
Boston's front office was happy with this decision, as Assistant GM
Brian O'Halloran made it clear that "it would be a mistake to accept this offer.[/I]"
Detroit receives:
Code:
Trevor Story (31-year old SS)
1st round pick, 45th overall, of the Colorado Rockies (2011)
All-Star (2018, 2019); NL Silver Slugger (2018, 2019)
.203/.250/.316 with 9 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 12 R, 14 RBI for -0.2 WAR in 168 PA (MLB / 2023)
.265/.332/.504 with 211 2B, 27 3B, 177 HR, 528 R, 530 RBI for 27.3 WAR in 3698 PA (MLB / 8 seasons)
Wilyer Abreu (24-year old LF)
International Free Agent signed by Houston Astros (2017)
#83 ranked MLB prospect
.316/.388/.474 with 6 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 10 R, 14 RBI for 0.7 WAR in 85 PA (MLB / 2023)
.259/.372/.439 with 82 2B, 5 3B, 59 HR, 289 R, 233 RBI for 5.7 WAR in 1784 PA (R, A-, A, A+, AA, AAA / 6 seasons)
Lyonell James (21-year old 3B)
International Free Agent signed by Boston Red Sox (2019)
.238/.311/.311 with 12 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 35 R, 45 RBI for -0.8 WAR in 354 PA (A / 2023)
.269/.355/.350 with 30 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, 78 R, 97 RBI for 0.7 WAR in 677 PA (R, A / 3 seasons)
Boston receives:
Code:
Jack Flaherty (28-year old SP)
1st round pick, 34th overall, of the St. Louis Cardinals (2014)
8-9 W/L record with 148 K, 66 BB, and 4.99 ERA for 1.8 WAR in 144 1/3 IP (MLB / 2023)
42-34 W/L record with 748 K, 254 BB, and 3.75 ERA for 10.4 WAR in 667 1/3 IP (MLB / 7 seasons)
Tyler Mattison (24-year old CL)
4th round pick of the Detroit Tigers (2021)
5-1 W/L record with 91 K, 28 BB, and 2.41 ERA for 1.5 WAR in 59 2/3 IP (A+, AA / 2023)
12-2 W/L record with 145 K, 47 BB, and 3.26 ERA for 2.4 WAR in 99 1/3 IP (R, A, A+, AA / 2 seasons)
Paul Wilson (19-year old SP)
3rd round pick, 76th overall, of the Detroit Tigers (2023)