Why the Red Sox Already Won The Workman-Hembree Phillies Trade

The Boston Red Sox completed a trade on Friday night that sent closer Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree to the Philadelphia Phillies along with cash considerations for Nick Pivetta and Connor Seabold.

The Phillies really went after Workman and Hembree after some other teams reportedly thought Boston’s asking price was too steep so Boston felt like this was going to be the best deal they were going to get.

Both teams received what they wanted, as both teams are in two opposite situations but the Red Sox have already won the trade.

Why the Phillies didn’t win the trade

Philadelphia is in a situation where they believe they can contend for a spot in October, especially due to the fact that there are more teams getting in this year with their biggest weakness being their bullpen.

So being in a win-now situation, GM Matt Klentak was willing to acquire two relievers that don’t have much team control because they can be difference-makers when they are pitching well.

Workman is a pending free agent at the end of the season and Hembree’s contract runs out at the end of next season so it’s clear the Phillies believe they can win now.

But I believe Philadelphia is a little too optimistic when it comes to their chances of going far into October because right now they are in fourth place in their division at 9-13 and aren’t in the 7 or 8 spots right now as one of the two Wild Card teams.

Add that to the fact that their rotation isn’t deep past Aaron Nola and Zach Wheeler and Brandon Workman hasn’t been pitching like an impactful reliever in 2020. Workman hasn’t been able to avoid the walks this year and whenever he has entered a game with a significant lead it seemed like he would give the opposing team a way to come back.

So there just seems to be too many barriers preventing Philadelphia from getting into the playoffs and they gave up some talented arms with years of team control to the Boston Red Sox.

Why the Red Sox won the trade

As I mentioned, Brandon Workman has not been himself this season and Heath Hembree isn’t an All-Star reliever so they were both expendable considering they had a combined three years of team control remaining on their deals.

Both Workman and Hembree weren’t going to be needed for the rest of the year, as the club started off the season 6-18 through its first 24 games which took them out of the race so why not get more starting pitching that can help you down the line.

Chaim Bloom said on Friday night that Nick Pivetta is going to be used as a starting pitcher for the Red Sox but will report to the team’s alternate site because he hasn’t started since August 10.

But Pivetta has changed his delivery by making it a little shorter like other starters, including Lucas Giolito and Trevor Bauer, have done over the years.

With virtually no pitching depth, Pivetta can be a solid mid-rotation piece behind Nathan Eovaldi and Martin Perez this year and then behind Chris Sale and Eduardo Rodriguez in 2021.

Pivetta couldn’t really find a place in Philadelphia’s rotation, as he frequently bounced in and out of it as the fourth or fifth starter in the past few years.

Connor Seabold was the second arm the Red Sox got in the trade and he is now one of their top 30 prospects. Seabold, 24, was drafted in the third round of the 2017 draft after pitching in the College World Series with Cal State Fullerton.

According to scouting reports, Seabold has a slider that generates many swing and misses with a fastball sitting around 90-94 MPH.

So Chaim Bloom traded two bullpen arms that were meaningless this year for two younger pitchers that are under control for a combined 10 years (Pivetta for four and Seabold hasn’t reached the big leagues) while the Phillies are going “all in” before they really have a good chance of winning.

(Photo: Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group via Boston Herald)