Time to shut down blockbuster
OAKLAND, Calif. — Hate to douse a good trade rumor — especially in the middle
of May — but folks, Jose Quintana isn’t walking into the Red Sox clubhouse this season or any season in the near future. And that’s a good thing. While it’s #realnews that the Red Sox have had scouts wa tc h i n g White Sox games lately, that’s about as significant as noting that the Rangers and Mariners are coming to Fenway Park during the next homestand.
“It’s May,” said one American League executive familiar with the current trade landscape. “Just because scouts are covering clubs doesn’t mean anything is brewing.”
What’s far more important to keep in mind than the timing of the tidbit from CBS Radio in Chicago about Red Sox scouts doing their job is that there’s absolutely no reason for this organization to fork over the high number of blue-chip prospects the White Sox are asking for, rightfully, in return for Quintana.
Anybody recall the trade with the White Sox last December, when the Red Sox acquired tonight’s starter Chris Sale? Sure you do, and surely you remember the Red Sox dealt away their two best prospects in second baseman Yoan Moncada and right-hander Michael Kopech.
And then there was the other deal they pulled last July, when they sent their other top pitching prospect, Anderson Espinoza, to the Padres for tomorrow’s starter Drew Pomeranz.
That second deal has yet to pay off much for either club, but for the purposes of speaking about this July’s trading deadline, it’s the Sale deal that is pertinent to any talk of the Red Sox trading for Quintana.
Understand that the White Sox were asking for a “rich package” last offseason and that “can’t have changed,” that AL source said.
The Red Sox don’t have any more “rich packages” to deal.
And while that doesn’t mean the Red Sox are lacking more good prospects, it does mean they’d be crazy to consider dealing from the top of their deck in order to acquire another frontline starter, which Quintana most definitely is.
The three best prospect the Red Sox have at the moment are third baseman Rafael Devers, first baseman Sam Travis and left-hander Jay Groome.
I could give a hundred reasons why trading one, never mind two, of those names would be a bad idea right now, but here are only a few.
Given the Red Sox’ glaring need for a third baseman after the trade of Travis Shaw, the injuries to Pablo Sandoval and Marco Hernandez and the inability of anyone else to step up and claim the spot, it’s highly relevant to point out that in Portland (Double A), Devers is currently staking his own claim that he could be the team’s answer as early as this season.
As the invaluable resource soxprospects.com reported yesterday, Devers has been on a serious roll this month. In his first 15 games in May he posted a ridiculous slash line of .408/.517/.796. That .517 on-base percentage could be the most impressive feat. Devers walked 11 times in those 15 games, and that could be the truest indicator that the 20-year-old is prime for a promotion to Triple A sometime in the next month or two. He needs more seasoning, but to see him thrive right now is a key development.
Travis also is starting to hit after a slow start. In his first 13 games this month, he hit .314/.364/.569 with three home runs and nine RBI at Triple-A Pawtucket. Travis is a hitter, first and foremost, and while he has plenty left to prove (like Devers), it’s not unreasonable to think the Red Sox would be curious enough to give him a look before the end of this season as well.
Groome is hurt now, but he’s 18 and was the club’s top pick last season. His high ceiling has not disappeared. He is not somebody the Red Sox want to bring up in trade talks anytime soon.
The White Sox have other potentially available talent, such as closer David Robertson and third baseman Todd Frazier. Perhaps the Red Sox are interested in, say, Frazier. Let’s see how that possibility develops. Maybe it morphs into a rumor in the near future. Or not.
Linking the Red Sox to a talent like Quintana, however, is a stretch nobody needs to make.
Quintana is not eligible for free agency for three more seasons and is going to command names of the caliber of Devers, Travis and Groome.
The Red Sox pulled off a deal like that in December.
Those types of deals are called blockbusters, and blockbusters are rare.
The Red Sox can’t, and shouldn’t, pull off another one this July — never mind in the middle of May.