Cashner trade fills 5th spot
Righty has been strong for Orioles
Dave Dombrowski had seen the Red Sox struggle with their fifth starter spot for far too long, and he finally acted on it.
The Red Sox yesterday acquired veteran righthander Andrew Cashner from the Orioles for two minor leaguers in a trade Dombrowski believes will improve his pitching staff drastically as the team hunts for a playoff spot in the second half. The Red Sox also received cash considerations as part of the deal.
Dombrowski said the 32year-old Cashner, who is in the midst of one of his best seasons in the big leagues, will report to the team today, and will make his debut with the Red Sox Tuesday against the Blue Jays.
“He’s excited to be here, excited to pitch, excited to join the club, be part of a pennant race,” Dombrowski said. “Definitely gives us the improvement in that fifth spot, which we’ve scuffled for such a long time this year. He’s a guy that’s taken the ball and given six, seven innings on a consistent basis so we like a lot of the things about him. We think he makes us better.”
The Red Sox haven’t found any consistency out of their fifth starter since
Nathan Eovaldi went on the injured list three months ago. They have used a number of arms in that spot and taxed the bullpen in the process.
Cashner posted a 9-3 record with a 3.83 ERA in 17 starts with Baltimore this season, but more importantly, he can provide length. The right-hander has gone at least six innings in 10 of his starts, including his last five.
With a critical stretch coming up that includes 14 consecutive games against the Rays and Yankees within the next month, Dombrowski thought now was the best time to strike a deal. And he didn’t have to give up much. The prospects going to Baltimore are both 17 years old — infielder Noelberth Romero and outfielder Elio Prado, who were both playing for the Dominican Summer League Red Sox and are a long way from impacting a big league roster.
“We would prefer to have worked quickly because we think every game is important and we really have scuffled in that fifth spot to get innings,” Dombrowski said. “So this changes that at this point. Secondly, we’re embarking on a really important part of our schedule so that was important. But we wouldn’t have made a deal we weren’t comfortable making. I think we have a good pulse of who’s available and who’s not available at this time. We’ve known that for a while. Some of the guys that may be available I’m not sure that we would want to pay the price to acquire them from a player perspective. …
“We just felt this made sense for us to plug him right into the rotation starting on Tuesday and let him pitch for us. We have 70 games to play basically so it gives us a chance to move forward right away.”
Dombrowski said he likes his team but didn’t rule out making a deal for a reliever before the deadline. And he thinks people are overlooking the addition of Eovaldi, who will return in a bullpen role. Dombrowski is optimistic he’ll be ready to go within a week, saying he will face live hitters tomorrow at the park before going on at least one rehab outing if all goes well.
“We’ve talked about it and others have talked about a couple of the guys need to step it up in the rotation,” Dombrowski said. “I think they can do that. With Cashner, I think it gives us five proven veteran starters that we hope will go out there and pitch well. Eovaldi to the bullpen I think helps us a great deal. It gives a guy that we think will pitch very well and effectively out there and is eager to do it. So, we like our club.”
First for Vazquez
With Sandy Leon catching Chris Sale last night, Alex Cora wanted to keep Christian Vazquez’ bat in the lineup, so he put him at first base.
Vazquez had only played one inning in his career at first, but Cora thought he was up for the challenge. Vazquez has had experience playing first in winter ball.
“Christian is one of the smartest players we have,” Cora said. “We talk the game and he’s in tune with the game. Actually for him, it’s like fun to play another position. He played second base earlier in the season and he did everything right. I expect him to go out there and make all the plays and put good at-bats.”
Watching history
Count Cora among those who stayed up late Friday night to watch the Angels complete a combined nohitter in their first game at home since pitcher Tyler
Skaggs’ death on July 1. It was an emotional night in Anaheim as all of the Angels honored Skaggs by wearing his No. 45 jersey. His mom, Debbie, threw out the first pitch, which was a perfect strike.
“It’s just amazing,” said Cora, whose brother-in-law
Jesus Feliciano is the firstbase coach for the Angels. “That’s the only thing I can say. I was watching and I saw they were throwing a no-hitter and I was like yeah, this was meant to happen. …
“The first pitch was amazing. That was the best pitch of the night and they threw a no-hitter. It’s one of those that, it’s like I always say, it puts everything in perspective. They’re doing an outstanding job over there taking care of the guys and giving all the help they need. And we know it because we’re living it. It was one of those that yeah, this is meant to be. This is going to happen. No doubt about.” … Mitch Moreland (quad), who was supposed to play the whole weekend with Triple-A Pawtucket, was a late scratch on Friday night because he felt tight. Cora said he got treatment in Boston yesterday and the goal is for him to play with Pawtucket today.