With multiple divisional foes in the American League East making substantial improvements, the Boston Red Sox made a splash of their own on Thursday.
The Washington Nationals agreed to send Kyle Schwarber to Boston in exchange for pitching prospect Aldo Ramirez.
The @RedSox are boosting their offense.
Kyle Schwarber is reportedly shipping up to Boston, per @JonHeyman. pic.twitter.com/oAwfwtfLzm
— MLB (@MLB) July 30, 2021
The Schwarber addition is a massive one for Boston, and today, we are going to evaluate the trade.
How does it look on paper?
What Are The Red Sox Getting In Schwarber?
In Schwarber, the Red Sox are getting one of the best bats on the trade market this season.
The 28-year-old is in the midst of a career year, and he is showing no signs of slowing down.
In 2021, Schwarber is batting .253 with a .910 OPS and 150 OPS+.
He has homered 25 times in 72 games.
And lately, he has been on a historic tear.
In 21 games since June 12, the former first-round pick has homered a whopping 16 times.
Over that same span, he is batting .338 with an absurd 1.383 OPS.
Those are Barry Bonds-esque numbers.
Once Schwarber gets on his feet in Boston, it will be very interesting to see if he picks up where he left off in Washington.
Now, here’s where things get tricky.
The Red Sox have an excess of quality outfield options.
One way or another, Schwarber’s bat will find its way into the lineup every night, but it remains to be seen which Red Sox will see decreased playing time as a result of the trade.
Outfielders Alex Verdugo, Enrique Hernandez and Christian Arroyo have all been great this season, so the Red Sox would presumably prefer to keep each of them in the lineup.
Doing so would mean finding Schwarber a home in the infield.
The issue?
The only MLB infield experience that Schwarber has is at third base, and that’s Rafael Devers’ territory.
It’s possible that Schwarber will eventually transition into a role at first base, but before that happens, he is going to have to learn to play the position.
As far as I can tell, the last time Schwarber played first base was in the Cape Cod League, so this will be interesting to see what their plan is with him. But he can definitely hit.
— OverTheMonster (@OverTheMonster) July 30, 2021
What Are The Red Sox Giving Up In Ramirez?
Ramirez is a pitching prospect with a very high ceiling.
Over eight starts with Boston’s Single-A affiliate this season, he managed a 2.03 ERA and 1.13 WHIP.
One publication had him ranked as a top-10 prospect in the Red Sox system.
He now heads to Washington in hopes of continuing his journey to the big leagues.
There are a couple of ways to look at this from a Red Sox perspective.
On one hand, the organization has become notoriously bad at developing pitchers over the years, so losing a pitching prospect with some legit promise is tough.
But on the other hand, Ramirez is just 20 years old, and he wouldn’t have been able to make an impact on the pro roster for several more years.
There’s no telling what things will look like for Boston years down the road.
All that’s known is that right now, the organization has a chance to contend for a World Series title, and improving the big-league roster has to be the top priority.
Grade: B+
With many contending teams making massive moves, the Red Sox absolutely had to make a splash.
Schwarber will take Boston’s already elite lineup to new heights, and on that basis alone, the deal looks good on paper.
Having said that, losing Ramirez is tough, and finding Schwarber a home defensively could prove to be a tedious task.
This trade will be an interesting one to reassess in several months.
NEXT: Rafael Devers Is Working On The Best Season Of His Career