The Cincinnati Reds have traded outfielder Tommy Pham to the Boston Red Sox. According to Ken Rosenthal. The Reds’ game started Monday night at 6:40 pm ET and Pham was originally in the lineup but then was a late scratch. Shortly after, the Chicago White Sox sent catcher Reese McGuire to the Red Sox for reliever Jake Diekman.
Diekman, a 35-year-old left-hander, has a 4.23 ERA, 4.97 FIP and 1.49 WHIP with 51 strikeouts in 38 1/3 innings this season. The walks have been an issue, as he turns 30, but he has had some good seasons recently. The White Sox haven’t had a late-inning lefty before, so it’s probably a good fit for Diekman.
gave The Red Sox reportedly traded. Catcher Christian Vazquez before his game Monday evening, so he’s been both a buyer and a seller.
Pham, 34, is hitting .238/.320/.374 (88 OPS+) with 11 doubles, one triple, 11 homers, 39 RBI, 57 runs, seven steals and 0.6 WAR in 91 games this season. He has played all three outfield positions in his big league career, but has mostly been left field the last several years. Pham has played in three different postseasons and has been prolific offensively, going 19 for 54 (.352) with two doubles, three home runs, six RBI, five runs and four steals in 15 games.
The Red Sox fit for fame is hard to tell right now. Jarren Duran could be moved to center, but Pham is no longer a center fielder. Alex Verdugo has left the field on lockdown. Maybe something with Jackie Bradley Jr. It has to be done in the right field. It’s also likely that more trades are on the way and the team will look a little different once the dust settles.
Pham has a mutual option on his $6 million contract for next season.
McGuire, 27, is hitting .225/.261/.285 in 166 plate appearances this season. He is known as a quality defender and scores well in creating metrics. For now, it looks like he’ll spend time with Kevin Plawecki at catcher for the Red Sox, though as mentioned above, it looks like they’re going to be shuffled around.
