Red Sox Acquire Ian Kinsler From The Angels For Two Minor Leaguers And Cash
The Red Sox have acquired Ian Kinsler from the Los Angeles for a pair of AAA pitchers and cash. Kinsler had not been kicked around in trade talks much this summer, but with the BoSox in need of some stability in the infield, a deal got done that works for both teams. With Dustin Pedroia out indefinitely after knee surgery, Boston couldn’t take a chance that he won’t return and had to look for an upgrade according to ESPN. Going after Kinsler is cited as being a shrewd move, because there was no bidding war for him as his availability was believed to be nil until he was actually dealt.
At 36 years old, Kinsler is still a solid guy to have in the lineup. He may not be Gold Glove caliber defensively anymore, but he will make all the routine plays and some of the tougher ones. One thing he won’t do is make many mental mistakes. His bat is also not what it used to be, with an average teetering around.240 and only 13 homers 32 RBI, but he is solid enough. He can still work a count and force a pitcher to work to get him out. He moves runners around well and is a smart base runner still, even if his legs look a little heavier these days.
Ian Kinsler to the Red Sox first reported by @Ken_Rosenthal. Kinsler's offensive numbers are down, but still a higher WAR this season than every Sox position player except Betts, Benintendi, Martinez and Bogaerts. And he has an .859 OPS since May 28.
— Chad Jennings (@chadjennings22) July 31, 2018
The Angels snagged a pair of pitchers from AAA Pawtucket in the deal and shed some salary, even with sending Boston $1.8 million to cover Kinsler. Ty Buttery is a right-handed reliever, and southpaw Williams Jerez is also a reliever. Buttrey is 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 44 innings, and Jerez is 2-1 with a 3.68 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 51-and-one-third innings pitched. Both can conceivably be on a major league roster this year, but it is likely that won’t happen until the rosters expand.
Boston President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski told the MLB website that the plan is for Kinsler to be their everyday second baseman until Pedroia returns. That is assuming he returns at all. He also went on to say that right now, he feels comfortable with the bullpen and roster as a whole and is probably not going to make anymore moves prior to the arrival of the trade deadline later today.
Source: #Angels sending #RedSox $1.8M of remaining $3.6M on Kinsler’s deal.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 31, 2018
Davis Price, who played with Kinsler in Detroit, told the MLB website that he was looking forward to playing with him again and said, “He’s the closest teammate I’ve ever had to Dustin Pedroia.” Assuming all physicals come through clean, Kinsler should join the Red Sox sometime today and be in the lineup immediately.
