The Red Sox Have Traded For Aaron Hill
Not a huge trade here for the Red Sox, but it will definitely help them moving forward, and there are a few takeaways here.
My initial reaction to hearing that the Red Sox had acquired Aaron Hill was, shit, does that mean that Travis Shaw’s injury is worse than we had previously thought? Shaw fouled a pitch off of his left foot last night in the fourth inning, and X-rays revealed that there was no fracture or broken bone. It’s being called a contusion for now, and he’s day-to-day. After the trade, it was reported that the move had no connection to Shaw’s injury. If it’s not injury-related, the move could still have something to do with Shaw, as he’s hitting .211 with a .620 OPS against left-handed pitching this year, compared to .329 with a .975 OPS against lefties last year.
Perhaps the Red Sox like Hill better at third base against left-handed pitching, given that he has a modest .762 OPS against lefties in his career. MLB.com’s Ian Browne said that it “sounds like Hill will mainly play third against lefties, also give Pedroia rest when he needs it.” Milwaukee Brewers general manager David Stearns added that “multiple teams” were interested in Hill, and you can see why. Since May 1, Hill is hitting .323 with an .890 OPS. If I were him, I’d be pissed about getting traded to Boston, where it’s pretty much guaranteed that he won’t be playing every day like he had been with the Brewers. Then again, he’s getting to play for a team in contention instead of, well, the Brewers.
That being said, Boston’s bench needed an upgrade as fast as possible, and Hill definitely makes the Red Sox’s bench much, much better. Aside from being able to hit, Hill has primarily played second base in his career, but has mostly played third base this season, and has some experience at shortstop. And, for what it’s worth, Hill is a .308 hitter at Fenway Park with a .839 OPS in 213 plate appearances.
As far as what the Red Sox gave up in the deal, it’s a name that Red Sox fans recently became familiar with, right-handed pitcher Aaron Wilkerson. As far as what the Red Sox thought of Wilkerson, the writing was on the wall when Eduardo Rodriguez was demoted back to Pawtucket a little more than a week ago, and Boston needed a starting pitcher to take the ball. Wilkerson had been the name that I had seen suggested the most, due to a solid stretch of starts for the PawSox, but the Red Sox chose to go with Sean O’Sullivan instead. On the conference call that Dave Dombrowski held to announce the trade, he said that the Red Sox didn’t see Wilkerson as a viable option to help out the rotation because of his lack of big league experience. So, there ya go.
But the main takeaway? This right here:
No, not that Hill makes them better. He does, but that’s not what I’m pointing out. Dombrowski thinks/knows that the Red Sox are in a position to win this year. Not next year. Not the year after. This year. All the reports over the last couple of weeks have pointed to Dombrowski and the Red Sox making a big splash at the trade deadline for starting pitching. Aaron Hill was just a warmup.