The Padres and Red Sox have announced a trade that will send a first baseman Eric Hosmer to the Red Sox with prospects Corey Rosier and Max Ferguson, as well as cash flow considerations. In exchange, the Padres will receive a pitching prospect. Jay Groome. According Boston Globe’s Alex Speiercash considerations are actually around $44 million, with the Padres paying off the remainder of Hosmer’s contract, excluding the league minimum.
Hosmer previously exercised his partial no-trade clause for veto a deal with the Nationalstemporarily throwing a key in John Soto negotiations. The Padres/Nats Soto blockbuster was completed anyway, without Hosmer, and Hosmer is now heading to Boston instead.
It’s a pretty stunning sequence of events, but the Red Sox will take advantage of San Diego’s willingness to pay freight on Hosmer’s undersea contract and take a low-cost look at a former All-Star. which will help solidify a needed position in the lineup. boston paired Francy Cordero and Bobby Dalbec at first base for much of the season, often with disastrous results, and Hosmer should fix some of the mistakes that have become common in Boston’s infield. Defensive metrics have never been on par with Hosmer’s four Gold Glove Awards, but even still, he gives the Sox a stronger option than Cordero, who made eight errors and was rated five strikeouts below. average in just 316 innings (per Statcast) while trying to learn first base on the volley in the major leagues.
Bringing Hosmer into the fold in many ways serves as a roadblock to the best prospect Triston Houses, although the Sox could certainly have the two split times between first base and the designated hitter. He figures to stifle the rumblings of rafael devers eventually moving through the diamond from third base to first base, however, as Hosmer is now penciled in as the primary option at first for the next few seasons.
Hosmer, a former All-Star and 2015 World Series champion, is in the fifth season of an eight-year, $144 million contract signed with the Padres before the 2018 season. The deal was almost universally rejected at the time. of signing and fell into albatross territory almost immediately. Hosmer hit a combined 0.259 / 0.316 / 0.412 in his first 1,344 board appearances in San Diego – around six percent below the league average over that span based on wRC+ (which, notably, weighs for league context like the juiced- prom season in 2019).
To Hosmer’s credit, his offense has improved quite a bit over the past three seasons. While league-wide production has tended to decline after the 2019 homer boom, Hosmer has maintained a .273/.336/.411 batting line from 2020 to 2022, which is about 7% better. than average.
That’s still not what the Brothers had in mind when they signed him to an eight-year deal worth $18 million a year, of course, and Hosmer’s tepid production pushed the Brothers to explore trades for him for over a year now. In the past, the goal was to find a taker for Hosmer and the bulk of his contract — likely tying him to a top prospect — but things have now reached the point where the Padres are just ready to eat a bite. significant part of the contract. to free up roster space for a more productive hitter in Josh Bellwhich was acquired alongside Soto.
In order to get rid of said albatross, they parted ways with Rosier and Ferguson, which Boston will acquire in exchange for taking Hosmer from the Padres. Rosier, 22, was a 12th-round pick in last year’s draft. The outfielder had a stellar A-ball debut last year, hitting .390/.461/.585 with 13 interceptions. This year, moving to High-A, he hits .263/.381/.396 with 33 shots. Ferguson, 22, is an infielder who was selected in the fifth round last year. He split his time this year between A-ball and High-A, slashing .221/.365/.358.
While the Padres have long wanted to get rid of Hosmer’s contract for financial reasons, it looks like they’ve finally given up on those dreams, as they’re effectively eating up his entire contract. The club have flirted with the luxury tax line all year, seemingly unwilling to cross it. However, the opportunity to get superstar players like Soto, Bell and Josh Hader seemed too good an opportunity to pass up, with the club now certain to pay the luxury tax for a second consecutive season.
In lieu of financial aid, the Padres will receive a former first-round pick, as Groome was selected 12th overall by the Red Sox in 2016. Baseball America once considered him one of the top 100 prospects in the sport, with Groome landing at #43 in 2017 and #83 in 2018. Unfortunately, Tommy John’s surgery wiped out his 2018 season and limited him to just four innings in 2019. This was followed by the pandemic wiping out league seasons minors in 2020, meaning Groome has barely pitched at all for three consecutive seasons. He returned to the mound last year, throwing at a 4.81 ERA between High-A and Double-A. He has shown improved results this year though, throwing 92 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A with a 3.59 ERA and 24.2% strikeout rate, although a market high of 11.4%. He’ll add pitching depth for the Padres, who just lost mackenzie gore in the Soto case.
Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune first reported that Hosmer was heading for Boston. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first noted that Hosmer’s no-trade list did not include the Red Sox. MassLive’s Chris Cotillo first reported that it would be a multiplayer deal and that Rosier and Ferguson would be included (Twitter connections). Robert Murray of Fan Sided first had Groome’s involvement. Boston Globe’s Alex Speier first reported that the Padres were sending about $44 million to the Red Sox.