Red Sox Trade Travis Shaw To Brewers For Tyler Thornburg
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Red Sox reportedly made a trade on Tuesday, shipping third baseman Travis Shaw to Milwaukee in exchange for relief pitcher Tyler Thornburg.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports tweeted the news on Tuesday morning.
Rosenthal added that Thornburg is entering his first year of arbitration, meaning the Red Sox control his right for the next three seasons.
The Boston Globe's Alex Speier was first to report Shaw's involvement in the trade. Josh Norris of Baseball America reported that Red Sox prospect Josh Pennington was also going to Milwaukee. The Boston Herald's The Evan Drellich was first to report that a trade had been made, and he later noted that Mauricio Dubon was included in the package going to Milwaukee as well.
Thornburg, 28, has made 144 appearances since 2012. He recorded 13 saves last year for the Brewers, with a 2.15 ERA, 0.940 WHIP and a 3.60 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He recorded a career-high 90 strikeouts over 67 innings for the Brewers in 2016. In his career, he owns a 2.87 ERA, 1.188 WHIP and a 2.42 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Thornburg likely slots into an eighth-inning role for the Red Sox, with Craig Kimbrel securing the closer spot and Carson Smith likely fitting into a seventh-inning type of role as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.
Shaw, 26, batted .242 in 2016, his first full season in the big leagues after playing in 65 games in 2015. In 210 career games, he owns a .251 average with 29 home runs, a .754 OPS and 107 RBIs. He ranked eighth among regulars on the Red Sox roster in batting average in 2016, sixth in home runs, fifth in doubles, seventh in RBIs and seventh in OPS.
The movement of Shaw likely affirms a commitment from the organization to Pablo Sandoval, about whom Red Sox president Dave Dombrowski spoke glowingly on Monday at the winter meetings.
Dubon is a 22-year-old infielder, drafted in the 26th round in 2013, who batted an impressive .339 with a .909 OPS over 270 plate appearances at Double-A Portland last season.
Pennington is a 20-year-old pitcher who posted a 2.86 ERA over 13 starts at Single-A Lowell last season. SoxProspects.com listed him as the 27th-highest prospect in the Red Sox' system. He was drafted in the 29th round in 2014.
