The two former Red Sox were traded by the A’s to the Dodgers on Monday in advance of baseball’s trade deadline for a trio of minor league right-handed pitchers. They got All-Star left-hander Cole Hamels last season after the pitcher voided a proposed trade that would have sent him from Philadelphia to Houston. The price was steep, but thats been a common theme of this trade market.
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The A’s also were considering a multi-year extension in recent days with the 36-year-old Hill. He has a blister so it’s nothing too serious, but he hasn’t started a game since July 7th.
Mature response: Danny Valencia, Oakland’s cleanup batter most of the season, wasn’t in the lineup for the third time in four games, but he’s handling it professionally, just as he did when first informed his playing time would drop with Ryon Healy’s callup earlier this month. When he does start, he’s been very good.
After failing to trade catcher Jonathan Lucroy to the Cleveland Indians, the Milwaukee Brewers traded Lucroy and relief pitcher Jeremy Jeffress to the Rangers, according to Rosenthal. Hill is 9-3 with a 2.25 ERA and has 90 strikeouts and 28 walks. Bruce has belted 25 home runs this season and has driven in 80 runs.
There are no shortage of teams likely to have scouts watching Hill on Sunday – Toronto, Kansas City, Miami, Detroit and Baltimore at a minimum – and if there is any sense given off by Hill that he will be sound the last two months, it’s hard to see at least a few of them not making offers.
The focus now shifts to Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, who has been the subject of trade rumors of late amid a disappointing season. He was originally selected in the first round (22nd overall) of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft out of Conway (SC) High School. He was recently ranked No. 60 on Baseball America’s midseason list. His stuff is undeniably quality, but there are concerns about his control. The 20-year-old right-hander is 8-4 with a 4.016 ERA and 1.386 WHIP for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga. He just turned 20 in March, so there’s obviously room for improvement. Montas, who appeared in seven big league games with Chicago-AL last season in his only big-league action, was acquired by the Dodgers from the White Sox on December 16, 2015 in a three-team trade and has gone 16-25 with a 3.79 ERA in 99 games (84 starts) in seven minor league seasons in the Red Sox, White Sox and Dodger organizations. He would likely have gotten some burn this season as a starter or a reliever, but has had two different rib injuries and has only thrown 16 innings in the minors this year.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he expects Norris to make his next start.
Montas hasn’t pitched in the majors this year. More specifically, they will receive the Dodgers’ numbers five (Holmes), eight (Montas), and 13 (Cotton) prospects.
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The impact for the Dodgers in adding Hill and Reddick is clear enough.
