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After losing out on Jon Lester, the Red Sox turned Wednesday to a lesser-known lefthanded starter, nearing the completion of a trade for 28-year-old Diamondbacks lefty Wade Miley.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. The Sox Will Send Rubby De La Rosa & Allen Webster to Arizona
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According to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, the Red Sox will send Rubby De la Rosa and Allen Webster to Arizona, along with a minor leaguer.
#RedSox have agreement in principle for #DBacks’ Miley, sources tell me and @jonmorosi. AZ will get Webster, De La Rosa and a minor leaguer.
The Sox got Webster and De le Rosa in the blockbuster trade that sent Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford to the Dodgers in 2012.
Both were regarded as among the Dogers’ top prospects at the time of the trade, but neither of them materialized as a reliable Major Leaguer in Boston.
De La Rosa, 25, a flame-thrower who initially projected as potential closer, made 18 starts for Boston in 2014, going 4-8 with a 4.43 ERA.
Webster, 24, made 11 starts and emerged with a 5-3 record despite pitching to a 5.03 ERA.
Wade Miley? Decent pickup. Liked Ruby, though. Thought he might end up in an important bullpen role. Never bought it with Webster.
2. Miley Was 38-35 in 4 Seasons With the D-Backs
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The 28-year-old Miley is 38-35 with a 3.79 ERA, 1.323 WHIP over four seasons with Arizona. His best full season came as a rookie in 2012, when he went 16-11 with a 3.33 ERA and 144 strikeouts in 194 2/3 innings, earning an All-Star Game appearance and finishing second to Bryce Harper in Rookie of the Year voting.
In 2014, he went a pedestrian 8-12 with a 4.34 ERA and a 0.87 WAR (wins above replacement), bring his career WAR to 5.6.
You can check out his full statistical history here via Baseball Reference.
3. A Scout Described Miley as a ‘Soft-Throwing’ Lefty Like Mark Buehrle
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Miley, a native of Hammond, Louisiana who pitched collegiately at Southeastern Louisiana, was drafted by the Diamondbacks with the 48th overall pick in the 2008 amateur draft. He made his Major League debut on August 20, 2011, giving up 5 runs in 4 innings and taking the loss in an 8-1 defeat at Atlanta.
Comcast Sportsnet New England’s Sean McAdam tweeted this report from a National League scout:
NL exec’s scouting report on Miley: “Soft-throwing lefty, kind of like Buehrle, gets ground balls. Pretty good middle-rotation guy.”
As the Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham points out, Miley won’t become a free agent until after the 2017 season.
Miley may not be perceived as a huge get. But a pitcher under control for 3 years who can throw 200 innings is what they need.
WEEI.com’s Alex Speier had this breakdown and analysis of Miley’s numbers and his potential use in Boston:
He’s thrown at least 194 innings in each of the last three seasons, performing at a level described by one evaluator as a solid No. 4. He’s struck out 7.0 per nine innings in his career, including a career-high 8.4 per nine innings in 2014, though after posting ERAs of 3.33 and 3.54 in 2012 and 2013, Miley had a 4.34 ERA last season.
That said, his numbers were made worse by a putrid Diamondbacks defense, and he’s also spent his career in one of the more difficult home pitching environments in the game. While he is not being viewed by the Sox as a potential top-of-the-rotation replacement for Jon Lester, his career track record suggests a potentially stabilizing rotation presence.
4. The Jon Lester Signing Started a Domino Effect
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Once Lester, the former Sox ace who led the team to two World Series titles over the past seven years, signed with the Cubs, Boston and other teams who had been involved in the Lester sweepstakes started to make other moves.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, another one of Lester’s suitors, sent infielder Dee Gordon and veteran righty Dan Harren to the Marlins for a package of prospects that included star-in-the-making lefty Andrew Heaney.
Boston was engaged in negotiations with Arizona throughout the day before completing the deal after 10 p.m. Eastern time.
5. The Red Sox Likely Aren’t Done Making Deals
Yoenis Cespedes is on the trading block as the Red Sox try to rebuild their starting rotation after a last-place finish. (Getty)
Boston still has a surplus of outfielders and is likely to move at least one of them in exchange for additional pitching.
The most likely scenario involves trading Yoenis Cespedes, who the Sox acquired at the trade deadline for Lester. The Sox outfield is crowded with free agent signee Hanley Ramirez, Cuban signee Rusney Castillo, top prospect Mookie Betts. Allen Craig and Shane Victorino.
Abraham points out that the Sox also have a bit of a logjam of Quadruple-A-type starting pitchers — a list that includes Anthony Ranaudo and Matt Barnes, among others.
De La Rosa and Webster are in the bag of “almost but not quite” MLB starters the Sox have. Some of them have to go.