Red Sox trade Heath Hembree, Brandon Workman to Phillies
98.5 The Sports Hub staff report
The Red Sox officially started their offloading process ahead of the Aug. 31 trade deadline on Friday night, sending relievers Heath Hembree and Brandon Workman to the Phillies in exchange for pitchers Nick Pivetta and Connor Seabold.
Workman, who compiled a career-best 16 saves last year, had four saves and a 4.05 ERA in 6.2 innings of work with the Red Sox this season, while Hembree posted a 2-0 record and 5.59 ERA in 11 appearances with Boston in 2020.
Red Sox front office head Chaim Bloom believes they’re getting a starter in Pivetta, who has been absolutely hammered this season for three home runs and 10 earned runs in 5.2 innings, based on his past track record (71 starts from 2017-2019).
“[Pivetta]’s a big, physical power pitcher,” Bloom said in a post-trade Zoom call. “He’s got a really good fastball, good breaking ball, he also has a changeup. A guy that’s shown the ability to carry a starter’s workload and a lot of the underlying traits that show the potential for a lot more success than he’s enjoyed in terms of his results.”
Seabold, meanwhile, comes to the Sox organization after compiling a 4-2 record and 2.24 ERA in 56.1 innings of work in the Phillies minor league pipeline. Seabold was a third-round pick of the Phillies back in 2017.
The Red Sox won their third straight game Friday, too, defeating the Orioles by an 8-5 final.
