Phillies Have Possibly Lost Red Sox as a Trade Partner

Phillies General Manager Matt Klentak may have lost an opportunity to trade one of his best assets.

The Boston Red Sox, who have been reportedly scouting Jeremy Hellickson, struck a major deal that could affect how Klentak approaches this months’ trade deadline.

According to multiple reports, Boston has acquired promising young left-hander Drew Pomeranz from the San Diego Padres.

In exchange, the Red Sox will send one of their top prospects to the west coast.

Anderson Espinoza, who is ranked by Baseball America as the 15th best prospect in baseball, will be the lone compensation for San Diego, a team that went on a spending spree not that long ago.

In three appearances at Fenway, Pomeranz has held opponents to a .231 batting average.

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Pomeranz was drafted fifth overall by the Cleveland Indians in 2010, but was subsequently traded to the Colorado Rockies in the Ubaldo Jimenez deal. Two years later, he was shipped off to Oakland for veteran pitcher Brett Anderson.

Finally, he reached San Diego in the Yonder Alonso trade nearly a year after going to Oakland.

Needless to say, he’s bounced around a lot in his short career.

Now, what does this trade mean for the Phillies? A lot, actually. The Red Sox and Phillies were actively scouting each other in the hopes of sending Jeremy Hellickson to Boston for a mid-level prospect.

While Hellickson would have certainly been the cheaper option for Boston, they instead get a young pitcher making very little money, and under contract until 2019.

Ruben Amaro, who is now the first base coach in Boston, always said pitching wins championships. While that may not have turned out to be true, Boston could still use the depth and swing a deal with the Phillies.

Another team to watch at the deadline will be the Texas Rangers, who will need pitching, catching, and outfielder depth to continue their run; something the Phillies have a lot of. Reuniting either Carlos Ruiz or Cameron Rupp with Cole Hamels in Texas, along with Hellickson, makes too much sense not to happen.