Will James Norwood be the latest Phillies pitcher to thrive with the Red Sox?
The Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox made an under-the-radar trade over the weekend, sending reliever James Norwood up north in exchange for cash considerations.
In the immediate future, Phillies fans will be glad to see Norwood off the team, as the 28-year-old righty struggled to hold down the fort in key moments. Over 17 1/3 innings of work, he allowed 16 earned runs. 12 of his 20 appearances were scoreless, but the Phillies went 1-7 in the games in which he allowed runs.
However, once the initial relief of not having to panic through his appearances subsides, Norwood may turn out to be another trade regret.
Did he give up too many walks and runs? Absolutely. Does he have one of the fastest splitters in baseball? Also yes. If the Sox can harness the best parts of Norwood’s repertoire – which includes some great chase and whiff rates – Phillies fans will sour on this deal faster than milk left out in the summer sun.
Recent trade history isn’t in the Phillies’ favor, either. Fans will recall another transaction between these two teams that yielded drastically different results. In 2020, the Phillies dealt Nick Pivetta and pitching prospect Connor Seabold to the Sox in exchange for relievers Heath Hembree and Brandon Workman. Workman had been excellent in 2019, posting a 1.88 ERA over 73 appearances, and only allowing one home run all season. The 2020 season was so short that at the time of the trade, he’d only made seven appearances for Boston, but with six games finished and four saves, the Phillies were hoping he’d replicate his 2019 magic with them.
Instead, he allowed 10 earned runs in 13 innings.
Hembree turned out even worse, though expectations for him were markedly lower; he allowed 13 earned runs in just 9 1/3 innings for the Phillies. By the time free agency rolled around that fall, the Phillies were glad to usher them out the door and slam it shut.
Meanwhile, Pivetta continues to thrive in Boston. This season, he has a 3.31 ERA over his first 14 starts, including the second complete game of his career (he threw one with the Phillies in 2019). After struggling through his first few starts of the season, he has a 1.77 ERA over his last nine games and opposing batters are hitting .163 against him. According to Sox media relations, his excellence lately puts him in elite company:
"“The only other Red Sox in the last 50 years to throw 60+ innings, strike out 60+ batters, and post an ERA that low in a 9-start span are Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens, Chris Sale & Jon Lester.”"
To translate that from Philly to Boston, he’s pitching like Steve Carlton, Robin Roberts, Cole Hamels, and Jim Bunning. It’s a far cry from his Phillies tenure, when he posted a 5.50 ERA over 92 games.
Seabold is also thriving. Like Pivetta, he made his most recent start on Sunday, down in Triple-A Worcester. Over 50 2/3 innings this season, he has a 1.95 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and 49 strikeouts. He made a one-game debut with the big-league club in 2021, and will probably get back up there at some point this season.
The Phillies were certainly smarter this time around, accepting cash considerations for Norwood instead of questionable players, but it will reflect quite poorly on the organization if the Sox can transform another one of their castoffs. Last season, Pivetta essentially confirmed that he’s improved because he’s with an organization that knows how to win. The fact that he’s pitching even better since dropping that truth bomb only adds fuel to the fire.
If the Sox work the same magic with Norwood that they did with Pivetta, the Phillies really only have themselves to blame. Every struggling player who finds success when they leave Philadelphia only strengthens the hypothesis that the call is coming from inside the house.