Say what you want about the Boston Red Sox's activity at the MLB trade deadline. But you can't fault Craig Breslow for sitting on the sidelines.
The Red Sox chief baseball officer completed a total of five trades before 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday, acquiring four pitchers (two starters and two relievers) and a catcher while parting with a host of prospects.
Here's a quick recap of Boston's moves:
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So, what should we make of this five-player haul? Did Breslow and the front office do enough to help a team that sits two games out of the final American League Wild Card spot as of Wednesday morning?
Here's a roundup of expert grades for Boston's moves at the deadline:
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Jim Bowden, The Athletic: C+
"The acquisition of Danny Jansen helps the Red Sox against left-handed pitching and in game-calling," Bowden wrote. "The deal for Quinn Priester was a nice under-the-radar move and a worthwhile gamble, especially considering pitching coach Andrew Bailey’s ability to help pitchers maximize their potential.
The Red Sox improved their bullpen depth with Lucas Sims and Luis García, but didn’t do enough to catch the Orioles or Yankees.
Bradford Doolittle and David Schoenfield, ESPN
- Priester trade: C
- Jansen trade: C+
- Paxton trade: C-
"This is a trade of former top-100 prospects ... although neither has quite taken off since then," McDaniel wrote of the Priester trade. "... The Red Sox have done well with pitchers who don't live and die on four-seam fastballs up in the zone, so maybe they see something they can work with here."
"Jansen has a .671 OPS this season and .733 for his career -- he has slumped badly over the past few weeks but given his track record, you like his chances to outperform what Boston could expect from (Reese) McGuire," Doolittle wrote of the Jansen trade.
"Paxton's walk rate is also at a career nadir because he is unwilling to work in the strike zone with the diminished stuff. Or maybe it's his command but, either way -- it's not good," Doolittle wrote of the Paxton trade. " ... That said, Paxton is a familiar face and the Red Sox should know what they're getting."
Zachary D. Rymer, Bleacher Report
- Garcia trade: C
- Sims trade: B
"García can only help (the Red Sox's struggling bullpen), and he's even coming to Boston on a hot streak. He's yielded only two earned runs over his last 14 appearances, amounting to a 1.15 ERA," Rymer wrote of the Garcia trade. "The 37-year-old veteran doesn't have much swing-and-miss in his profile, however, and that's a talent which is unfortunately in short supply in Boston's pen. He's also on an expiring contract, so it's wild that the Angels were able to get four players back for him."
"Into this mix walks Sims, who comes with some volatility of his own by way of a career walk rate of 4.6 per nine innings. His saving grace is that he's hard to square up, and especially now that his average exit velocity is a career-low 86.1 mph," Rymer wrote of the Sims trade. "As Sims is also capable of making batters swing and miss, there's upside here for Boston if Craig Breslow and (pitching coach) Andrew Bailey can figure out the righty's control issues. But they'd better hurry, as the 30-year-old is an impending free agent."
Dan Treacy, Sporting News
- Garcia trade: B-
- Sims trade: C
"Garcia is a fine addition for the Red Sox," Treacy wrote of the Garcia trade. "He's pitched in October with the Padres and has a 3.64 ERA over the last four seasons. It's just probably not enough to push Boston over the top, considering no major moves were made.:
"Sims has been a fine piece of the Reds' bullpen for the last two years, though his 4.88 FIP this season indicates regression might be ahead," Treacy wrote of the Sims trade. "The Reds didn't have much use for Sims in the final two months of his contract, so picking up a pure lottery ticket in the 19-year-old Bido, who has pitched well in the low levels of the minors this season, is nice work."