The Boston Red Sox are in a total free fall. Once thought to be a competitor for the division, they have slipped to .500. Currently, they are in last place in the American League East. The Milwaukee Brewers, on the on the other hand, are in first place of the National League Central. They are presumably looking to buy ahead of the trade deadline on August 2. Due to their free-fall, the Red Sox are rumored to be looking to trade away some of the expiring contracts for prospects. This became apparent in Boston’s recent lackluster effort and play in a blowout loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Toronto Blue Jays vs Boston Red Sox in a nutshell pic.twitter.com/Oky95EdJnJ
— BackGoesUpton (@backgoesupton) July 25, 2022
A Trade Proposal the Would Bring JD Martinez to the Brewers
One of the biggest names on the current Boston Red Sox roster is designated hitter J.D. Martinez. He is certainly a moveable piece. Martinez is in the final year of a five-year $110 million contract he signed with the Red Sox back in 2018. He has certainly been worth the money, earning a trip to the All-Star Game in four of the five seasons (and there was no All-Star Game in 2020). This season, he is hitting .299/.367/.477 with nine home runs and 38 RBI.
A recent trade proposal that was published suggested that the Brewers and Red Sox engage in a trade that would bring J.D. Martinez to Milwaukee. In return, the Brewers would send Ethan Small and Freddy Zamora to the Red Sox. According to the author:
“The Brewers would give up an MLB ready pitcher in Ethan Small, who would be able to slot into Boston’s rotation or bullpen, both of which have been struggles for Boston this season. The Brewers would also trade 2020 draft pick Freddy Zamora.”
Related: The Brewers reportedly have offers on the table for Josh Bell and Andrew Benintendi
Evaluating the Trade
To be clear: I love Ethan Small. I think that he is going to be an excellent starting pitcher on the Major League level. However, I disagree with the notion that he is “MLB ready.” In his second career start, Small went 3.2 innings, allowed three runs on four hits, while walking four and striking out three. He spoke to reporters after the game, and was very honest regarding his performance:
Ethan Small sums up his second MLB start: pic.twitter.com/8zM9NSotQq
— Todd Rosiak (@Todd_Rosiak) July 27, 2022
Aside from liking Ethan Small, there is one problem with the proposed trade: the Brewers would be overpaying quite a bit for just three months of J.D. Drew. According to the site Baseball Trade Values, Martinez has a median trade value of 1.7, while Small has a value of 4.5 and Zamora 2.6. That being said, the site’s analysis of the trade stated: “Although one side of this trade is giving up more than they should, there is still a reasonable probability it would be accepted if each team’s needs are met.”
Related: The Brewers are open to trading Omar Narvaez and Kolten Wong before deadline
I ran the same trade through the simulator. I did, though, take out Ethan Small and made it a transaction that exchanged Freddy Zamora for Martinez straight up. The analysis of this trade stated “This appears to be a fair trade proposal for each team.
If the Brewers want Martinez, they have the prospects to get it done. If Boston wants a pitcher along with Zamora in order to complete the deal, that is fine. However, it doesn’t have to be (and shouldn’t be) Ethan Small.
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