he Boston Red Sox completed an interesting trade on Thursday.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan was first to report the club had acquired right-hander Johan Oviedo, left-hander Tyler Samaniego and catcher Adonys Guzman in exchange for outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia and right-hander Jesus Travieso in a multi-player deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Oviedo is the headliner, with many believing he could compete for a spot in the middle of the rotation next season, but what about the other two guys who made the trek from Pittsburgh to Boston?
Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow gave his thoughts on both of them in an interview with MassLive’s Chris Cotillo on Friday.
“Samaniego is someone that we believe can help us in the near-term,” Breslow said. “He’s got a deep mix against left-handed hitters and has consistently gotten them out at a high clip. He’s also got a (good enough) fastball to hold his own vs (righties). The underlying stuff and performance is strong, and we’re excited about his continued development.
“Guzman is somebody we liked as an amateur with a strong defensive profile, good swing decisions and good bat-to-ball skills. He’s somebody we think can thrive in our development system.”
Samaniego, 26, has a 3.82 ERA across five minor league seasons stretching between Low-A and Double-A — while striking out 182 total batters.
Guzman, 22, played collegiately at both Arizona and Boston College, where he combined to slash .294/.396/.409 with 10 home runs and 68 RBIs.
