The Boston Red Sox traded from an area of depth Monday to address an area of need.
The Red Sox traded starter Wade Miley and minor league pitcher Jonathan Aro to the Seattle Mariners, according to multiple reports. Boston reportedly acquired reliever Carson Smith and starter Roenis Elias in the four-player deal.
Ken Davidoff of the New York Post was the first to report that a deal had been reached. Davidoff’s colleague, Joel Sherman, later reported the specifics of the trade.
The Mariners are adding some stability to their rotation by acquiring Miley, who has pitched at least 193 2/3 innings each of the last four seasons. The left-hander went 11-11 with a 4.46 ERA in 32 starts in his lone season with the Red Sox after being acquired last winter from the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Seattle paid a big price to pry Miley away from Boston. Smith, who turned 26 in October, was very good in 2015, posting a 2.31 ERA, a 1.01 WHIP and a 2.12 FIP in 70 relief appearances spanning 70 innings. The right-hander also saved 13 games and struck out 11.8 batters per nine innings.
Elias is no slouch, either. The 27-year-old right-hander went 5-8 with a 4.14 ERA in 22 appearances (20 starts) last season after going 10-12 with a 3.85 ERA in 29 starts in his rookie campaign in 2014.
Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Friday at David Price’s introductory press conference that the organization was going to the Major League Baseball winter meetings with an open mind. The Sox had five starters — Miley, Clay Buchholz, Rick Porcello, Joe Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez — vying for four spots in the rotation behind Price, so a trade seemed logical.
Boston’s bullpen now looks very formidable with Smith, Koji Uehara and Junichi Tazawa setting up for All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel, who was acquired from the San Diego Padres a few weeks ago.
UPDATE (4:05 p.m. ET): The Boston Red Sox announced the trade. As expected, it is a two-for-two swap of Wade Miley and Jonathan Aro for Carson Smith and Roenis Elias.
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
