Red Sox Acquire Pitcher In Early-Offseason Trade With Mariners

Newly hired Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow pulled off his first offseason move since joining Boston’s front office.

On Friday night, the Red Sox were on the clock to make a decision. Either maintain infielder Luis Urías by the tender deadline or part ways. Through an early offseason swap with the Mariners, Boston put an end to Urías’ Red Sox run at 32 games.

Boston acquired right-handed relief pitcher Isaiah Campbell from Seattle in a straight-up trade for Urías, per team announcement. The 26-year-old debuted last season, recording a 4-1 record with a 2.83 ERA over the course of 28 2/3 innings with the Mariners after getting called up in July.

Considering the current state of Boston’s depth chart, the move doesn’t come as much of a surprise.

Urías, 26, was Boston’s lone trade deadline acquisition under then-chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom. With Boston, he batted .225/.361/.337 with two home runs and 13 RBIs, playing in 32 games with the Red Sox.

However, with the infield being a relatively stacked department in Boston’s roster following the end of the season, departing from Urías made sense. Pablo Reyes, Enmanuel Valdez, David Hamilton and even Ceddanne Rafaela are all capable of playing second base and more.

Before ending up in Boston, Urías put together a breakout year with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2021, blasting a career-best 23 home runs with 75 RBIs in 150 games — the last 120-plus-game campaign from Urías.

Meanwhile, Campbell joins an encouraging Red Sox bullpen unit.