Red Sox Make Trade with Rays

With the Red Sox reporting to Spring Training, the Boston Red Sox made a trade Wednesday morning, February 17th with their division rivals, the Tampa Bay Rays.

Boston acquired catcher Ronaldo Hernández and minor league infielder Nick Sogard from the Tampa Bay Rays, in exchange for left-handed pitcher Jeffrey Springs, right-handed pitcher Chris Mazza, and cash considerations.

In addition, to Red Sox placed catcher Kevin Plawecki on the COVID-19 Related Injured List.

Hernández, 23, was ranked by Baseball America as the Rays’ top catching prospect, as well as the organization’s No. 13 prospect overall. The right-handed hitter split the 2020 season between Tampa Bay’s taxi squad and the club’s Alternate Training Site, after advancing to the High-A level in 2019. In 333 career minor league games, he has hit .293 (373-for-1,271) with 41 home runs and an .802 OPS. In 253 games at catcher, Hernández has thrown out 120 of 260 (46.2%) runners attempting to steal.

Sogard, 23, was selected by the Rays in the 12^th round of the 2019 June Draft out of Loyola Marymount University. The switch-hitter played in 63 games for Short-A Hudson Valley that season, batting .290 (62-for-214) with a .405 on-base percentage, 39 walks, and 20 stolen bases.

Springs, 28, made his Red Sox debut last season after being acquired from the Texas Rangers on January 15, 2020, in exchange for first baseman Sam Travis. In 16 relief appearances, the left-hander went 0-2 with a 7.08 ERA (16 ER/20.1 IP).

Mazza, 31, made nine appearances (six starts) over three major league stints with the Red Sox in 2020, his first season in the organization. The right-hander went 1-2 with a 4.80 ERA (16 ER/30.0 IP), 29 strikeouts, and a .288 opponent batting average.

You can hear Red Sox spring training games on AM 1370 WDEA beginning Sunday, February 28th and the 162 game regular season starting on April 1st.