Red Sox acquire Thornburg for Shaw, Dubon, Pennington

Well, KLaw likes it for Sox: www.espn.com/blog/keith-law/insider/post?id=5988

I now feel a small somewhat better.

I understand the back-and-forth on the trade value. That's typical and, since these are prospects and projection is involved, understandable. I would only ask that we stop pretending Marco Hernandez doesn't exist. To my mind he's a better bench bat than Dubon because the latter has a better glove at short and may actually have a better bat and starter potential - though that's not a given. Hernandez has carried an OPS > .780 in AA/AAA over the last two years himself. He is no stiff. It would be higher but he hardly walks at all, though that may be changing given his AAA and ML numbers. He's got some pop, just turned 24, and even has a major league track record. I also like his swing and his size a lot, so I'm biased.

This looks to be Dombrowski's MO, a gambler in a nice suit who throws a lot of chips on the table. Two big ifs: if Carson Smith is anywhere near what he was in Seattle, and if Thornburg has really broken out, he will have won this pot. I'm not a Shaw fan, though he was certainly good to have on the bench. He's only adequate defensively and he's so up-and-down with the bat he makes me seasick. Pennington is so far off I can hardly make him out. Dubon was the big piece here. That's the Brewer's end of the stakes, and that may be a winning hand real soon.

I think this is a good trade. we gave up some prospects and Dubon was in line to be a super-sub, but we have coverage for him anyway. Pennington has a chance to be a very good pitcher. shaw looked like he was on the way out anyway because of how he performed in the late season. Thornburg showed in his brief closing that he can be plugged into that spot if Kimbrel falters. some are claiming that he was traded for to make a sweeter deal for Sale. Why would that be when a set-up man was wanted by DB coming into the Winter Meetings. that would be stuid to turn around and trade him. I see that there are some on this board that are ready to jump off the cliff, but i am interested in how they approach the International signings now that the Sox are over their penalty. that is where the value will be determined IMO.

I've been one of the bigger fans of Shaw and I believe he will be a good player for Milwaukee. He probably had the greatest opportunity he ever was going to get with the Sox this past season and he did not perform to the level necessary to be a regular in Boston. I think he is replaceable. Dubon could be a regular for Milwaukee but almost surely not one for the Sox. Pennington, as many have said, is just a lottery ticket at this point. The Sox needed another shut-down RP and they got one.

Overall, I think it is a fair deal for both sides. The Sox gave up depth to fill a critical need. Thus, the team has been improved without significant cost.

I hav no idea about this. I don't mind Shaw. I love Travis. I think we have a ton of 3b in minors. My binky was Pennington. I thought he was a steal in the draft. Dubon I gonna miss also. I hope DD knows this guy. We're supplying the league with our guys lol.

I think this opens up Sam Travis more. Even though he doesn't play 3b but it shows they must be high on him. We'll see. I don't know why we couldn't just buy a reliever. Please hold on to the top prospects. I believe in Devers.

I notice that a lot of the naysayers are saying that he is an injury risk. You could say that about any pitcher on any other team. Isn't it possible that the players that the Sox traded could have injuries too?? they needed a set-up man and got one. the free agents were too high price and they had to go the trade route to get what they wanted. all trades are a risk no matter what. to shoot this down before any evaluation can be made is just silly. Prospects are used for trades...that is just a fact. some are developed to be major leaguers and hopefully the braintrust can see which ones will be the future of the team. team control means so mjuch more now than in the past and is used as a tool to make trades such as this. I would suggest the nervous nellies to calm down have a nice Johnny Walker Red and watch next year to see if it was worth it or not.

This is a forum and people post their opinions. Just because you like it or want to wait and see that's fine also. We don't need to calm down when DD has a history of trading the top prospects so getting another Pomeranz for a Moncada will not sit well.

Says who?

What? He pretty much says Thornburgs changeup is non existent when in fact it's his best pitch easily. This article doesn't even make sense

However I do like the trade as it opens up trading other pieces in the bullpen (Barnes or Kelly) with someone else for an impact bat at DH, or anything. We now have a glut of RH power pitching in relief.

Red Sox are strong in on Sale at Rosenthal; does anyone believe the Red Sox won't get fleeced again?