Diamondbacks Ink Deal With Ex-Red Sox Catcher Acquired In Chaim Bloom Era

Boston swung and missed on the backstop years ago

Scott Neville | Dec 20, 2023

Diamondbacks Ink Deal With Ex-Red Sox Catcher Acquired In Chaim Bloom Era /

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The latest Boston Red Sox departure cements one of former chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom's trades as a disappointment.

The move was seen at the time as a swift move to acquire a prospect with a lot of potential coming off a down year but it turned into a significant loss for the Red Sox.

Now, the top player acquired in the aforementioned deal is moving on after failing to find a role in Boston.

"Catcher Ronaldo Hernández has signed a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks, per source," ESPN's Kiley McDaniel wrote Wednesday. "Deal comes with a spring training invite. Hernandez played in the Red Sox upper minors for 2021-23 and hit 50 home runs over those three seasons."

Hernández was acquired by Bloom alongside shortstop Nick Sogard from the Tampa Bay Rays for left-hander Jeffrey Springs, right-hander Chris Mazza and cash ahead of the 2021 season.

At the time, Hernández's stock was plummeting but he was regarded as a top-50 Major League Baseball prospect just two seasons prior. It was seen as a wise buy-low investment at the time.

Springs, the other "headliner" in the deal -- had a 6.66 ERA in 52 2/3 innings with the Red Sox.

Since then, however, Springs has posted a 2.53 ERA (150 ERA+) with a 231-to-49 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .211 batting average against and a 1.03 WHIP in 196 innings across three seasons.

Hernández spent a few days on the Red Sox's big-league roster but never appeared in a game for Boston.

Now he'll have to prove himself in the Diamondbacks organization as he looks to find a role with the National League champions.

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Published Dec 20, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu