Ex-Red Sox Hurler Shipped To Padres To Join Xander Bogaerts For Playoff Push

Boston will have to watch a pair of old Red Sox players team up out West

Scott Neville | Aug 1, 2023

Ex-Red Sox Hurler Shipped To Padres To Join Xander Bogaerts For Playoff Push /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox have done very little to appear in headlines at Tuesday's Major League Baseball Trade Deadline but there are some former players that have taken center stage.

Detroit Tigers left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez might be the best pitcher available Tuesday but he's not the only former Red Sox starter on the move.

"The San Diego Padres are finalizing a trade to acquire left-handed starter Rich Hill and first baseman Ji-Man Choi from the Pittsburgh Pirates," according to ESPN's Jeff Passan on Tuesday.

Hill has a 4.76 ERA with a 104-to-47 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .272 batting average against and a 1.48 WHIP in 119 innings across 22 starts.

The 43-year-old is far from a frontline starter at this age but will eat innings for the Padres pitching staff, who need just about everything to go right if they want to make a final push.

San Diego sits 8 1/2 games back in the National League West and five games back of a Wild Card spot. It's plausible that the Friars jump into the mix for the latter but they need to play better in close games.

The Padres were largely considered favorites to make the postseason again after a notable offseason headlined by poaching shortstop Xander Bogaerts from the Red Sox during the Winter Meetings -- which San Diego hosted.

Boston has less ground to make up but sits in a similar position despite much lower expectations.

More MLB: Red Sox Fan-Favorite Outfielder Surprisingly Placed On Trade Block

Published Aug 1, 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