Inside The Red Sox

Red Sox Make Trade With Royals To Bolster Bullpen Depth At Halfway Point

Boston adds another bullpen option

Scott Neville

Red Sox Make Trade With Royals To Bolster Bullpen Depth At Halfway Point
Red Sox Make Trade With Royals To Bolster Bullpen Depth At Halfway Point /
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Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has always been a strong proponent of adding pitching depth throughout the season and has done so once again.

Earlier in the season, Bloom added left-hander Brennan Bernardino and right-hander Justin Garza -- both of whom have contributed to the bullpen this season.

The Red Sox traded for Kansas City Royals right-handed reliever Andrés Núñez on Tuesday according to the Major League Baseball transaction wire. Boston's return has not been released but given the return, it's almost certainly just cash or a low-level player to be named later.

Núñez posted a 6.66 ERA with a 20-to-14 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .289 batting average against and a 1.73 WHIP in 24 1/3 innings this season for Triple-A Omaha. 

Those numbers are less-than-encouraging but his performance last season was far better. The 27-year-old recorded a 3.61 ERA with a 69-to-17 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .266 batting average against and 1.30 WHIP in 62 1/3 innings. 

The move comes just a few days after Bloom added right-hander Tyler Scott from the Los Angeles Dodgers and assigned him to Triple-A Worcester. 

Both Scott and Núñez will have the chance to prove themselves as reliable back-end options when the bullpen inevitably needs new life down the road. 

While neither is super impressive on paper, all it takes is one hot streak for a reliever to become an important weapon for Boston as they attempt to climb into postseason contention. 

More MLB: Alex Cora Addresses Red Sox Slugger's Comments About Desiring Trade

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Scott Neville
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

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