Red Sox Swing Trade With Giants To Bolster Bullpen For Playoff Run

Boston is starting to buy at the deadline

Scott Neville | Jul 27, 2023

Red Sox Swing Trade With Giants To Bolster Bullpen For Playoff Run /

In this story:

The Boston Red Sox have made their second trade in as many days, this time adding to the big-league roster as opposed to taking from it.

The Red Sox upgraded their bullpen late Wednesday night.

"Red Sox make a minor trade," MassLive's Chris Cotillo reported. "Red Sox acquired right-handed pitcher Mauricio Llovera from the San Francisco Giants, in exchange for minor league right-handed pitcher Marques Johnson. Kaleb Ort to 60-day injured list to clear a 40-man spot."

Llovera must be added to the Red Sox's big-league roster because he is out of options, placing Joe Jacques on the hot seat. It's likely that he will be optioned to Triple-A Worcester prior to Friday's game.

The 27-year-old Llovera has spent most of his season in Triple-A Sacramento but has logged 5 1/3 innings for the Giants this season with one run allowed.

The right-hander had a 3.92 ERA with a 24-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .211 batting average against and 1.06 WHIP in 20 2/3 innings for Triple-A Sacramento. If you can look past the middling ERA, his overall numbers are promising.

Llovera has a two-pitch mix that features a sinker that averages 95.9 mph and a slider that averages 83 mph and has a 20% whiff rate. He throws them at a near 50/50 rate.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom stressed his desire to acquire players with multiple years of team control. Llovera is still in pre-arbitration, which certainly fits Bloom's vision.

Llovera will have a chance to face the team who just shipped him off right away, as the Red Sox begin a three-game set over the weekend with the Giants in Oracle Park.

As for Johnson, he had a 6.55 ERA with a 43-to-24 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .242 batting average against and 1.60 WHIP in 34 1/3 innings for Low-A Salem this season after being drafted in the 11th round of the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft. He did appear to be turning his season around as of late but was not close to being deemed a top prospect.

More MLB: Chaim Bloom's Latest Comments Imply Big Moves Are Coming To Bolster Roster

Published Jul 27, 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