The Boston Red Sox landed their man on Monday and addressed a growing need for bullpen help. The Red Sox struck a deal with the New York Mets to acquire relief pitcher Addison Reed for prospects Jamie Callahan, Gerson Bautista and Stephen Nogosek. The New York Post's Joel Sherman first reported the sides were nearing a deal.
In Reed, Boston acquires a right-handed reliever who will perfectly fill in with the team's need. Closer Craig Kimbrel is neuarly a virtual lock to end the game when he enters in a save situation, but the set-up relievers in front of him left plenty to be desired and kept Boston exposed in some of the later innings.
Reed dominated out of the bullpen for the Mets this season. Across 49 innings pitched, the 28-year-old southpaw posted a 2.57 ERA and 3.15 FIP, but his great season goes beyond that.
Of the 200 batters Reed faced this season with New York, only three percent of them drew a walk and he averaged nearly a strikeout per inning on the year. Reed's 21 percent K-BB rate makes him just one of 26 relievers with 40-plus innings that has a 21-plus percent K-BB rate. When Jeurys Familia missed time with a suspension and later surgery, Reed stepped into the closer's role and converted 19-of-21 save opportunities.
Reed's numbers versus left-handed hitters are nearly identical to his splits versus right-handed hitters, with sub-.300 wOBA and .260 BA allowed by Reed to hitters from either side of the plate.
An impending free agent, New York did a nice job landing a solid return for Reed. New York took advantage of the market and landed three solid prospects for the rental.
Nogosek is the headliner of the deal, though Callahan and Bautista are both well-regarded prospects. Nogosek, a 22-year-old, right-handed pitcher, is ranked as Boston's 18th-best prospect by MLB Pipeline in their mid-season update.
It's a jump up for the righty after he earned a promotion to High-A Salem after he dominated in A-ball. The relief prospect pitched 35 1/3 innings in A-ball and limited opposing hitters to a .191 batting average and kept his ERA down to 2.55 He showed the ability to miss plenty of bats with a 32.1 percent strikeout rate and walked 7.9 percent of the batters faced.
The jump up to High-A competition, challenged the righty as you would expect. His 60-grade fastball and 55-grade slider and cutter show plenty of promise, especially for their continued ability to miss bats, demonstrated by his 23.7 percent strikeout rate. But a lack of consistent command (13.2 percent walk rate) and a slight rise in batting average allowed to .234, led to more runs and a 4.08 ERA
Overall, he shows promise as a potential late-inning reliever that could develop into a set-up man if the command further develops given his fastball and ability to miss bats.
Callahan entered MLB Pipeline's mid-season update as the 23rd-best prospect in Boston's farm system. Like Nogosek, Callahan is a fellow right-handed relief pitcher
The 22-year-old doesn't have the four-pitch repertoire to match Nogosek, but he drew some 60-level grades for his fastball and a 55-grade cutter. But command remained a major issue for Callahan and it caused the former starting pitcher to be shifted to the bullpen in 2015.
He started the year in High-A, where he showed no signs of command issues. Across 13 innings pitched, the righty struck out 20 and didn't surrendered a walk to any of the 47 batters faced. It represented a sign of progress and given his 0.16 FIP and 1.18 xFIP, he earned a promotion to Triple-A Pawtucket.
While Callahan continues to miss bats at an impressive rate with a 28.6 percent strikeout percentage, he carries a 10-plus percent walk percentage for the second year in a row. 13 walks allowed in 29 innings is a concerning number and when opponents combine to hit .250 off of you, it shouldn't come as a surprise when your ERA is over four.
He still offers nice potential as a reliever, though he might not quite have the upside of Nogosek. But these two alone still give New York potentially two future relievers who would be under cheap, team control for years to come if they develop.
Bautista, 22, is a compelling right-handed prospect with a 70-grade fastball that immediately catches your eyes. It's the type of pitch that makes you think of the next flame-throwing closer that everyone in baseball loves. But like with the other two relief prospects, command is a consistent issue for him.
At the High-A level this season, Bautista walked 12.7 percent of the batters he faced and it's alarming when your K-BB rate sits at 11.4 percent. Meanwhile, opponents hit .286 off of Bautista and with the walks contributed to a 1.81 WHIP. The upside is clearly there, but he is the biggest risk/reward prospect in the return.