The Red Sox and Phillies have explored a deal that would send lefty reliever Antonio Bastardo to Boston in exchange for prospect Sean Coyle, CSNNE.com’s Sean McAdam reports. SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo reported earlier today that the two sides were talking about such a trade, though it was unclear if the discussions were still ongoing.
Bastardo has a 3.36 ERA, 2.61 K/BB rate and an 11.6 K/9 in 216 2/3 IP out of the Philadelphia bullpen over the last four seasons. He’s been almost as equally effective against right-handed batters (holding them to a career .664 OPS) as he has against left-handed batters (career .621 OPS), though control has been an issue, as evidenced by his career 4.3 BB/9.
Coyle, a third-round pick in the 2010 draft, has played mostly second base in his career but saw a bit of action at third last season. He’s shown a lot of pop in his pro career, with a .258/.344/.458 slash line over 1622 minor league PA, none above the Double-A level. Baseball America ranked Coyle as the 30th-best prospect in Boston’s system prior to the 2014 season.
