The Mets have traded infielder Zack Short to the Red Sox in exchange for cash, the teams announced Wednesday. Boston had an open spot on the 40-man roster and didn’t need to make a corresponding move. New York designated Short for assignment five days ago when adding veteran designated hitter J.D. Martinez to the roster. Short is out of minor league options, so he’ll head right to the Red Sox’ big league roster.
Short, 28, was a 17th-round pick by the Cubs back in 2016 and has played in parts of four big league seasons: 2021-23 with the Tigers and 2024 with the Mets. He’s a career .172/.266/.304 hitter in the big leagues and carries a .224/.357/.400 slash in 1017 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. Short is regarded as a sound defender at all three infield positions to the left of first base and has also had brief looks in the outfield in his professional career — mostly coming in the minors.
Boston’s infield situation has been in flux for much of the season after shortstop Trevor Story required season-ending shoulder surgery following an injury sustained on a diving stop in the field. Center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela has shifted into the infield and is taking on the everyday shortstop role. The Sox have given the lion’s share of playing time at second base to Enmanuel Valdez, but he’s hitting just .151/.183/.256 in 94 trips to the plate.
Utilityman Pablo Reyes has seen time at both middle infield spots but was recently designated for assignment after turning in a meager .183/.234/.217 slash in 64 plate appearances. Offseason acquisition Vaughn Grissom was expected to be reinstated from the injured list yesterday and take the reins at second base, but an illness has extended his season-long IL stint a bit further.
Short will take up a utility role, perhaps platooning with the left-handed-hitting Valdez at second base if Grissom needs to miss much more time. He doesn’t have especially strong numbers against southpaws but did hit .273/.406/.352 against them in 2022 and .236/.323/.382 in 2023.
Grissom got the flu and Red Sox
Got someone to replace you.
While Sale is Sailing in the ATL!
Actually the Red Sox starting pitching has been beyond belief, which makes missing Sale a little less drastic. So far, they have managed without him. And who knows how long Sale can stay on the mound (as we could say for any starting pitcher these days.)
Sale is sailing? he’s got a 3.75 era. He’s been fine at best.
acel – Now 3.44 with a 0.955 WHIP. and he’s 4th in K’s and Top Ten in Innings Pitched.
So far it’s looking like a horrendous trade, but time will tell. It will be a while before we know if Grissom was worth it.
Fever – the other question coloring things here is would Sale have *wanted* to extend a deal with Boston?
There was plenty for him to dislike that he saw happen I’m his time there, and, as much as a lot of it was actions by bloom, the brass kept that status quo going far longer than it should’ve.
Unless I hear anything to suggest sale would’ve taken a similar extension, we really have to compare value for value: this one season of Sale vs whatever Grissom provides over the next six?
You’re basing this on less than a half a season. Something tells me even if Grissom is just a contact hitter with slightly below average defense, the remaining 5 1/2 years of control will beat one season of Sale who likely would never have produced these results in Boston because he needed a fresh start.
If you expect sale to keep that up that’s fine but I wouldn’t count on it and as others have said one year of maybe a healthy sale vs 5 of grissom if he even hits 80% of his projections is well worth it. It’s WAY too early to call this a horrendous trade.
If the price was right Sale would have stayed and the brass and bloom hardly did him dirty. They weren’t the ones who made him ride his bike when he flipped over the rales or got hit by a line drive at yankee stadium.
I think the qualifier is key, ‘if the price was right…’
I don’t think boston gets close to the same terms Atlanta got. What do I base that on? Well, for one thing how sale saw veterans (mis)treated after dombrowski himself was (mis)treated.
From Dave’s firing to how the.mookie/price deal went, how Bogey was treated, how the team wasn’t supported at the deadlines, how clubhouse leaders like both catchers were traded and how that was handled by the front office towards the clubhouse, all the way down to how the perception is about the brass’ priorities not laying with the red sox, so on so forth. The players have given plenty of quotes in the aggregate over those things, not all sale’s quotes mind you, but, I dont see him as being a pro-management stooge in the clubhouse either. He’s always been a solid player-side guy. If you were to get to have a candid conversation off the record and he opened up fully, I dont think sale would have great things to say past 2019.
Sale is nearing the end of his career and he knows it. He wanted to play competitive ball and have a shot at a ring, and, the deal he made with Atlanta gave him that. He had no need to do the extension with ATL except that motivation – I don’t see it as being on the table in boston at that price given all that he watched through the years.
and the sox would be foolish to have given him the contract ATL gave him.. Regardless everything you said in your second paragraph has nothing to do with Sale directly nor does it hint that he wanted to leave. In fact he expressed regret for how he played.
Sale had every reason to do that extension with ATL based on his injury history alone and had far far less to do with competitive ball than financial security he could get. One could make the counter argument that he’s won a WS and he has nothing left to prove on that front.
One could even easier make the argument that sale made a TON of money and financial security was the least of his problems.
Reminder:
Old deal was 27.5m in 2024, vesting option of 20m in 2025.
New deal is 16m in 2024, 22m in 2025, and a $0 buyout on an $18m team option in 2026.
His career to date prior to the extension was over $200m per bref.
GASox – I would hope the Sox would have picked up the 2025 option at $20M if they had kept him, but I doubt they would have extended him beyond that unless his demands were really, really low.
I’m just thinking if Story hadn’t gotten hurt, having Rafaela at 2B and Sale in the rotation and $38.5M saved from the Gio signing would have been a LOT better.
Let’s see how the starting rotation does the next month against the Twins, Braves, Brewers and Orioles.
snarl – We are just evaluating the trade as of right now, not making predictions.
It’s impossible to gauge how Grissom will perform, even the Braves didn’t have a handle on that.
It’s actually 2 seasons in Boston, his Red Sox contract included a $20M team option for next year. Quite reasonable considering Gio would be getting $19.25M.
The fresh start would have occurred with Bailey and Breslow and Boddy. Hard to argue that assumption when looking at how they have turned Whitlock, Pivetta, Houck and Crawford into dominant pitchers (perhaps Bello too).
GASox – You don’t believe the fact he’s pitched only 151 innings over the past 4 years has slowed the pace of wear and tear on his arm enough to pitch effectively for at least 4 more years?
See Rich Hill as Exhibit A on how not pitching for extended periods of time can lengthen a career.
GASox – FWIW Sale has expressed regret in how the Sox got virtually no value from his extension.
Whether that means he would have accepted a below market extension with the Sox, who knows.
I don’t believe he can stay healthy and Chris sale isn’t getting Rich hill kind of money.
Agree assuming grissom is legit and based opinions of anthopolis the sox brass and others in the game..this kid is the real deal..trading what was 1 year of sale who was mia all the time for us could be a great move especially since he is being outperformed by everyone on our starting staff…fpg seems to always be so negative.but this a deal tht hopefully if sale stays healthy..i know big if..is a win win
We have plenty of guys like him taking up roster spots already. We need ones that can actually HIT.
I think budget is a concern there.
This guy basically replaces Reyes, perhaps with better glove.
When grissom needed a few more days the club needed to do something.
But, if he’s headed straight to the mlb roster you still need a 26-man move even if the 40-man was open…
Right, because there are more expensive options out there that the team is ignoring in making this move. Some of you around here are so fixated on what the team spends on salaries that’s all you’re capable of seeing in any move the team makes. Seek help.
Breslow used to be the Cubs Minor League Director. Short used to be a Cubs prospect. Fade Out…..
Breslow was on the pitching side of Cubs minor and major leagues. Not sure Short became a pitcher but I don’t want facts to ruin your narrative.
And I’m sure Breslow was kept in a closet all those years and had no idea whatsoever that the Cubs even had position players. They kept him in a dungeon so he had no clue at all. Idiotic statement.
That’s one-sided thinking right there. If I have David Ortiz, and he’s my announcer talking about pitching, should I just disregard everything he’s said because he’s a lifetime DH? There’s no logic in that.
@kingken that’s because the front office seems so fixiated on salary, as most front offices are. Is that really so strange?
GASox – Speaking of budget, I’d really like your thoughts on the outside audit being conducted on the Sox operations. You always have a fantastic perspective.
My thoughts? Breslow made it perfectly clear how much the baseball ops has grown under Bloom. It’s obviously a very bloated front office, and as someone who is very familiar with the corporate world when you hire consults to review and provide feedback on inefficiencies it’s typically to reduce payroll by letting go unnecessary staff.
Even though it’s often done when exploring a sale, I won’t go that far. I think this is just the Sox looking to boost the bottom line by trimming the fat …. like are all 4 Assistant GM’s really necessary? Is there too much analytical data being provided that is not of any use? I would almost guarantee there are several people that will be pointed at and asked “What exactly do you do here? What value do you provide?”
Fever – I think your last sentence *will* happen, quite a bit in fact
I think the audit is a great way to accomplish the task he wants to do more quickly and with better outcome. And, I think this about sums the problem up for you:
When breslow was hired, it had been LESS than 12 years since Theo Epstein ran the show. It feels like forever, but, you had Epstein, Cherington, Dombrowski, Bloom, and Breslow all five guys were in charge of things within a single 12 year period. Epstein left halloween of 2011. Breslow was hired the 25th of 2023. Think about that turnover.
That’s a lot of guys who were let go each of whom put their own little changes, expansions, reorganizations of reporting structure and workflow/data flow, created new departments, new organizational strategies, and shifted priorities.
Then, as you allude to, the red sox command structure takes a lot of keeping track of and guesswork even among people who have followed the team closely for decades. It’s pretty bloated, and, the way departments were set up, who reports to who, who knows what, I dont think since Theo that anyone actually was around long enough to really dig deep and streamline operations. If you changed who reported to who, can there be more shared effort that makes a better end product?
Add to that fact he probably wants to see how the money is getting spent, where maybe more effort needs to happen. It’s easy to say xyz department is funded $250k/yr… but is that just going to 2 guys? Is there not enough brainpower/labor hours going into one task area, too much to another?
I didn’t always do what I last did for work. There was a time when I both set up new work locations and went in to revamp underperforming ones. And, yeah, what breslow is having an outside entity do is a far better idea and more efficient than doing it yourself because it’s both much faster when you get to an organization the size of the red sox, and, you’ve got to remember this company is familiar with different ways different sports entities have done things. That means they can bring more ideas for improvement to the table, and let Breslow choose between alternatives.
Where I disagree with you is that it’s just a cost cutting tool to boost the bottom line.
What I think is going on is three goals to come of the audit:
1) streamline operations for Purpose A: My guess is there are additional front office initiatives Breslow wants, and, he was told he can do some of them but he needs to find the savings to fund them, that there is no blank check to spend even more on front office staff. That’s where cutting the fat you speak of likely comes in.
2) streamline operations for Purpose B: in my earlier worklife, a clear example would’ve been it made no sense to have inventory and warehouse organization/management under two different people who also reported to different people. Far more efficient for them to work together and to make a streamlined operation/product. It flowed more smoothly, less duplicated effort or guys doing things that slowed stuff down for eachother. With 4 AGMs it’s VERY likely plenty of self contained areas exist that would work better reorganized.
3) simply put, to find new ways to do things in some areas. That may be areas that have large budgets but overpay people to a point where there’s few man hours of effort compared to cost. That could be new processes, entirely new initiatives like boddy and Bailey bring. It could even be guys putting their fingers in areas they don’t belong.
I’m all for it, if you couldn’t tell.
GASox – Fantastic post as I had expected, thank you!
My understanding is Bloom was most responsible for drastically increasing the headcount, especially in the Analytics department. Obviously Breslow already has a lot on his plate, so hiring consultants makes sense because he simply doesn’t have time to get involved in an audit. Also when the changes/pinkslips do come, it’s the consultants who will justify them and attract most of the backlash.
Let’s face it, and I’m sure you’ve seen this in the corporate world, quite often employees get entrenched in their positions simply because of their long tenure. Perfect example is Febles, he was with the Sox for 17 years. But clearly he sucked as a 3B coach and infield coach. So between keeping longtime employees because of loyalty and personal relationships, and all the new hires including DEI (please nobody turn this into a political discussion LOL) the headcount soared.
So bottom line, yeah I agree with you that it’s probably a good thing …. but I don’t expect any team-related benefit from it, I think it will strictly help reduce headcount/payroll by increasing administrative efficiencies. I had heard months ago they would be shifting away from the over-reliance on analytics, which should help eliminate some of the hundreds of analytics workers currently employed, but John Henry has always been so fixated with data-driven decisionmaking that I’m skeptical there will be much change in that area.
Remember Carmine back in the day? LOL
Blue light special baby…. I nhave ver dreamed this once proud franchise would sink so low
Like all franchises, the Red Sox have historically had there highs and lows.
They were terrible in the 1950s and early 1960s because they were the last MLB club to integrate.
Let me ask u something which bursts that little bubble i keep seeing many throw as for why some teams had bad periods during a certain time.
Was the US military weak, because it also refused to integrate and when it did kept both in seperate areas (fighting and support systems)?
Once I, as well as the entire world gets anything, other than a mumbled and rambled response to that question. Why the most powerful fighting force the world has (and had) ever seen was put together dueing the 1940’s thru 1950’s?
Take away the racism is responsible for everything evil which ever happened, or everything which might happen in the future to anyone.. Period.
Some of us grew tired of hearing that line 50y ago. Any YES, we did agree with the Great Dr King, but have his words ever been so greatly perverted.
@johnsilver Woodrow Wilson, a leader of the Progressive Movement instituted Jim Crow into the military and was a Democrat.
So I ask you why do people of color still vote for Progressive Democrats?
God Bless Sir
How is any of your hostility and political rambling relevant to the Red Sox and when they stunk?
And “some of us?” Speak for yourself.
It’s just a fact that they were the last team to integrate their roster, and there was a direct correlation between the teams savvy enough to quickly tap into the deeper pool of available talent and success on the field from circa 1958 through the 1960s.
There also is a direct connection between, for example, nobody batting .400 since Ted Williams or breaking Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak since 1941 and the integration of MLB because expanding the pool from which talent is selected in any endeavor always raises the quality of the top performers.
In this case, the quality of pitching went up after 1947.
None of this has to with racism or the military, but rather simple physical and sociological facts.
Whatever your problem is, please keep the anger and hostility to yourself.
So many factors you’re leaving out to “prove” your point. The Arsenal of Democracy was built on vastly larger amounts of military spending than other countries could afford, and had a larger population of young men to choose from as well. Your analogy of an army being the same as a baseball team is wrong because the segregated armies contributed to the total war effort while the whites only team, like the Sox, did not get contributions from black players (or coaches, management or staff either).
I’m sorry you’ve been triggered by racial disparities for 50 years, but maybe some introspection is needed because if anyone is perverting the words of Dr. King, who was pro integration and anti military – at least in the context of the Vietnam War, it is you.
Nah baron, what it has to do with is some just can post without dropping that filthy “racism” crap. Ur one of the worst for hinting, or downright accusing others of it.
Why do u think this country is at each other now? The divideer in chief, begining in ’09 promised to heal the nation and started this tirade. Now it’s everywhere.
it keeps up and it literally WILL be what the newest bollywood flop movie.
Why can’t everyone get along, rather than rehashing things I am certin 75% of them have no idea happened? i was alive then, but am certain the goofs see protesting were not born during the 60’s.
who is inciting this? Uh hu.. What i thought..
@johnsilver: Nobody brought it up before you.
What an ignorant, uneducated dolt. Just like a loyal Trump Republican.
Do you really feel that Woodrow Wilson is representative of the current Democratic party, or that Lincoln is still representative of Republicans? Things change over time.
Blue Baron is right on the money and it is hilarious but predictable that John Silver is out here defending the Red Sox for not integrating (and obliquely defending segregation in the military).
To answer your questions, John, yes. The military was definitely weaker than it could have been if they were integrated. This should be obvious. When you have the best people doing their best and working together regardless of race, you are better off than if you separated everyone by race and denigrated one of those groups.
And the fact that the Red Sox took years to integrate had a very direct and obvious effect on the quality of baseball they were putting on the field. How dare you invoke MLK to say otherwise. Fool.
@Blue Baron…. Only once in the 1950’s was Red Sox payroll in the top 3rd.. That year they won 84 games. They were indeed the last team to integrate. Being on average in the lower half of payroll MLB wide, probably contributed to their lackluster finishes as well.
I disagree. Payroll disparities then were not a significant factor and not what they have been since the abolition of the reserve system.
It goes deeper than integration but true to form, Baron can’t think deeper.
Scouting, development, having their best player miss considerable time to the Korean War (and seeing full combat) had something to do with their lack of success. You conveniently forget the 1940’s the Red Sox were hit hard by the war. Once the war was over they were back battling for the AL division.
Although you did open yourself to ridicule over your outlook on life, I stuck with baseball to teach you something you know nothing about.
As usual, all you do is criticize and put people on the defensive.
Thinking deeply or not isn’t your issue. Thinking at all is the problem for you, troll.
That you think you know anything about anything is totally amazing.
It’s an early season acquisition for depth. Every team does this.
What happened to Zack Tall?
harambe – Zack is at The Max with Slater and Screech.
Fever, I would’ve said he was hospitalized after seeing Jessie do Showgirls and not realizing he chased the wrong girl all those years, but….
Ha, Short Red Sox
The Sox got the Short end of this deal!
No, the Mets got the short end of the deal by DFAing Short instead of Joey ‘The Indefensible Defensive Replacement’ Wendle.. Joey blows.
mets – Remember back in the day when tall women like Susan Anton were attracted to short men like Dudley Moore.
My have times changed.
Wow
Madoff Mets always up to mischief. Now they’re selling short.
I’ll trust Cohen’s number crunching over anything I read on the internet.
Talk about a Short tenure with the Mets
Between Bailey Horn and Jack Short we have loaded up on a lack of talent and at next to no cost. Is Bloom back?
I don’t understand why such a move is necessary. I’m sure we have plenty of glove only sub .200 hitters in our system already. In fact, several of them are currently starting with the big club.
Actually none with good defensive profiles. Fits the bill as a backup. Smart move actually. Thinking Mayer if he keeps hitting could move to Worcester by end of June then who knows late August you see if ready. Will depend on how he acclimated he gets with AAA pitching.
Exactly. No team is going to add a younger player to the 40-man roster in a spot they feel they will eventually need for a better player later when they can make a move like this one. If Mayer or someone else who will likely occupy a 40-man roster spot longer term becomes a viable option later on Short is entirely expendable then and can be DFAed. Meanwhile he provides some insurance for the IF for a team that has had way more injuries throughout the team than they would have expected.
With Story out for the season, Zack is likely Boston’s best defensive SS. That provides value.
should’ve given them Wendle as a bogo
Zach Short will probably surprise Red Sox fans. He seemed like he was just starting to hit when the Tigers simply had no room for him. If Javy wasn’t there, he’d probably be a regular at SS for the Tigers this season. I’d rather have him than Javy.
Compare his numbers last year to Javy’s. In a lot fewer at bats, his numbers weren’t far off, and he’s $25MM cheaper.
Mets signed Mike Brosseau to a minor league deal. I’m guessing for when Acura gets the call up.
FULL THROTTLE
ah yes the same douchy comment made by the same person.
Hi Mrs. Werner!
hey mr. INCEL!
What an odd response
not really.
Truly, you have a dizzying intellect.
Truly, you lack a form of intellect if all you can do is post full throttle on every sox article.
*any
Can I suggest taking up another hobby besides getting mad at a stranger on MLBTR?
Could I suggest you actually get a hobby that doesn’t involve projection onto strangers on a message boards or maybe learn some clever comebacks?
I thought this funny.
Well I’m not quite sure what the Red Sox are doing, but since they lead the league in ERA but have given up a bunch of unearned runs, a guy who can actually use the leather might be kind of handy(pun intended).
Hey, it’s not how I would be running the team, but at 18-13, you can’t argue with the results thus far.
I’m not sure the Sox have had positive WAR at 2B since Pedroia left
This guy is basically a bench option to replace Reyes. A career 28 points below the Mendoza line doesn’t instill confidence. They DFA’d Reyes to make room for Cooper and sent Valdez down presumably so he can play every day and develop there. They still have to figure out what to do with Dalbec. That decision was postponed when Cooper got hit. The day of reckoning for Dalbec is coming.
I think dalbec is what you saw the last couple days: a backup, defensive replacement, or guy for crunch off-days.
Dalbec came off the bench for Cooper, but, didn’t get an AB, and, didn’t hit again yesterday.
Including the off day that’s 3 days without taking a competitive at bat.
If there was much of a plan for him looking forward, you would’ve seen him at least taking a PH or getting some DH time in.