SB Nation - Hunter Jones

Red Sox Acquire Jeremy Hermida

Tommy Bennett — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:56:08 -0000

The Red Sox have acquired outfielder and former first-round pick (11th overall) Jeremy Hermida from the Florida Marlins. In return, the Marlins will receive two minor league southpaws: Hunter Jones and Jose Alvarez.

Hermida has frustrated Marlins fans during his four full seasons in South Florida. Take a look at his WAR totals for each of his years in the major league, including his 2005 cup of coffee:

Year	WAR
2005	0.6
2006	-0.7
2007	2.7
2008	0.1
2009	0.3

Aside from his strong 2007, Hermida is only slightly above replacement level. He is certainly a below-average corner outfielder. What did the Red Sox give up to acquire such a dubious asset?

Hunter Jones is the more advanced of the two prospects, and will likely compete for a bullpen job in the spring. He will be 26 years old next season. According to MinorLeagueSplits.com, Jones had an equivalent FIP of 5.72 this past season in 53 innings out of the bullpen at Triple-A Pawtucket. He walked 4.1 batters per nine innings and struck out just 6.6 per nine. He is a lefty, and the results from 2008 were stronger (50.2 IP, 50 K, 14 BB). In 12.2 major league innings, he struck out 9 and walked 7.

Jose Alvarez split time between class-A affiliates in Lowell (MA) and Salem (VA) this season. Cumulatively, he tossed 107.2 innings as he pitched both out of the bullpen and in the rotation. His major league equivalent FIP between the two clubs was 5.11. In those 107.2 innings, he struck out 74 and walked 16. He has the virtue of generating more ground balls than fly balls.

Overall, this is a deal that reflects the major league needs of the two clubs. Hermida, in his second year of arbitration, is set to get a raise from the $2.25 million he earned in 2009. Given that he is unlikely to produce more than one win, especially coming off the bench, his surplus value is close to zero.

Neither of the prospects the Marlins received in return are set to be world-beaters, but each could provide some league average innings out of the bullpen down the road.

Jeremy Hermida traded to Red Sox for two prospects

Eli Greenspan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:05:45 -0000

More photos » by Matt York - AP

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The Red Sox have acquired outfielder Jeremy Hermida from the Marlins in exchange for left-handers Hunter Jones and Jose Alvarez.

Hermida, a former first round pick back in 2002, hit .258 with 13 home runs this past season.

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Jeremy Hermida	129	429	48	111	14	2	13	47	56	101	5	2	.259	.348	.392

Hermida has struggled to stay healthy in the past, but played in 129 games in 2009 and hopefully his injury-prone days are behind.

However, it is no certainty the Red Sox hold on to Hermida all off season, as they could move him in another trade in the coming weeks.

Jose Alvarez, 20, went 9-4 with a 2.26 ERA in Single-A this past season.

Jeremy Hermida Traded

craig — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:38:10 -0000

The Marlins traded Jeremy Hermida to the Boston Red Sox for two left handed pitchers.

The Boston Red Sox today acquired outfielder Jeremy Hermida from the Florida Marlins in exchange for left-handed pitchers Hunter Jones and Jose Alvarez.

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Jones, 25, made his Major League debut with Boston in 2009 and appeared in 11 games in relief. The left-hander posted a 9.24 ERA (13 ER/12.2 IP) with the Red Sox, compiling nine strikeouts. In 36 relief outings with Triple-A Pawtucket, he was 4-3 with two saves and a 4.25 ERA (25 ER/53.0 IP). Signed by the Red Sox as a non-drafted free agent on July 23, 2005, Jones went 22-14 with 22 saves and a 3.09 ERA (116 ER/338.0 IP) in 178 career minor league games (six starts) in the Boston organization.

The 20-year-old Alvarez combined to go 9-4 with a 2.26 ERA (27 ER/107.2 IP) and 74 strikeouts compared to 16 walks in 26 games (12 starts) between Single-A Salem and Short-A Lowell in 2009. He led the New York-Penn League with a 1.52 ERA (14 ER/83.0 IP) while recording eight wins over 14 outings (12 starts) with Lowell. Signed by the Red Sox as a non-drafted free agent on July 2, 2005, the left-hander has compiled a 23-15 record and a 3.21 ERA (116 ER/325.2 IP) in 76 career minor league appearances (48 starts) in the Red Sox system.

The trading of Hermida comes as no shock. During Hermida's time with the Marlins he never lived up to what he was anticipated to be as a player. At one time Hermida was considered the second best prospect in all of baseball, however that didn't blossom the way the Marlins hoped it would. But being ranked as the second best prospect in baseball always means you have trade value because there is always some club, somewhere, who will be willing to take the chance that you are a late bloomer. And maybe that is the case, who knows. We will see.

This leaves the right field door wide open and the Marlins have more than enough quality outfielders to fill the bill. On the surface this is good news for the prospects of the Marlins retaining the services of Cody Ross.

More on this later, since to be honest, I need to look up the new guys.

Yanks remind critics who the real team to beat is, batter Boston 9-5 in series opener

CrazyYankeeChick — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 05:08:47 -0000

More photos » by Paul J. Bereswill - AP

ARod regards Alex Gonzalez quizzically, after swiping his 3rd base of the night: "Are you actually really trying to sell this tag?"

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For the last few days, all I've been hearing about is how afraid we should all be. How very afraid. Our pitching is billed, as usual, as questionable. The Red Sox are billed, as usual, as the indestructible wild card.

Talk is cheap. This year's Yankees aren't cutting corners to sneak wins in. They're where they are not because of any one player, but because they adapt their game based on the challenges they face. Our team demonstrated that tonight when they left Boston reeling with an unrelenting attack that barely gave their division rivals a chance to come up for air.

It took me about 4 innings to realize what was going on with the pitching performances. Joba Chamberlain and his unprecedented unpredictability were zipping through innings with such economic deftness that I was starting to think he either had a date waiting for him, or just really needed to use the bathroom. Conversely, Jon Lester was uncharacteristically awkward, uncomfortable, and stilted. I think it's pretty obvious what happened here...

Other game notes:

Michael Kay waited a whole 3 innings before he broke out the "perfect game" jinx. My Red Sox buddy noted this and texted me: "I almost feel bad for Yankee fans. Girardi should just pull him now."

Though I wasn't listening to the 880 broadcast, I can only imagine the rampant application of "You know, you just can't figure baseball" observations from Sterling, once Lester was literally knocked out of the game from a screaming liner off the bat of Melky Cabrera, into the knee cap of RSN's noble ace. But it was the reaction of posters on the game thread that really struck me: immediate, unqualified concern for Lester spilled out in droves. Indeed, we truly have the best fans in baseball.

Pitching lines for the night:

Joba--6 IP, 5H, 3R, 5K, 1BB

Lester--2.1 IP, 8H, 5R, 3K, 3BB

If I hadn't seen the game and read that in the next day's paper, I'd honestly think the writer accidentally flipped the names.

Bullpen lines for the night:

Yanks--2.3 IP, 3H, 2R, 3K, 2BB

Sox--5.2 IP, 6H, 4R, 5K, 6BB

You gotta give our pen credit; they've been the subject of an unfaltering dismissal of their legitimacy for what seems like forever. And like ARod's non-clutch reputation, this preconceived notion becomes less and less substantiated with every game.

Jonathan Albaladejo (still can't spell that right in one try) gave the Sox their only respite of the night, giving up 2 runs in about 45 seconds of work. Alfredo Aceves, Damaso Marte, Phil Hughes, and Phil Coke were all remarkably effective out of the pen. I guess old habits die hard. Even with Joba going 6, everyone under the kitchen sink was brought in to fill in the remaining innings. I'm not complaining--I think Girardi handled it perfectly. (Did I just actually say that?)

Boston's bullpen is like a freaking clown car at a circus. I really thought I had seen all of em during the 15-inning marathon last month. But tonight, some guy named Hunter Jones relieves Lester, then Michael Bowden after that. My sister texts me, "Who ARE these pitchers? Did they Jorge Bogey? That sounds like a name dad would make up. Like 'Yeah Frank Staboonch is coming in next.'" (Jorge Bogey=Michael Bowden)

Stat of the night: Yankee batters saw 213 PITCHES. This is one of my proudest moments of the season. Lester threw 78 pitches in less than 3 innings. Joba threw 86 in 6 innings. Unbelievable.

2nd best stat of the night: 7 STOLEN BASES. In 7 tries, off Jason Varitek. The most SBs in a game since they stole 8 in 1996. (At what point is "stolen base" no longer an automatic cue to cut to Dave Roberts reels?) They never stopped running, and the Sox were constantly left scrambling on defense.

The Sox offense was spotty, at best. Their only highlights were a solo shot from Victor Martinez (to "break up" Joba's perfecto, just like Kay wanted) and a 2-run bomb from David Ortiz (who's the king of meaningless homeruns now, RSN?)

No element of their game was underplayed. The pitching was tremendous, the running game was extraordinary, defense tight as always, and offense was overwhelming. 14 hits, only 1 of which was a long ball (the record-breaking 127th ding of the year was off the bat of Alex Rodriguez, who went 3-for-3 with 4 RBIs). The Yankees manufactured runs all. game. It was like they never stopped to look at the score, just put their heads down, hit, got on base, and kept going. The Sox never knew what hit 'em.

No one who watched that game can say that this meant nothing. I've been seeing them play all season, and this showing even took me by surprise. They chased one of the best pitchers in the league, they asphyxiated one of the best line-ups in the league. They exploited the Sox's weaknesses, and maybe tomorrow, people will be less quick to lionize Boston, and more inclined to recognize how strikingly stalwart the 2009 Yankees really are.

-CYC

First Half Minors Recap Part 1: Pawtucket and Portland

Ben Buchanan — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:00:22 -0000

Portland Sea Dog and top prospect Lars Anderson's slow start has headlined an up-and-down Sea Dogs lineup. Via i225.photobucket.com

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The end of June marks the halfway point in the season for the upper levels of the minor leagues, and the starting point of short-season ball. For the A-level teams (Salem and Greenville), it also represents a fresh start, as the records are reset and the team with the best record to that point is granted a post-season berth. As significant a milestone as this is, it makes sense to use it as a time to look back at the season thus far, and for teams like the Lowell Spinners and GCL Red Sox, the season to come.

At the top of the Red Sox farm system, the Pawtucket Red Sox has been all about the pitching. Filled primarily with insurance guys who would play in case of injuries in the main club, the lineup is solid but largely uninteresting. Early backups Chris Carter and Jeff Bailey provided mostly frustration for Sox fans, and Aaron Bates is a relatively recent addition. The rotation and bullpen, on the other hand, have stolen the show.

Though their torrid starts have slowed some, Clay Buchholz and Michael Bowden have done everything and more to prove they are ready for the big leagues—particularly Buchholz, whose complete game 1-hitter has highlighted a dominant season. Clay sports a 1.93 ERA, a .172 batting average against, and a 69:22 K:BB ratio which is actually marred by his last 3 games, over which he's given up 10 bases on balls. Bowden, though at first putting up better numbers than even Buchholz, has been brought back to Earth by a 4 inning, 6-run effort to start June off, and a 1 inning disaster giving up six earned runs again. Still, a 3.26 ERA is nothing to sneeze at.

The bullpen has been an unsung treasure for Pawtucket. While the big name in Daniel Bard has left to find his place in the crowded Boston bullpen, he leaves behind a ridiculous 29 strikeouts in 16 innings—one of them immaculate—and a 1.13 ERA.

Picking up the slack are a pair of journeymen castoffs from the Baltimore Orioles in Fernando Cabrera and Rocky Cherry. Cherry's 24:17 K:BB ratio in 33 innings and his WHIP of 1.29 suggest his 1.35 ERA is somewhat lucky, but Cabrera has been nothing but impressive. After struggling with control last year, Cabrera has only walked 11 in 32 innings while striking out 33. His 19 hits bring his WHIP up to a paltry .94.

Other notables in the pen are Hunter Jones, who had an unimpressive stint with Boston during Daisuke's first DL trip, and Javier Lopez who seemed to fall off a cliff after an impressive 2008 campaign and has had trouble even in AAA.

Unfortunately for Pawtucket, the experienced lineup and impressive pitching hasn't quite got them in the postseason yet, sitting 4.5 games back of the perennial powerhouse Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, and a game back in the wild card race.

If Pawtucket is the system's pitching powerhouse, than Portland is where you'll find the offense. Josh Reddick, Lars Anderson, and Ryan Kalish are all top-10 prospects in the system with Anderson leading the way, and catcher Mark Wagner has been having a spectacular year offensively and defensively. But where everything seems to be going right for Wagner, the other 3 have all faced growing pains.

Lars Anderson was mired in a well-documented slump resulting in a particularly bad May (.194/.318/.376), and while he seems to've come out of it somewhat in June, his numbers have dipped again somewhat and he's not really outperforming his April numbers by that much. Josh Reddick got off to a fantastic start, clobbering 6 home runs in April en route to a line of .288/.358/.644, but missed all of may with an injury and hasn't found his groove yet. He's yet to hit another home run, and is only hitting .239/.255/.304 on the month. Ryan Kalish is also seeing depressed numbers after a fantastic start. Never really a big-power guy, Kalish put on a show in 32 games in Salem,hitting 5 home runs in 32 games and accruing a .504 slugging percentage. Kalish experienced the typical post-promotion slump, and managed an OPS of only .445 while striking out in around 30% of his plate appearances with Portland in May. Kalish has showed significant signs of improvement, however, posting a .738 OPS in June with a .355 OBP, striking out only 5 times so far.

Wagner has also hit something of a road bump in June, which could be considered regression to the mean for him. A .321/.371/.434 line is by no means disappointing for the month, though, and Wagner still appears to be on the fast track to AAA. The former pitcher is also still throwing out about 70% of base stealers.

Other notables in Portland's lineup include Jorge Jimenez, who has returned to Earth somewhat after a stellar April, Bubba Bell who was recently promoted to Pawtucket, and Argenis Diaz who is in the middle of a very disappointing season and not showing any signs of coming out of it.

The pitching staff in Portland is limited to essentially 2 names: Junichi Tazawa and Felix Doubront. Though both are currently on the DL, these appear to be phantom injuries basically intended to rest the pair for a week or so. Tazawa is currently sporting a 2.92 ERA after getting off to a slow start against the more advanced MiLB competition, and seems to be less walk-happy than a certain countryman of his, keeping his BB/9 below 3 while striking out a tad unde 9 per. Tazawa's ceiling is still questionable, but as of right now there's no reason not to think he can pitch in the majors some day.

Doubront has managed to survive and eke out a 3.19 ERA despite 50 hits and 23 walks in 53 innings. A high strikeout total has contributed to that likely as much as a 1.26 GO:AO ratio, as has a relatively low home run count of 4. Whether he can keep it up or not is definitely in question.

The lack of consistency in the lineup, as well as mediocre contributions from most of the rotation and bullpen has led the Sea Dogs to a 32-36 record, 6.5 games back of the division-leading Connecticut defenders. It seems they're unlikely to improve on it, too, with one of their best batters, Aaron Bates, having been promoted and with Mark Wagner not far behind. Even Tazawa might not be too far from a Pawtucket trip depending on the fates of Buchholz and Bowden. Then again, the big names in the lineup will hopefully not be held down for long, and a resurgent offense could be enough.

Game Story: Ellsbury Steals Home.

Allen Chace — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 03:33:37 -0000

More photos » by Winslow Townson - AP

Some other stuff happened, but who the F cares? Above, Ellsbury f'n steals home. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

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Jacoby Ellsbury steals home.

Masterson, Jones, Bowden, and Saito all got it done on the pitching end.

Jacoby Ellsbury steals home.

Jacoby Ellsbury

steals home.