Red Sox and Yankees swing rare trade

*Photo from NJ.com*

   The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees have agreed to a trade together, something that doesn't happen very often between the two archrivals. The Red Sox have acquired RHP Adam Ottavino and pitching prospect Frank German from the Yankees in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations, according to Lindsey Adler of The Athletic. The Yankees are also sending $850,000 to the Red Sox to cover Ottavino's salary. The deal has been confirmed by both teams.

   Ottavino had a decent year in 2020, pitching to a 2-3 record with a 5.89 ERA, striking out 25 hitters in 18 1/3 innings pitched across 24 relief appearances for the Yankees. One horrible outing against the Blue Jays is the reason Ottavino's ERA was so high, take that outing away and it would be 2.98 instead. In Ottavino's career, he has a 25-28 record with a 3.53 ERA, throwing 497 2/3 innings across 463 appearances, 3 of which were starts, in his 10 seasons. 

   Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom said of adding Ottavino that "This was a move where we felt we were able to address a number of different objectives. We acquired Adam Ottavino, who is a veteran reliever who has had a lot of success, success in our division, has swing-and-miss stuff that plays against everyone, and especially right-handed hitters. There’s a lot of right-handed hitters in our division and more that seem to keep joining it."

   The Red Sox and Yankees haven't swung a trade together since 2014, when the Red Sox sent IF Stephen Drew to the Yankees in exchange for IF Kelly Johnson. This is also just the 3rd time they've traded together since 1997, when Boston sent Mike Stanley to New York for a package centered around Tony Armas Jr, who was later traded for Boston legend Pedro Martinez. 

   Bloom talked about his thoughts on trading with the Yankees, saying that "I know it’s the Yankees, and I understand what that means. It’s the most storied rivalry in sports. It's part of what makes the history of this organization so great, is getting to lock horns with those guys on a regular basis. But if we’re not willing to do something that helps us because it helps them, or worse, if we’re worried it might not go as we expect and it blows up in our face and we look bad, then we’re just playing scared, and we’re not going to play scared."

   The very small return for the Yankees screams salary dump, as the Yankees have reportedly been looking to add another player or two to the roster, but were unable to without surpassing the $210 million luxury tax threshold. Trading away Ottavino and the $11 million remaining on his contract would allow the Yankees to add to the roster further without going over the threshold.

   Ottavino will join the back end of the Red Sox bullpen, although he may not get the chance to close games, with Matt Barnes and Ryan Brasier already in the mix, as both have closed games in their career, though Barnes has done it more frequently at the major league level then Brasier. Austin Brice, Josh Taylor, and Darwinzon Hernandez also figure to get high leverage innings along with Ottavino.

   The Red Sox have made a series of moves in the last week, signing starting pitchers Martin Perez and Garrett Richards, and signing super utility man Enrique Hernandez to fill a hole in the outfield and at second base. The Red Sox are also still in touch with free agent outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr as they try to further add to the outfield depth.