UPDATE: Theo on the trade: “It was a chance to get a guy with unfulfilled potential for a reasonable cost.” The Red Sox consider Hermida an average defender in either left or right field. (MLBTR)
The Red Sox have acquired Florida Marlins outfielder Jeremy Hermida for lefty pitchers Hunter Jones and Jose Alvarez.
Hermida, 25, has been long on potential after being the 11th pick in the 2002 draft. However, with injuries and no “leap forward,” he was a liability to the club at a 2009 $2.25 million salary, sure to rise in arbitration.
Hermida is far from a lost cause despite his trade value apparently being a bunch of generic left-handers. (Okay, Alvarez has some promise, but he’s a long shot.) In 2007, he hit .296/.369/.501 with 18 home runs in 123 games. This past year, he checked in at .259/.348/.392. What you can’t take away from him is his obvious ability to draw a walk, and now it’s just time to tap his power potential, which he’s already flashed. Can Boston arrest his declining power?
This is not the first time Hermida has been involved in Red Sox trade talks. Back when Manny Ramirez was traded, a couple rumors had Hermida going to either the Red Sox or Pirates. (A little more history: In 2005, Hermida gained some notoriety for hitting a grand slam in his first major league at-bat.)
Hermida is very unlikely to be a starting outfielder for the Boston club next year, but he’s solid depth in case things go awry. Only turning 26, the potential is there for him to realize what made him said 11th pick in the draft.
He’s a left-handed bat, and he has a rather steep platoon split over his career: .792 OPS against right-handers, .697 against lefties. This past season, his OPS was .786 against righties and .601 against lefties. Even if he never learns how to hit left-handed pitching, this guy is very capable of being our brand new Trot Nixon. And that’s not shabby: Nixon was just named the Red Sox’s right-fielder of the decade.
If Hermida opens the season as a starting outfielder (even if it’s in a platoon situation), it will signal that Boston views 2010 as a transitional year; a year that the team can compete, but not at a high level.
For those who want to go for the jugular and compete, that will be disappointing. Without dealing in those possibles, I’ll tell you why I like this deal: I’m thrilled at his upside. He easily becomes Boston’s best young outfielder. At this point, I’d rate him higher than Josh Reddick on a theoretical prospect list. What Reddick has going for him that Hermida doesn’t, though, is age and options.
If he serves off the bench, he will be a very capable outfielder with a chance to start in the years to come. One cause for concern: Hermida has only minimal major league experience in left- and center-field, making me wonder about the long-term ramifications of this deal. Does Boston think he can handle a fourth outfielder role, shuttling between three positions? Do they plan to carry Brian Anderson as a fifth outfielder? And I haven’t even mentioned that by the measure of UZR, he is a poor defender in right. (Assuming UZR is correct, of course.)
One thought… perhaps this is a precursor to a larger trade that will include Hermida. [Edit: Amalie Benjamin's heard the same whispers, and a source said the deal was made simply because the trade was cheap and odds are he performs better. The source goes on to mention Hermida might not even be on the Sox come 2010.] I’m leaning towards that not being the case, however, given how little Boston had to give up to acquire Hermida. Other teams could have easily beat the offer, and $3 million is not prohibitive when you look at Hermida’s talent.
The first salvo of Boston’s offseason has been fired. What’s next?
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I wouldn't see him as a good fourth-OF candidate because of his defensive shortcomings. You want your fourth outfielder to be capable of handling at least two positions, and preferably all three. At first glance, I would call it a really good insurance policy against the possible loss of Jason Bay. I'm not saying that the Sox are ticketing Hermida as the starting LF — but he's a hell of a fallback position. And at a bargain price.
i like this trade. i think he has 25 hr power
now sign Jerry hairston to platoon
Say goodbye to Jason Bay
He can take all his Ks to San Francisco
it will be fun rooting for the Red Sox next year because my expectations are going to be really low. Its gonna be a lot less stressful.
although they will be wasting 1 prime year from Martinez, Youkilis, Drew and Beckett
I like this move, his road splits are very good and we all know that Fenway is a much better hitters park than Landshark which is one of the worst hitters parks in the game. This is the type of move that Theo used to make pre-'06, reminds me a lot of the Ortiz signing
Hermina for Jones and Alvarez? I love this trade. I've always been high on Hermida, while his numbers since 2007 have dropped it could be in part to his oblique strain which is seemed to have for most of the year. As for Jones and Alvarez, you can't lose any sleep over this as both are easy replaceable. He also could be the LF in the case that the Bay/Holliday contract talks get out of hand. A 26 year-old kid with high upside for 2 minor league pitchers? I'd do this trade anyday of the week. Hopefully a change of scenery works out in his and the Red Sox favor.
i was reading on MLBTR that the Jays were interested in Hermida, i don't imagine this is any sort of push to re-open Halladay trade talks is it? as far as that goes i'm all for it if we can unload guys like Hermida, maybe Yamaico Navarro, NOT STOLMY!!! (i hate seeing his name bandied about). seriously if we can cherry pick some non-tender trash and flip it for Halladay you won't hear the end of it from me about how great Theo truly is.
This may be an acquisition to piece together a run at Adrian Gonzalez, It's been known that the Red Sox front office have always been high on Hermidia…Who's to say it wasn't Jed Hoyer leading the parade? gathering in a young, fairly inexpensive OF with high ceiling coupled with the recent departure of Edgar Gonzalez (Adrian's older brother/ teammate in San Diego) may mean there are bigger things on the horizon. Therefore I suggest people not go out and buy any Hermidia jerseys just yet, for they may be outdated in the coming weeks.
Hermida could be the next Jason Werth. btw no one's talking about FA Adam LaRoche. Thats a good source of power. The Red Sox have been lacking a power hitter for the last 2 seasons now, if they gonna give Hermida a chance they need to sign Laroche.
It's an ok move, but with no reasonable belief that it'll lead anywhere. We need to stop dicking around with these reclamation projects and do something to help the club, and I can only hope that's to come.
Seems more like an "our rivals just won the world series after 2 years of indifference from our front office" move than anything else.
This is so early. The machinations have begun, and they should be fun to watch. I'm very happy for Hunter Jones who could do well in Miami in 2010, even as a lefty 8th inning guy or closer. Alvarez just turned 20 and has some real high side. So Miami didn't lose in this deal, even though the Sox gained. Agree that Hermida's power stroke may produce 25HR and tons of doubles with Fenway's considerably shorter fences. If he finds his stroke, and as his road splits are so good, he could actually help improve the Sox road records. Then again, he could be a key to AGon or ???? If he stays as a lefty 4th OF, an d remains a below average defender & arm, the Sox will need righty Rocco back to play all 3 positions well. So long Joey. I had high hopes for 25SB as PR and excellent D. Oh, well.
This move could be used to free up Reddick and/or Kalish as trade bait. Herimida will be better now as a 4th OFer, but Reddick and Kalish have just as much potential at this point, and are cheaper and controllable for a longer period of time.
To see him as Bay's replacement for 2010 is thoroughly uninspiring. I doubt that's the plan.
I'm looking forward to another interesting hot stove season here at Firebrandal. Winning in 04' and 07' mellowed out my championship cravings last season. But the Yankees celebrating #27 in their new stadium just made me really hungry again. Let's eat!
So, we have traded a couple of irrelevant players for another irrelevant player… Excuse me for not being excited.
Let’s hope we can flip Hermida to someplace else for something of value.
What is the end game? It's not Hermida; and obviously not Abreu, Teahen or Hardy. Guaranteed that Theo has a firm hand on the helm and knows where he wants to go, and has multiple options which will work. He has a pocket full of $$ and extended roster full of prospects for trade, so he isn't sweating. I think it could develop rather quickly with so much action so far. Will it be Bay, Holliday, Dye, Hermida, Reddick? Dye's option's been bought out. .If Boras gives Theo a remotely hard time over Holliday, it won't be ANY of his clients. AGon is already getting about the same amount of Red Sox media attention as Teix did. But the Sox aren't getting any mentions for Holliday. This is becoming a nice ride.
IMO, Hermida is staying put. Reddick now becomes a trade chip.