In a minor deal the Red Sox have added catching depth by aquiring Mike McKenry from the Rockies for minor league pitcher Daniel Turpen. Turpen was obtained by the Yankees in the Rul 5 draft, but returned to the Red Sox.
In five minor league seasons including Triple-A last year McKenry has hit a line of .265/.357/.455, but was only .265/.328/.424 in Triple-A. Something interesting is in 8 minor league seasons Jarrod Saltalamaccia had a split of .271/.366/.458. I don’t mean to say there is a comparison and McKenry has been graded fairly low by John Sickel in the past.
He did have this to say about him before 2010: “Like Young, I think McKenry is underrated. Great approach at the plate, has some power, does a lot of things right on defense.”
Perhaps a defensive option down the road.
On the other end the Red Sox are sending 24 year old Daniel Turpen. In 4 minor league seasons he has thrown a 2.86 ERA and a solid 2.44 K/BB. With only 11 IP in Triple-A he is a year or two away, but with a sinker in his arsenal he does have solid ground ball rates.
Turpen was not graded by Sickels this year and McKenry was still a C grade. He would still fall behind Ryan Lavarnway and Luis Exposito on the prospect list of catchers, but he is the only one with a full season at Triple-A so far.