It's still very early, but so far, the Marcelo Mayer-for-Erik Miller trade has ben fantastic for the Boston Red Sox.
Miller has been lights-out since joining the team. In 10 appearances (including one start as an opener), the 28-year-old hasn't allowed a single earned run, and he has given up just seven hits and three walks (which is especially impressive, considering this was one of his biggest weaknesses with the San Francisco Giants) in 10.1 innings. He has also struck out 18 batters.
Trading Mayer was a bit risky for the Red Sox, given that he was a top prospect just last year and only appeared in 114 games across two seasons (to be fair, this lack of availability is mostly what made him expendable -- though his career .223 BA didn't help much). But he hasn't even played for the Giants yet, and this move fully opens the door for Franklin Arias whenever he makes his debut.
It wouldn't be fair to label this trade an easy win for Boston less than a month in, but so far, things are looking as good as the team could have asked for.
Red Sox need Erik Miller more than Marcelo Mayer
With roughly a month left of regular-season play, the Red Sox are in a good position to make it to the playoffs for the second year in a row. They are 73-60 and own the second AL Wild Card spot (5.5 games above the Cleveland Guardians, 2.5 games behind the New York Yankees for the first spot). And given how weak the rest of the AL looks, Boston could make some serious noise.
Trading Mayer for Miller was mostly a short-term move for the Red Sox (Mayer is about five years younger), but it should greatly boost their odds.
Boston's pitching staff has been one of the best in the majors all season, and that includes its bullpen (For some context, Aroldis Chapman still looks dominant. Tyron Guerrero has been a revelation. Garrett Whitlock has been an elite setup man. And Brayan Bello looks like the great reliever of all time... seriously). But injuries and fatigue are starting to take their toll (Whitlock and Justin Slaten are each on the injured list).
The Red Sox need to finish the season strong and as healthy as possible, and the Miller acquisition greatly helps them in these areas.
And as for Mayer, he can still turn into a great MLB player, but the Red Sox probably aren't going to miss him much. Arias looks like he might have what it takes to be their shortstop of the future, and it's not like Mayer looked like the real deal up to this point.
Craig Breslow and co. have made some questionable moves over the years, but as things stand, this is not going to be one of them.
Add us as a preferred source on Google