The Boston Red Sox have acquired right-hander Andrew Cashner as well as cash considerations from the Baltimore Orioles. The deal, which was announced by the Red Sox on Saturday, sees infield prospect Noelberth Romero and outfield prospect Elio Prado go the other way.
Cashner, 32, was arguably Baltimore’s top pitcher this season, having gone 9-3 with a 3.83 ERA in 17 starts. He has been leading the American League in ERA since June 1 with a 1.41 average and has an ERA+ of 100 across parts of 10 big-league seasons over the course of his career. Prior to his move, the pitcher saw his trade value rise and his performances since the beginning of June include five consecutive quality starts.
The veteran’s last two outings before the All-Star break were his best as he only allowed three hits in seven innings in each while one run was allowed between the two. He’s limited left-handed hitters to a batting average of .182, a .499 OPS and a solitary home run
The Texas native is now expected to be placed as the fifth starter behind Chris Sale, David Price, Rick Porcello, and Eduardo Rodriguez. And his arrival will see to it that Nathan Eovaldi plays as a high-leverage receiver when he returns from the elbow injury that caused him to undergo a procedure in April.
The Red Sox have struggled with the fifth spot in their rotation since Eovaldi got sidelined and the move should take that pressure off. If the team makes the playoffs, he will give them extra depth in the bullpen.
“Definitely gives us the improvement in that fifth spot, which we’ve scuffled for such a long time this year,” Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski declared. “He’s a guy that’s taken the ball and given six, seven innings on a consistent basis, so we like a lot of the things about him. We think he makes us better.”
Cashner is still owed a remaining $9.5 million in salary this season. He’s set to become a free agent at the end of the campaign but has a $10 million team option for 2020 in his contract. If he reaches a total of 360 innings for the 2018 and 2019 seasons combined, then that team option will be converted to a player option. That doesn’t seem very likely, though, as he would need 110 2/3 innings over the remainder of the regular season.
William Hill has odds of +1600.00 on the Red Sox winning the American League this year but the New York Yankees are favored at +170.00 with Betfair while Paddy Power has the Houston Astros at +200.00. Check out https://www.onlinesportbetting.ca/baseball-betting/ for the best baseball bets, free offers and new signup deals.
Where the American League East is concerned, 888sport has the Red Sox at +1600.00 to come out on top. The Yankees are at -1400.00 tith Betfair, the Tampa Bay Rays are at +1600.00 with William Hill and the Toronto Blue Jays are considered longshots by Unibet, who have odds of +300000.00 on them emerging as the division’s top side.
The Red Sox won the World Series last year but William Hill has them at +2800.00 to pull it off this time around. Favorites, the Los Angeles Dodgers are at +275.00 with Paddy Power.
Whether or not Cashner’s arrival will help Boston retain their title is left to be seen but his impact on hitters cannot be discounted. They should find things less troubling when Eovaldi comes back, as long as everyone else remains healthy.
