BANGOR, Maine — Broadcaster Dave O’Brien, who handles the play-by-play for Boston Red Sox games on the New England Sports Network, said he was “absolutely giddy” about last week’s trade that brought left-handed ace Chris Sale from the Chicago White Sox to the Red Sox.
And Joe Castiglione, who has been calling Red Sox games on the Red Sox Radio Network since 1983, agreed.
They spoke at the annual Hot Stove Banquet put on by the Zone Corporation, which broadcasts Red Sox games, Monday night. Five hundred tickets were given out.
And the two both said they were stunned that the Red Sox didn’t have to trade an established major leaguer to get Sale, who was 17-10 with the White Sox last year with a 3.34 earned run average and 233 strikeouts and just 45 walks in 226⅔ innings.
The White Sox received infielder Yoan Moncada, who was named Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year, and hard-throwing pitcher Michael Kopech along with Class A outfielder Luis Basabe and pitcher Victor Diaz.
“I was absolutely shocked. I thought, to get Sale, one of those guys was going to go,” said O’Brien, referring to outfielders Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. and shortstop Xander Bogaerts. “But [Dave] Dombrowski stuck to his guns and gave up Moncada and Kopech.”
O’Brien and Castiglione didn’t feel Dombrowski, Red Sox president of baseball operations, gave up too much to get Sale.
“Moncada is at least a year away from being able to hit a major league breaking ball. They sent him to the Arizona fall league, and he got hurt, and that was a lost opportunity to learn how to do that,” said O’Brien.
“Kopech throws hard, but he is a little further away [from making the Major Leagues roster than Moncada],” added Castiglione, who noted that the Red Sox could afford to give up prospects because their lineup is already dotted with young players such as center fielder Bradley Jr. (26 years old), right fielder Betts (24), shortstop Bogaerts (24) and left fielder Andrew Benintendi (22).
“I couldn’t be more thrilled,” said O’Brien. “The Red Sox could very conceivably go back-to-back with Cy Young Award winners. Sale, at times, has been the best pitcher in the American League, and he will get the run support here that he didn’t get in Chicago.”
The Red Sox led the Major Leagues in runs this past season en route to the American League East title with 878, and the White Sox were 20th with 686.
Boston’s Rick Porcello won the Cy Young Award this past season, and David Price, who is the other member of the top three, won the Cy Young Award with Tampa Bay in 2012.
“Now is the time to strike if the Red Sox want to win a world championship in the next couple of years. They have a great chance to do that. The oddsmakers have made them the second favorite to win the World Series behind the Chicago Cubs,” said O’Brien. “This ownership group isn’t getting any younger, and they want to win right now. They have always been about winning championships, not just about putting good teams on the field.”
The Red Sox have won three World Series (2004, 2007, 2013) under the current ownership group.
Castiglione said Dombrowski has always had the reputation of being a wheeler and dealer.
“He isn’t afraid to make moves. He’s a man of action,” said Castiglione.
Castiglione and O’Brien also said they like the trade that obtained hard-throwing reliever Tyler Thornburg from the Milwaukee Brewers for first baseman-third baseman Travis Shaw and minor leaguers and the acquisition of Gold Glove-winning first baseman Mitch Moreland from Texas.
Thornburg was 8-5 with a 2.15 ERA, 13 saves and 90 strikeouts in just 67 innings for the Brewers, and Moreland hit .233 with 22 homers and 60 RBIs for Texas.
Moreland and Hanley Ramirez could share first base duties, or Moreland could be the first baseman and Ramirez could become the full-time designated hitter, replacing retired slugger David Ortiz.
O’Brien said he will take a wait-and-see approach to the first base job because “Hanley had a terrific year, he drove in 111 runs and was a very serviceable first baseman. I’m in no rush to move Hanley anywhere.”
Castiglione said he thought Ramirez wants to be the full-time designated hitter.
Replacing Ortiz, who hit .315 with 38 homers and 127 runs batted in, won’t be easy, but Castiglione said they will be able to compensate.
“They aren’t going to do it with just one person. They may not score 800 runs, but 750 should be enough,” said Castiglione.
If the pitching staff pitches up to expectations, they won’t have to score as many runs to win, he reasoned.
“I would still keep an eye on them potentially adding a free agent bat who could serve as an everyday [designated hitter],” said O’Brien.
O’Brien expects closer Craig Kimbrel and Price to have better seasons now that they have a year under their belts in Boston just like Porcello did this past season after a subpar first year in Boston in 2015.
O’Brien said third baseman Pablo Sandoval, who had season-ending shoulder surgery after just seven plate appearances last year, had lost “30-40 pounds” and is ready to become the everyday third baseman.
“He had to trim down and, to his credit, he did it,” said O’Brien. “The next question is can he keep the weight off and play third base every day. They’re paying him a lot of money [five-year, $95 million contract], so he has to do it.”
The Red Sox would appear to have an overabundance of starting pitching with Eduardo Rodriguez, All-Stars Steven Wright and Drew Pomeranz and Clay Buchholz joining the top three, but O’Brien said that “you can never have enough starting pitching.”
“It’s going to be a real fun year,” said Castiglione, who added that it is a joy to call games for the Red Sox because they have “the best group of kids they’ve ever had. They’re such friendly, outgoing kids.”