Boston, MA (SportsNetwork.com) – The Boston Red Sox and San Diego Padres have
made a deal.
On Friday night, the BoSox formally announced the acquisition of catcher Ryan
Hanigan in exchange for third baseman Will Middlebrooks.
The Padres picked up Hanigan from Tampa Bay as part of the 11-player deal
consummated earlier on Friday that also landed them outfielder Wil
Myers. However, San Diego had already added another catcher in Derek
Norris from Oakland on Thursday to make Hanigan trade bait.
Middlebrooks became expendable in Boston after the Red Sox signed Pablo
Sandoval as a free agent earlier this offseason. The Padres were reportedly
also in the running for Sandoval.
Hanigan hit just .218 in 84 games last season, his first in Tampa Bay after
playing the first seven years of his career in Cincinnati. The 34-year-old
veteran, who has played more than 100 games in a season just once, is a
career. 256 hitter with 25 homers and 172 RBI in 558 games.
Middlebrooks was projected to be Boston’s future third baseman after a 2012
season in which he batted .288 with 15 homers and 54 RBI in 75 games as a
rookie. He struggled in 2013, hitting .227 with 17 homers in 94 games, and
last year hit just .191 in 63 games as he split time between Triple-A
Pawtucket and Boston.