With the MLB Trade Deadline tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m., the rebuilding Red Sox (12-22) continued to make some notable moves as this morning they traded first baseman Mitch Moreland to the red-hot Padres (21-15) for a pair of minor leaguers-infielder Hudson Potts and outfielder Jeisson Rosario. Almost everyone on Boston's current MLB roster should be on the table for a possible deal so while this news was not surprising, the return (namely no pitching of any sort) was odd.
In his fourth season with the Red Sox, Moreland was having a great 2020 (.328 batting average, .430 on-base percentage, .746 slugging percentage with 8 HRs and 21 RBIs in only 22 games) which made him an outlier on a terrible club mostly filled with guys that are underachieving/have checked out already on this bizarre 60-game campaign. At 34-years-old and in his 10th MLB season, Moreland will add an immediate veteran presence to a San Diego team that is filled with young talent but looking for their first playoff berth since 2006.
I don't have many personal stories involving professional athletes so humor me for a minute: the summer after I graduated from PC in 2006 I interned with the Bourne Braves of the Cape League. It was a blast: my first taste of working in sports after college and while the Braves were abysmal-the worst team in the league-Mitch was their best player (he also pitched at Mississippi State) and from what I remember, an even better guy. I'm not going to pretend that we were best friends then or that we've kept in touch but I have to say that to see him have such a long, productive career has been awesome. Many other guys would have bailed on that miserable summer for the Braves but he stuck it out which proved his character at a young age.
Moreland appeared in back-to-back World Series (both losses) his first two MLB seasons with the Rangers. He called Texas home for seven seasons and he won a Gold Glove in 2016 before signing as a free agent with Boston in 2017. The Red Sox made the playoffs his first two years and 2018 was the ultimate year for him as he was named an All-Star for the first time then won the World Series. Off the field, he is married with three kids plus Mitch is very involved with the Jimmy Fund (he was the Red Sox captain for that wonderful charity this year) and many other worthy causes. Writing all of this, I regret not buying a Moreland Red Sox jersey while he was here.
While it'll be hard to see him playing for another team, I'm psyched that he's going to a legitimate contender that unlike the Red Sox is on the rise and should only get better and better the next few years. Moving across the country with a large family like that during a pandemic doesn't sound too fun but San Diego is an amazing place that anyone would enjoy. Who knows, maybe he can win another World Series or two before he retires following a really solid career. Not bad for a guy from Amory, Mississippi.
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