Fernando Abad traded to Red Sox

The Red Sox have added a left-handed reliever in Fernando Abad

With the trade deadline fast approaching, the Red Sox made another move to acquire Fernando Abad from the Minnesota Twins. The deal was reported by Jon Heyman of Fan Rag Sports.

Abad started his career in the Houston Astros farm system but had stints with the Washington Nationals and Oakland A’s before signing with the Twins this off-season.

This season has clearly been the best of the 30-year old reliever’s career. He has a career low in ERA with a 2.65. It could be attributed to his career high ground ball rate of 45 percent, and his strong 0.56 home run rate. If you compare those numbers to his 1.17 career home run rate and 40 percent ground ball rate, you could say the Twins are selling high on Abad.

Still, for the Red Sox, a late-inning left-hander was needed. Robbie Ross and Tommy Layne are in the bullpen but are more middle relievers. Abad is under team control through next season, and if he can continue on his strong year he could be a pretty big acquisition.

The Red Sox are trading 25-year-old right-handed reliever Pat Light. He will be under team control for longer than Abad was, but Light is not a major name prospect. Still, knowing that they will never get more in return for Santana, and knowing that he could have left for nothing after next year, the Twins look to have gotten a fair deal.

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