With 25 days remaining until the trade deadline, the Boston Red Sox made their first move. On Thursday, the Red Sox acquired infielder Aaron Hill from the Milwaukee Brewers for prospects Aaron Wilkerson and Wendell Rijo.
The 34-year-old Hill is hitting .283 this season with eight homers and 29 RBI. He is a career .269 hitter with 159 homers and 679 RBI. Hill’s best year came when he hit 36 homers and drove in 108 runs for the Blue Jays in 2009.
Hill will add much needed depth for the Red Sox. He will most likely get the starts at third base against left hand pitchers. Travis Shaw is hitting only .211 against lefties. With over three weeks remaining until the trade deadline this also gives the Red Sox flexibility to put Shaw as part of a bigger deal. The Red Sox were in need of three things going into today. They fixed one of those by adding depth to a weak bench. They still need to add another starting pitcher and bullpen help. if the Red Sox are willing to give up Wilkerson for Hill, look for them to give up more prospects to fill the rest of their needs.
Wilkerson has been strong in double A Portland and triple A Pawtucket. He is 6-3 with a 2.44 ERA this season. Look for him to be in the Brewers rotation later this season or early in 2017. To make room for Hill, the Red Soc sent Ryan LaMarre down to the minors.
