The Red Sox on Tuesday morning acquired right-handed reliever Tyler Thornburg from the Brewers. Going back to Milwaukee will be three players: infielder Travis Shaw, minor-league infielder Mauricio Dubon, and minor-league right-hander Josh Pennington. The Brewers will also receive cash or a player to be named in the deal.
Somewhat quietly, Thornburg turned in a dominating 2016 in Milwaukee. In 67 innings, Thornburg pitched to a 2.15 ERA (199 ERA+) with 90 strikeouts against 24 unintentional walks. For his career, he owns an ERA+ of 141 and a K/BB ratio of 2.42 across parts of five major-league seasons. Thornburg is going into his age-28 season and isn't eligible for free agency until after the 2019 campaign. Thornburg directly addresses a serious need for Boston -- a shutdown reliever to work the late innings.
On the Brewers' side of things, Shaw, 26, is coming off a 2016 season in which he batted .242/.306/.421 (88 OPS+) with 16 homers in 145 games for Boston. He figures to take over at third base for Milwaukee, which will allow Jonathan Villar to man second on a regular basis. Dubon, 22 and a former 26th-rounder, has batted .306/.356/.409 across parts of four minor-league seasons with 73 stolen bases in 330 games.
Last season, he put up an OPS of .909 for Double-A Portland. He's spent most of his time at shortstop while also manning second and third. Finally, Pennington, 21, is a former 29th-rounder who's registered a 2.29 ERA and 1.78 K/BB ratio across two seasons. In 2016, he reached the Low-A New York-Penn League.
