The Boston Red Sox Saturday, August 22, 2020 * The Boston Globe In Red Sox season-high third straight win, stars join forces on offense Alex Speier On a night when the Red Sox started a selloff of their pitchers as a point of departure in their moves to strengthen themselves for future seasons, the team’s lineup offered a reminder of what still remains. A pair of World Series ring holders, closer Brandon Workman and middle innings reliever Heath Hembree, were dealt to the Phillies — along with cash and either a player to be named or cash consideration — on Friday night. In exchange, the Sox received a pair of righthanders — Nick Pivetta and Connor Seabold — with a chance to contribute as starters. The decision to deal away current contributors for a pair of pitchers who will report to Pawtucket gave a clear window into where the Red Sox are in their pursuit of a championship. Yet the backdrop against which the trade occurred offered its own form of evidence about the state of the team’s competitive ambitions. The Red Sox lineup once again shelled Orioles pitchers, opening up an 8-0 lead before withstanding a late- innings rally for an 8-5 win in Baltimore that gave the Sox their season-high third straight victory. The team’s three top hitters — Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, and J.D. Martinez — joined forces in a way rarely seen this year, but one that offered a reminder of an offense that still has tremendous potential. For Bogaerts, his homer off lefty John Means represented his second homer in as many games. Over two games in Baltimore, he has driven the ball to all fields in a way that reinforces the view of a shortstop with elite offensive talent. Martinez demolished a Means changeup well into the bleachers just to the right of center. Ordinarily, such blasts are routine, though this one represented just the third of the year for Martinez, and the first time he hadn’t pulled a homer. Even so, he’s shown better swings in recent days. Devers, meanwhile, obliterated a changeup from reliever Jorge Lopez, launching it 441 feet into the bleachers in right-center. It was the sort of elite power that has already become a frequently seen part of his game. Perhaps there was a message. As the Red Sox begin the process of repairing and reconfiguring their pitching staff for 2021, the offensive eruption offered a glimpse of a lineup that still features the sort of distinguished talent to make a return from the abyss of the season’s first four weeks possible. “We’re not chasing out of the zone so much and then when we get that mistake, we’re getting some guys that are really hitting the ball well,” said manager Ron Roenicke. “I think it was big for J.D. and Devers to do what they did today, Bogey continues to do it, so if we set the table for those guys, hopefully they all get hot at the same time and then it will certainly be fun to watch.” Takeaways: DARWINZON DAZZLES: Pivetta and Seabold aren’t the only pieces the Red Sox have added to open a window of possibility into an improved pitching staff. In his first big league appearance this season, Darwinzon Hernandez displayed the electric fastball that made his 2019 debut so intriguing and his absence to this point of the 2020 season (after testing positive for COVID-19) so glaring. Hernandez attacked the strike zone with mid-90s heaters and a nasty slider, blowing them past Orioles hitters. He delivered two scoreless innings in which he allowed a hit, walked one, and struck out three. Perhaps most notably, he threw 28 of 40 pitches (70 percent) for strikes. He elicited seven swings and misses in his two innings. “He threw some nasty pitches,” said Roenicke. “I know sometimes he may get a little wild, but his pitches, you see the swings they take and the bats that break and it’s really good stuff.” For Hernandez, the outing marked the third appearance of his young career in which he delivered at least two scoreless innings. As the Red Sox begin to explore his most impactful role, the opening audition surely will have the team excited about his future performances. BARNES CLOSES THE CASE (THIS TIME): Matt Barnes recorded a scoreless ninth inning for the seventh save of his career. But while Roenicke said he expected Barnes to get the lion’s share of save opportunities, he also wants to continue to benefit from the righthander’s late-innings versatility. Roenicke said if Barnes is summoned for the seventh or eighth innings, Josh Taylor or Austin Brice could be considerations to close. SOMETHING BREWING: Colten Brewer turned in quite possibly the best outing of his career, logging a career-high four innings of shutout ball in which he gave up three hits (all singles), walked two, and struck out two. He wasn’t overpowering so much as he proved capable of steering clear of barrels while attacking the strike zone with a mix of pitches that generates considerable movement. A pitcher who often struggles with control threw 50 of 71 pitches (70.4 percent) for strikes. For the year, the 27-year-old now has a 3.50 ERA. BOGAERTS HAS LIFTOFF vs. LEFTIES: After the Red Sox went down in order in a six-pitch top of the first inning, Xander Bogaerts put the team on the board by teeing off against a John Means changeup to open the second. In 38 plate appearances this year against southpaw, Bogaerts is hitting .378/.395/.757 with four homers. Red Sox make deal for future, send relievers Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree to Phillies Alex Speier And so it begins. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and the Red Sox front office didn’t wait for the Aug. 31 deadline when they found a motivated trade partner. The Phillies entered Friday in dire need of relief reinforcements — their 8.09 bullpen ERA entering Friday was worse than any reliever group in history. They were ready to deal. With their eyes on the future, the Red Sox dealt longtime bullpen staples Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree (along with cash considerations and either additional cash or a player to be named) to Philadelphia. In exchange, the Sox received righthanders Nick Pivetta and Connor Seabold, both of whom will head to the team’s alternate site in Pawtucket. “Philly came hard after [Workman and Hembree],” said Bloom. “We got two pitchers that not only fit an area of need, but are also pitchers we like that can be part of this thing for many years. I thought that was worth doing right now.” Workman, part of championship Red Sox teams in both 2013 and 2018, has been one of the most dominant relievers in baseball since the start of 2019. During that time, he’d held opponents to a .141 average while allowing 0.1 homers per 9 innings, both the lowest marks in the majors. His 2.07 ERA (ninth) and 35.3 percent strikeout rate (11th) both also rate as elite. However, he’s eligible for free agency after this season, meaning that he was all but certain to be moved on a last-place Sox team. Hembree, acquired from the Giants for Jake Peavy in 2014 as part of the last midyear Red Sox selloff, made 260 appearances for the Sox over parts of seven seasons, forging a 3.60 ERA with 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings. The middle reliever has another year of team control in 2021 before he’s eligible for free agency. “They are warriors, they are world champions, great teammates, great people and we really appreciate everything that both of them did,” said Bloom. Pivetta represents an interesting riddle, a pitcher with sometimes electric stuff but poor results (19-30, 5.50 ERA, 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings in parts of four years, mostly as a starter). Ordinarily, he features a mid-90s fastball, curve, slider, and changeup. His velocity had been down to start 2020, and his poor results (5⅔ innings, 10 runs) had resulted in Philadelphia optioning him off the big league roster. Multiple evaluators described Pivetta, 27, as a pitcher with above-average starter potential who has yet to figure it out. The Sox are tasked with figuring out how to tap into his abilities as a buy-low candidate with at least three years of team control remaining. “[Pivetta is] a guy that’s shown the ability to carry a starter’s workload and a lot of the underlying traits that show the potential for a lot more success than he’s enjoyed in terms of his results,” said Bloom. “Sometimes it takes that change of scenery for a player to exhale and maybe be able to do something he couldn’t.” Seabold, a 2017 third-rounder who reached Double A last year (2.25 ERA, 36 strikeouts, and 10 walks in 40 innings), was described by multiple evaluators as having No. 4 starter potential, with the potential to offer the Sox starting pitching depth in the next one to two years. He shows the ability to command three pitches (fastball, breaking ball, changeup), with the changeup being his best pitch. One NL evaluator whose team had been interested in Workman but found the price too steep characterized the deal as a “huge win for Boston,” particularly given the inclusion of Seabold. An AL evaluator viewed it as a strong return for the Sox, but with the deal ultimately being determined by Pivetta.