Phillies Pick Up Workman, Hembree in Trade; Pivetta Departs

The Phillies have made their second trade in one day and will come away from all of this with three different relief arms for the bullpen.   Rumors swirled around Friday afternoon that the Phillies and the Red Sox were talking a deal for reliever Brandon Workman.  Then, word came that Heath Hembree could be part of the deal, too.  The Phillies landed both.

Pivetta failed to make the Phillies starting rotation in 2020 and was relegated to a bullpen role.  Pivetta never seemed to settle into that role and was optioned to the alternate training site.  The Red Sox probably will use him in the major leagues right away, as they are looking for pitching in whatever form that they can get.

Seabold meanwhile, was number 23 on the Phillies Top 30 prospect list.  MLB.com reported the following on Seabold:

Seabold will always be a command and control pitcher, one who has to rely on changing speeds and keeping hitters off-balance. His swing-and-miss rate went up in the AFL and if that’s for real, he could fit into the back end of a big league rotation soon.

The Phillies received cash in the deal, presumably to offset the hit on the luxury tax threshold.

The Phillies acquire the Red Sox closer in Workman.  Last season the right-hander saved 16 games and had 15 holds for the Red Sox, with an ERA of 1.88 in 73 appearances.   So far in 2020, Workman has appeared in seven games and has saved four of them.

Hembree has an inflated ERA of 5.59  in the early going in 2020, but has historically been reliable.  In 260 major league relief appearances he is 15-5 with a 3.60 earned run average. Hembree is also right-handed.

Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia was the first to report that the Phillies were talking trade with Workman.  Todd Zolecki of MLB.com was first with the inclusion of Hembree.