I don't get it. What is the purpose of acquiring Pham? I get the Hosmer move, he's basically free, and I kind of get the Vasquez move for saving money, but what's the benefit of getting Pham?
Bloom seems to want to straddle the fence. Make moves to add prospects, save money and free up money for next year, but since they are only 3 games from the playoffs, bring in people that if everything goes 100% right could help a playoff run. Maybe Pham is insurance for if Kiki is out very long term or if JBJ goes into one of his famous, long "I can't even hit a stationary ball off of a tee right now" funks.
K Hernandez likely won’t be back until sometime in September, and with Resnyder recently hurt (and playing well), we could use a right handed OF. They got Pham almost for free for a player to be named later sent out (usually never anyone of consequence). So why not.
We desperately needed help at 1B in the short term, and getting an adequate 1B in Hosmer is an upgrade to what we have now (and allows Casas to be ready at his own pace). The Padres are also paying all of his salary, and while losing Groome who is looking as a 5th starter at most, we gained 2 interesting prospects in the lower minors. I’d say that’s a savvy move.
Losing Vasquez is a bit of a head scratcher, though the McGuire kid they got in the Diekman trade is a former first round pick and a better defender than Vasquez, though not as good offensively. That is a net loss for now it seems. We have McGuire under cheap team control over the next few years, so maybe his offense will improve like it did with Vasquez at that age. Also the Sox have 2 interesting catching prospects in Triple A they might want to give a chance. Lastly in this deal they got 2 prospects in the upper minors, with at least 1 of them might be able to help this season.
We have been playing horrible the last month or so, but a large part of that is because of injuries. Just won 2 against the Astros, and 2 games back into wild card with 58 games left. Get some guys back healthy, and we could make a playoff run, while at the same time helping our future a little more with these moves.