Jake Peavy has excelled since joining the Giants. Credit: Getty Images
While the Red Sox are certainly not part of the playoff race this September, a number of former Sox players traded away at the trade deadline are.
The biggest trade on July 31 had the Red Sox sending Jon Lester and Jonny Gomes to Oakland in exchange for Yoenis Cespedes. At the time, the Athletics were 66-42 and had the best record in baseball. The trade hasn’t worked out as Oakland planned, as the A’s are 17-23 since the trade and currently 10.5 games out of first place in the AL West, battling to get into the postseason via the wild card.
Lester, on the other hand, has continued his dominance in 2014 as following his impressive first half with the Red Sox, the left-hander is 5-3 with a 2.30 ERA since joining the A’s and is coming off a stretch where he earned AL Player of the Week honors – going 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA and 15 strikeouts over 14 innings.
Gomes is hitting .225 in 24 games with the A’s, this after hitting .234 in 78 games with Boston.
A player lost in the shuffle was Jake Peavy, as he was traded nearly a week prior to the deadline to San Francisco in exchange for prospects. Peavy, who recorded just one win in 2014 with the Red Sox, has wins in five of his nine starts with the Giants as they battle with the Dodgers for the NL West title. The runner-up will likely get in to the playoffs via a wild card spot.
Peavy seems to be better suited for the National League as he has a career ERA of 3.25 in the NL, compared to 4.13 in the AL. The veteran righty spoke prior to being dealt from Boston how much he loved the Red Sox, but he was reunited with his first manager in the majors in San Francisco with Bruce Bochy, which no doubt has helped Peavy make the transition.
Lastly, the player the Red Sox received the most calls on at the deadline, Andrew Miller, continues to dominate out of the bullpen with Baltimore as the O’s have built a double-digit lead in the AL East and hold the second best record in the American League.
Miller has been even better in Baltimore as he’s allowed just two earned runs in 16.2 innings for an ERA of 1.08 — this after posting a 2.34 mark in 42.1 innings as a Red Sox in 2014. After missing last year’s postseason run with a foot injury, there’s no doubt Miller will be pitching in key situations this October, particularly against left-handers.
Follow Metro sports writer Ryan Hannable on Twitter: @RyanHannable
