Boston Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was in need of a splash to toss a lifeboat to a sinking rotation, and he did just that on Thursday afternoon by acquiring All-Star starting pitcher Drew Pomeranz in a trade with the San Diego Padres.

Boston boosts rotation with addition of Drew Pomeranz

With only three consistent starting options in Steven Wright, David Price, and Rick Porcello, the Red Sox were in dire straits in terms of their pitching depth, and the acquisition of Pomeranz is critical as they chase the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East. Currently trailing Baltimore by a pair of games, Boston had been searching for an addition to their rotation for weeks, and it wise to capitalize on the opportunity to land a pitcher of Pomeranz's caliber prior to the fury of the trade deadline.

After having never reached 100 innings in a single season in five campaigns with the Colorado Rockies and Oakland Athletics prior to 2016, Pomeranz made the 102 innings that he pitched with the Padres before the deadline count in unquestionable fashion. In 17 outings, the towering 6'5", 240-pounder racked up a stellar 2.47 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP, going 8-7 with 115 strikeouts and a WAR of 3.0.

Pomeranz provides the Red Sox with a consistent left-handed compliment to Price, having garnered the seventh-best K/9 rate in the National League (10.15), 2.81 strikeouts per walk assessed (just 0.01 behind Chicago Cubs ace Jake Arrieta) and a batting average against of just .184, lower than that of Los Angeles Dodgers' perennial Cy Young Award candidate Clayton Kershaw.

The Tennessee native will also be under team control until 2018, giving the Red Sox an arm that will not only assist the team in their pennant quest this fall but will look to become a rotation staple for the two years following the conclusion of 2016.

Drew Pomeranz brings a 2.47 ERA to Boston.
Drew Pomeranz brings a 2.47 ERA to Boston.

Of course, in trading for Pomeranz, a certain cost applies. Dombrowski was forced to part ways with Anderson Espinoza, the highest-rated prospect that the Red Sox have dealt since current first baseman Hanley Ramirez over a decade ago. Just 18 years of age, Espinoza is the top pitching prospect and fourth-rated prospect in the entire Boston system, ranked 15th in Baseball American's list of top prospects.

However, for a Red Sox team with a booming offense looking to make an October splash with legendary designated hitter David Ortiz finishing off an MVP-caliber final season, Dombrowski witnessed his trademark aggressiveness in relinquishing prospects for proven veterans in the middle of the season take over.

Red Sox sign Jason Groome

Making the realization of losing Espinoza more bearable for the Red Sox brass is the fact that the team was able to ink its top selection in the 2016 draft, 17-year old flamethrower Jason Groome, for $3.65 million.

The nasty curveball-wielder was originally projected to find his way into the top ten of the draft, however, the likelihood of Groome not signing with the team that would choose him scared many franchises away. His asking price of $4 million and the possibility of him heading to junior college was enough to drop him to the 12th spot of the draft, allowing the Red Sox to walk away with an upper echelon arm without even owning a top selection.

Thus, Groome will most likely become the most prized arm in Boston's farm system following Espinoza's departure. However, he will find stiff competition from right-hander Michael Kopech, who obliterated the radar gun on Wednesday with a stunningly blazing 105 mph fastball in a Single-A workout, for the honor of being No. 1.

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About the author
Liam OBrien
Just a Boston man who loves sports. Oh, and writing is kind of a priority.