Burke Badenhop Trade: How does it help?

Photo from NESN
Conor Frederick (@ConorJF1016)
Contributing Writer

I'm sure most of Red Sox Nation has heard by now that the Sox aquired Burke Badenhop from the Milwaukee Brewers for 20-year-old Luis Ortega yesterday. If you couldn't get to a computer, well there you have it. The Sox made their first official move of the offseason. So, how does this help? Well, you can never have too much pitching for one thing. Gather round, kiddies, and I'll break down exactly what the Red Sox got with Badenhop.

Badenhop has good command and is tough on right handed hitters. He had a .229 BAA against righties, .254 for his career, according to NESN. Badenhop also keeps the ball down well - only he and Sergio Romo of the Giants have allowed less than 1 home run per 9 innings and 2 walks per 9 innings in 60+ appearances in both 2012 and 2013 according to NESN. That should work in his favor at Fenway.

Another thing to look at is his 2.59 ERA against AL East opponents, stemming from his 2012 stint with the Tampa Bay Rays (12 earned runs in 41 1/3 innings), so that also works in his favor. And something to remember is we barely gave up anything to get him. Luis Ortega signed as an international free agent in 2011 and wasn't ranked in the Red Sox Top 30 prospects, so that's not much to give up to get much needed bullpen depth. I'm assuming that he'll be used to help bridge the gap between the starters and Koji Uehara, which was our weak spot last year. I could be wrong, but that seems the likely spot for him.

Thoughts? Like the deal? Let me know on Twitter or leave a comment.