It's been almost a year since the Boston Red Sox began discussing a Cole Hamels trade with the Philadelphia Phillies and it's about time fans and pundits acknowledge that general manager Ben Cherington has done an excellent job standing his ground.
Phillies' GM Ruben Amaro was trying to pry outfielder Mookie Betts or prospect catcher Blake Swihart from Cherington's grips in a package deal for his coveted left-hander. Initially, speculation suggested the Red Sox might consider parting ways with one of these two promising youngsters way back in the offseason, but come January it was clear Boston was not moving Betts or Swihart.
Recent rumors now suggest there is no way Cherington is going to give up either of these young stars and it has proven to be a prudent decision.
"Ben Cherington deserves a lot of credit for not going out and giving up the farm to get Cole Hamels in the offseason, because imagine if he had traded Mookie Betts," said Tim Kurkjian on Wednesday's Baseball Tonight Podcast. "It probably would have taken Mookie Betts in a deal to get Cole Hamels, and he hung onto him and now [Betts] has been as good a player as there's been in the league so far, not to mention what he's done in spring training."
Betts is currently batting .225/.273/.425 with four runs scored, two home runs, eight RBIs and three stolen bases in eight games thus far and has been tremendous defensively in center field. His average and on-base percentage are more than likely to improve after the 22-year-old slashed .291/.368/.444 in 52 games with Boston last season.
Oh yeah, and Betts was arguably the top hitter in the MLB during spring training after he compiled a .429/.467/.750 stat line with 15 runs scored, two home runs, seven RBIs and two stolen bases in 19 games.
"Also, [Cherington's] going to need [catcher] Blake Swihart, not just as a big-time prospect moving forward, but with the injury to Christian Vazquez, he might need him this year," Kurkjian added.
Vazquez is the 24-year-old catching prospect who was expected to be the starter in 2015, but he was forced to undergo Tommy John surgery when he began experiencing pain in his throwing elbow in spring training. He won't be ready to return until 2016 and it seems as if the Red Sox could take the same route with Swihart as they did with Vazquez last season.
Vazquez logged 67 games in Triple-A before he was called up to the big leagues. He spent 55 games with the Red Sox and remained on the major league roster. Swihart has already logged 22 games at Triple-A since last season and he had a solid spring training with Boston, so perhaps if catchers Ryan Hanigan and Sandy Leon can't get the job done, Red Sox fans will see the organization's top prospect arrive sooner rather than later, assuming his defensive progression behind the plate continues at the rate it's been.
"Sometimes the best decision is to lay back, see what the starting pitching can do, and then if you're really in trouble you go make the deal. I think it was a great move for Cherington to wait and see what he has, and so far it's worked out," Kurkjian continued.
If Betts and Swihart emerge as significant contributors for the Red Sox, Cherington will have undoubtedly won the Cole Hamels trade, even if he didn't make a deal.
