Trade Central: Red Sox Bring In Aaron Hill

THE DEAL

The Red Sox were clearly in trade mode, but most felt their first move would be for a starting pitcher. Instead Boston acquired veteran infielder Aaron Hill from the Brewers—where he spent half a season after being acquired from Arizona in the deal for Jean Segura—for righthander Aaron Wilkerson and young infielder Wendell Rijo.

Hill is having a solid season after two down ones in the desert, and he could fill in for Travis Shaw at third base after Shaw fouled a ball off his left foot Wednesday.

“We’ve been looking for a righthanded-hitting infielder that could play third base for a while,” president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters. “We’re in a position where we’re trying to win this thing. We think (Hill) makes us better.”

BREWERS ACQUIRE
Aaron Wilkerson, rhp
Age: 27

Wilkerson’s rise from stocking shelves at a Houston-area grocer to the brink of the major leagues is amazing one, as told by BA correspondent Alex Speier. To summarize, Wilkerson was a record-setter with 54 consecutive scoreless innings as a senior at NAIA Cumberland (Tenn.) in 2011—he won his final 26 decisions—but his college career cratered when his velocity began to fall. He needed Tommy John surgery, wasn’t drafted and ended up working at H-E-B, but he didn’t give up on the game, going to independent ball tryouts and hooking up in 2013 with Fort Worth of the United League. He went 9-1, 2.74 there in 2013, and in 2014 the Red Sox spotted him pitching for Grand Prairie in the American Association. He worked his way to Triple-A Pawtucket this season, no longer throwing 94-96 mph, but at 89-93 with sharp command. He was being considered for a callup by the Red Sox last month and now should get a chance in Milwaukee.

Club (League)	Class	W	L	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Portland (EL)	AA	2	1	1.83	8	8	44	28	10	9	2	14	48
Pawtucket (IL)	AAA	4	2	2.44	9	8	48	41	18	13	5	11	54

Wendell Rijo, 2b
Age: 20

Rijo, the son of a scout, ranked No. 15 in the Red Sox’s deep farm system entering the season but struggled at Double-A (.511 OPS) before regaining his bearings at high Class A. Still, he had fallen behind other middle infield prospects such as Yoan Moncada, Marco Hernandez and Mauricio Dubon. At his best, he can hit for average and perform like a doubles machine, and while some grumble about his commitment to defense, evaluators believe he showed considerable improvement at second base.

Club (League)	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	OBP	SLG
Portland (EL)	.186	51	177	18	33	11	0	1	12	13	46	2	.245	.266
Salem (CAR)	.270	11	37	9	10	2	0	0	3	6	11	2	.364	.324

RED SOX ACQUIRE
Aaron Hill, 2b
Age: 34

Hill’s production fell off markedly in 2014-15 in Arizona after a strong initial season there, but it has ticked up with the Brewers. He’s hitting .292/.359/.421 with eight homers, and those numbers are skewed by a terrible April. He’s in the final year of a $12 million contract with about half of that money remaining and could do some damage playing half the time staring at the Green Monster. He’s a versatile veteran who usually splits time between second and third base. Hill has a .725 OPS against lefthanders this season, while Shaw has just a .620 OPS.