Remembering why the Red Sox traded for Tyler Thornburg

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It was the other trade on the day Chris Sale came to town.

Red Sox acquired Tyler Thornburg from the Brewers in exchange for four players -- Travis Shaw, Mauricio Dubon, Josh Pennington and Yeison Coca. It hasn't really worked out as planned. Dubon has established himself as a legitimate shortstop prospect, off to a great start in Triple-A this year, while Shaw continues to be a revelation at third base for Milwaukee, hitting 36 homers with an .851 OPS over the past two seasons.

Thornburg? The last big league game he pitched in was Oct. 2, 2016 in a Brewers uniform.

But Monday night offered a glimpse of what the Red Sox might ultimately be landing.

Pitching in his first rehab assignment game for Triple-A Pawtucket, Thornburg sure looked like the guy the Red Sox thought they were getting. The right-hander struck out the side in his only inning of work, throwing 11 fastballs, four curveballs and a changeup. He maxed out at 95 mph, boasting a heater that was consistent with the 93.9 mph average he carried on the pitch during his time with the Brewers.

"He threw the ball very well tonight," Pawtucket manager Kevin Boles said (via a PawSox press release). "The fastball was coming out. The breaking ball is impressive. That curveball. That’s something. That was a pretty good breaking ball there. He threw a couple for land strikes. The fastball had good down angle to it. He was really impressive tonight. That was a good night for him."

The manager added, "He was aggressive, didn’t look like there was any hesitation there. Again I don’t have any history with him, but what your eyes tell you from the first look, that’s a pretty good arm right there. He’s got stuff."

Tyler Thornburg, welcome back.Here are his 3 strikeouts from the 7th inning! pic.twitter.com/VBlMSMDdnR

— PawSox (@PawSox) May 1, 2018

If Thornburg has fully recovered from his thoracic outlet syndrome surgery than Thornburg can absolutely be a difference-maker. In his final season with the Brewers, Thornburg held opponents to a .167 batting average and .541 OPS in 67 appearances. He was particularly effective against lefty hitters, who managed just a .130 clip and .430 OPS against the 29-year-old.

As for where he might fit in, even though Carson Smith's numbers aren't what the Red Sox might hope, most of it was due to early-season struggles. (Smith has limted opponents to a .182 batting average since April 8.) Joe Kelly hasn't given up a run since Opening Day. Matt Barnes has been dominant, carrying an .092 opponents batting average. Up until his most recent outing, Heath Hembree has been pretty decent. That leaves the tremendously effective Hector Velazquez as the likely odd man out, for the sole reason that he has options.

Thornburg has a ways to go, but at least he's back in the conversation. That's something that we haven't been able to say really since he got here.