Pablo Reyes was pretty much a nobody when the Red Sox acquired him from the Athletics in exchange for cash considerations back in May. He was toiling away in the minor leagues but has found a home in Boston.
Reyes has come out of nowhere to be a key contributor in Boston’s push for the playoffs, especially as of late.
Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom took WEEI’s Rob Bradford behind the scenes of the Reyes trade on Audacy’s original podcast “Baseball Isn’t Boring” this week.
“This was at a time, obviously, we were really scuffling in terms of middle infield depth,” Bloom said (27:57 in player above). “We had a situation where we really needed somebody who was able to move around, play the middle of the field, and just due to various injuries, different situations, we didn’t have that exact player and there was an effect that it was having on the rest of our roster.
“You go through these things, you think you plan for them, but when you’re six, seven, eight players deep into your depth, at some point it starts to not fit as well.”
Bloom gave credit where it's due to the Red Sox’ pro acquisition group and scouts who helped identify Reyes as a potential fit.
“Who’s out there that would actually be reasonable for us to go get at this point in the season that we could acquire quickly?” Bloom continued. “We knew at some point we would probably be healthier but we needed someone now…
“Sometimes that is going to be a player like Pablo, who’s been up and down a little bit. It’s not necessarily going to be a 22, 23-year-old kid because those guys usually are hard to trade for from a position of need; those guys usually move in more significant trades.”
The Red Sox used all of their resources to find the diamond in the rough that the 29-year-old Reyes has become in Boston.
The analytics and scouting were two key pieces, but so was the familiarity that third base coach Carlos Febles had with Reyes from their time in the Dominican Winter League.
It all came together for the Sox.
“It was really just something where the pieces fit and he was a really good option for us, and then it was a question of well, are we going to be able to go get this guy?” Bloom said. “He was not in the big leagues at the time so clearly they didn’t have an opportunity for him at that point. Now, are they set up to where they’re going to be willing to let this guy go in a smaller trade for an opportunity that we can provide that might not last that long, but you never know.”
Reyes was batting .257 with a .736 OPS in 21 games for Triple-A Las Vegas in the Oakland system. The Red Sox were able to give him a chance in the big leagues and it’s paid off big time.
“We were able to work quickly to do something, got him in here, and he’s been just outstanding,” Bloom continued. “Our guys did really good work. Basically, put together a bunch of information, brought this guy to life. He made sense to me as a target…
“You got to trust your people and trust your information. We knew we were going to be in a position where we might have to take a chance on someone we don’t know.”
Reyes has settled in nicely in Boston. Through 41 games (106 at-bats), he has two clutch home runs, 15 RBI, and is batting .321. He’s helping the Red Sox make a push for the playoffs at a crucial time.
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