The Red Sox have traded Manny Delcarmen (along with cash) to Colorado, giving the Rockies the bullpen help they were looking for.
In return, Boston will receive Chris Balcom-Miller, a 21-year old minor league relief pitcher who was promptly assigned to Greenville, the Red Sox' Class A affiliate.
Delcarmen had spent all six professional seasons with Boston since the Red Sox drafted him in the second round of the 2000 Draft. There was always great hope surrounding the now-28-year-old, partially because he grew up in nearby West Roxbury, Massachusetts. But his numbers have progressively gotten worse since 2007, his best season as a pro -- in 2010, he has a 4.70 ERA and has given up 23 home runs in 44 innings pitched. He spent the first half of July on the DL with a forearm strain (after posting a 12.96 ERA in June).
But now, the Delcarmen era in Boston is over, which Over The Monster says is "sort of sad": "Everyone wanted to see Run MDC -- the local boy -- grow into a great reliever, but the Red Sox never saw any consistency out of him from season to season."
Balcom-Miller was originally drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 35th round of the 2008 Draft before the Rockies got him in the sixth round a year later. The young righty is pitching well at the A level this season, with 117 strikeouts to 19 walks in 108.2 innings of work.
For more on this trade, visit our team blogs, Over The Monster and Purple Row.