WORCESTER—Baseball’s trading deadline is a lot like summer camp.
The reality rarely matches the expectations.
So it was with the Boston version of the Red Sox this year. Not much happened, so there was not much trickling down to the Triple-A Sox. Their only immediate loss was significant in Blaze Jordan, but the Worcester roster was not blown up.
Manager Chad Tracy spent Thursday, deadline day, in a thankful mood, even before the clock hit 6 p.m.
“To be honest, I had a sense of relief that we got rained out,” he said. “Last year I was calling guys in at 6:10 to tell them — you’ve been traded. Now we know what to do with the lineup….we had no pitching available so it was a good day to rain hard all day.”
Jordan was traded to the Cardinals in exchange for pitcher Steven Matz.
Jordan began the year with Portland and joined the WooSox in early June. He hit well and played well defensively, principally at the corner spots. Jordan got off to a great start with the bat then sagged a bit. For his last 13 games, though, Jordan batted .370 to lift his average from .272 to .298.
However, Jordan was dead-ended in a Red Sox organization that is long on position players, short on pitchers.
“He was in a tough spot here as a far as a lane to do anything in the big leagues,” Tracy said. “So for him — you never know what’s gonna happen, but it’s their call now — for him probably a move that may wind up benefitting him in his career. I’m sad to se him go but really happy for him and what’s in store for him.”
While Jordan was traded, prospects Kristian Campbell, Jhostynxon Garcia and Vaughn Grissom stayed here. There was no way Campbell was going to be dealt even with his demotion to Triple-A and and Garcia has been a force since his promotion from Portland.
Grissom is having a solid season. If he remains here all season long he is liable to set some WooSox records. Grissom is only 24 but in recent days has been candid about his future with Boston which, he says, is dim.
The August WooSox have a new look that extends beyond the loss of Jordan. Former first-round draft choice Mikey Romero made his Triple-A debut at third base Friday night. Worcester has also added rookie pitchers Connelly Early and David Sandlin from Portland. Sandlin started Friday’s second game.
He was the winning pitcher in a 5-1 victory. Sandlin became the first Worcester pitcher in almost two years to earn a win in his Triple-A debut, the fifth overall to win his initial Triple-A start.
Grant Gambrell did it on Aug. 26, 2023. Brian Van Belle, Jay Groome and Brayan Bello also won their debut starts in Triple-A. So did Kutter Crawford, but he had worked in relief before that.
Romero was taken in the 2022 draft. He is the ninth Sox first-rounder to play for the WooSox. That list includes Matt Barnes (2011), Michael Chavis (2014), Jay Groome (2015), Tanner Houck (2017), Triston Casas (2018), Nick Yorke (2020), Marcelo Mayer (2021) and Kyle Teel (2023).
“He’s gonna learn a lot,” Tracy said of Romero. “I know he can hit. He really has an understanding of how to hit, how to swing. I’m excited to see him get the opportunity to play at a higher level for the month and a half.”
Early is a southpaw who headed into this year with a 3-9 record in two minor league seasons. This year has been much better as he was 7-2, 2.51 with the Sea Dogs before being promoted.
Sandlin was obtained from the Royals in 2024 in a trade for former WooSox reliever John Schreiber. He was 5-4, 3.61 at Portland.
The new look, post-deadline WooSox have arrived. This group may not have the sensational impact of last year’s rookies — Roman Anthony, Kyle Teel, and Campbell — but the 2025 Sox are hoping for something along those lines.
Bill Ballou covered the Red Sox for the Worcester Telegram from 1997 through 2018. He has covered pro hockey in Worcester since 1994 and currently does a weekly column for the Worcester Red Sox. Ballou can be reached at vetgoalie@aol.com
