His name's Brad Emaus, and he sounds like your quintessential 4-A type player.
Via WEEI's Alex Speier, Emaus hit big in his last minor-league stint in the Rockies' system, and has hit well (an OPS over .800) in five years of minor-league play. He doesn't appear to tantalize scouts enough to warrant a look at the majors.
Speier notes that this is a move for minor-league depth considering our relative strength in the infield (Pedroia, Scutaro, Youkilis, and Gonzalez starting with Aviles and Punto getting bench time), Emaus' caliber, and his three remaining options to go up and down between Boston and Pawtucket.
But don't forget: Mike Aviles has been working in right field. And currently, our starting right fielder is Ryan Sweeney. So if Cherington is as cash-strapped as he appears, and Kalish is either hurt or in the minors for a while, Aviles might see some serious time in right field. With that in mind, Emaus could potentially add value as infield depth for the big club.
And really: We gave up nothing. The compensation is either a player to be named later, or a nice bundle of cash. And let's face it. For a 4-A type player, it's not gonna be that big a bundle.
Original Story:
