Blue Jays: Additional details on the Steve Pearce trade

Following the first of what figures to be many trades to come in the next few weeks, more details have surfaced regarding the Steve Pearce deal, mainly surrounding the cash considerations being exchanged and the status of the prospect in question.

Following on the initial story covering the trade, here are a few additional details of note relating to the Blue Jays recent trade that sent infielder/outfielder Steve Pearce to the Boston Red Sox:

Details on Cash Considerations

The Blue Jays are sending $1.66 million to the Red Sox to complete the deal, according to Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. The Red Sox will now owe Pearce $1.5 million for the remainder of the season.

As Rosenthal notes on Twitter, this is key for the Red Sox as they try and stay under the luxury tax threshold of $273 million.

Espinal Assigned to Dunedin

According to Keegan Matheson of Baseball Toronto on Twitter, the Blue Jays have assigned Santiago Espinal, who was the only player coming to Toronto in the deal, to High-A Dunedin.

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Espinal will join fellow middle infielders Logan Warmoth and John La Prise in the Florida State League as he tries to climb up the minor league ladder. On the season, he’s slashed a healthy .313/.363/.477 with the Salem Red Sox of the Carolina League (High-A).

Dombrowski on Pearce

Red Sox President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski spoke to the media and announced the acquisition of Pearce Friday night. The following is an excerpt from that media appearance:

“We’d been looking for a guy who can hit against left-handed pitching…he’s traditionally hit left-handed pitching very well. He’s a threat to drive in runs, drive the ball out of the ballpark and so, be a key cog for us against certain left-handed . He can hit right-handers too, but that’s certainly the role we were looking for him to play.”

Familiarity Factor

Dombrowski also mentioned that while Pearce’s history of playing for every other team in the AL East wasn’t a driving force behind their acquisition of him, it did help them in their decision to trade for him.

Dombrowski noted that Red Sox scouts who saw Pearce hit noticed that he seemed quite comfortable in AL East parks, making it easier for him to potentially transition to another AL East club.

Next: Blue Jays trade Steve Pearce to the Boston Red Sox