Red Sox Trade Buchholz to Phillies

By ESPN

Clay Buchholz, the longest-tenured member of the Boston Red Sox pitching staff, has been traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for minor league second baseman Josh Tobias, the teams announced Tuesday.

The Red Sox picked up their $13.5 million option on Buchholz's contract at the end of last season, but there was always a possibility he could be traded in the offseason. It became almost inevitable two weeks ago after the Red Sox completed a blockbuster trade for ace left-hander Chris Sale, giving Boston seven major league starting pitchers.

Although the Red Sox could have opted to trade lefty Drew Pomeranz -- and would have obtained a greater return for him by virtue of his lower salary and a contract that is controllable through 2018 -- multiple teams that spoke with president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski during and after the winter meetings suggested he strongly preferred to move Buchholz, who is eligible for free agency after this season. The Phillies agreed to pay his 2017 salary, which also decreased the prospect value the Red Sox received.

"When it came down to it, as we looked under all scenarios, the deal that made the most sense was dealing Clay," Dombrowski said. "The others have some longer time with us as far as being with the organization. We have longer control over them. He's in his last year, the dollar perspective. It was really our choice to pursue this one rather than some of the other guys."

Phillies general manager Matt Klentak said on a conference call that the team had asked the Red Sox about Buchholz as far back as last July, before the trading deadline, because they viewed him as "a potential bounce-back candidate" even before his second-half resurgence.

Indians Sign Colabello

The Cleveland Indians signed outfielder/first baseman Chris Colabello to a minor league deal on Tuesday.

Colabello, who received a non-roster invitation to spring training, served an 80-game suspension last season for a performance-enhancing drug violation but hit .321 for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2015.

He was suspended last April after testing positive for dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, an anabolic steroid that is sold under the name Turinabol.

Colabello, 33, was batting .069 in 10 games for the Blue Jays last season at the time of his suspension. In 2015, his first season with Toronto, he hit 15 home runs and had 54 RBIs.

He has played 225 big league games in parts of four seasons, hitting .257 with an OPS of .741.

The Indians currently have a vacancy at first base as Mike Napoli is a free agent. The team has been linked to slugger Edwin Encarnacion this offseason and has had talks with Napoli about re-signing with the club.

Pirates Sign Reliever Daniel Hudson

Free-agent reliever Daniel Hudson has signed a two-year, $11 million deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Hudson, 29, will make $5.5 million in both 2017 and 2018. The contract includes $1.5 million annually in performance bonuses based on games finished starting at 30 and ending at 60.

As a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks all of last season, Hudson went 3-2 and posted a 5.22 ERA in 70 games.

Hudson, a former starter who became a reliever after undergoing reconstructive elbow surgery on his right (throwing) elbow in 2012 and 2013, thanked the Diamondbacks in a statement on his Twitter account for sticking with him "through some really tough times.'' He later added "Let's do this Pittsburgh.''

The 2016 season was somewhat of a down year for the 29-year-old, who had a 3.86 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 67 2/3 innings in 2015.