Red Sox trade teen Espinoza for Pomeranz

The Red Sox have been very active on the trade market over the past few weeks, but they had yet to move any of the top 15 prospects in their system. On Thursday, they shipped out one of their best.

Anderson Espinoza, an 18-year-old right-hander whose fastball touches the high-90s, was sent to the Padres in exchange for 27-year-old left-hander Drew Pomeranz, who is 8-7 with a 2.47 ERA for San Diego this season.

Ranked No. 4 in Boston's system and No. 34 overall, Espinoza sported a 5-8 record for Class A Greenville this season with a 4.38 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP in 76 innings. He struck out 72 while walking 27. The 6-foot, 160-pound starter possesses an above-average curveball and a changeup to go along with his heat.

As the youngest player to start the Minor League season on a full-season roster, Espinoza was handled carefully by Boston. He pitched into the sixth inning twice this season -- May 25 at Asheville and July 6 at Rome -- twirling six scoreless frames vs. the Tourists. He was limited to four innings per start across three levels in 2015, when he posted a 1.23 ERA and 65:14 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 58 1/3 frames.

The Venezuelan native sported a 3.35 ERA after a June 11 start against Augusta in which he delivered five shutout innings, but he's allowed 17 runs over 22 1/3 innings in his last five starts -- going 1-4 with a 6.85 ERA over that time. He gave up 30 hits in that span and his opponents' batting average jumped 25 points to .269.

Espinoza immediately slotted in as San Diego's No. 1 prospect, jumping baseball's overall No. 39 prospect, outfielder Manuel Margot, who was also acquired from Boston in a November 2015 trade that sent closer Craig Kimbrel to the Red Sox.