Red Sox Trade RHP Jake Peavy and Cash to San Francisco Giants

BOSTON, MA - The Boston Red Sox today traded right-handed pitcher Jake Peavy and cash considerations to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for a pair of minor league pitchers, left-hander Edwin Escobar, and right-hander Heath Hembree. Both Escobar and Hembree have been optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket.

Executive Vice President/General Manager Ben Cherington made the announcements.

In 20 starts for the Red Sox this season, Peavy, 33, went 1-9 with a 4.72 ERA (65 ER/124.0 IP) and 100 strikeouts. Entering today, his run support average of 2.76 placed second-lowest among all American League starting pitchers (5^th-lowest in MLB) in 2014. Acquired by the Red Sox in a three-team, seven-player deal with the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers at the 2013 non-waiver trade deadline, Peavy contributed to Boston's World Series Championship run last year. As a Red Sox, Peavy was 5-10 with a 4.48 ERA (94 ER/188.2 IP) and 145 strikeouts in 30 starts. For his major league career, the 2007 National League Cy Young Award winner is 133-107 with a 3.58 ERA and 1,969 strikeouts in 326 games (325 starts) between the San Diego Padres (2002-09), White Sox (2009-13), and Red Sox (2013-14).

Escobar, 22, has spent the entire 2014 season with Fresno in the Giants organization, his first experience at Triple-A. Working out of their starting rotation, he has gone 3-8 with a 5.11 ERA (63 ER/111.0 IP) and 96 strikeouts in 20 games. He entered the season as San Francisco's second-best prospect according to Baseball America, after posting a 2.88 ERA (83 ER/259.1 IP) between 2012 and 2013. Originally signed by the Texas Rangers as an international free agent in July 2008, Escobar was traded to the Giants in April of 2010. For his minor league career, he is 25-40 with a 4.12 ERA (243 ER/530.1 IP) and 528 strikeouts in 114 games (106 starts).

A reliever throughout his entire professional career, Hembree, 25, was 1-3 with 18 saves, a 3.89 ERA (17 ER/39.1 IP), and 46 strikeouts in 41 appearances this year, all for Triple-A Fresno. Named a 2014 Mid-Season Pacific Coast League All-Star, he ranks first in the PCL in games finished (35) and second in saves. He entered the season ranked by Baseball America as the No. 7 prospect in the Giants' system after making nine scoreless appearances over 7.2 innings in his major league debut with San Francisco in 2013. A fifth-round selection of the Giants in the 2010 June Draft, Hembree is 4-10 with 105 saves, a 3.30 ERA (74 ER/202.0 IP) and 252 strikeouts in 205 career minor league games.