Former South Effingham High School baseball star Josh Reddick is swapping the B on his cap for an A.
The Boston Red Sox dealt Reddick and two minor league prospects to the Oakland A’s on Wednesday, getting relief pitcher Andrew Bailey and outfielder Ryan Sweeney in exchange.
In 87 games with the Red Sox in 2011, Reddick hit .280 with seven home runs and 28 runs batted in. He had 18 doubles and three triples.
“It was a combination of getting back a Major League-ready position player — we think Josh is an everyday outfielder who we’ve liked for quite some time — and prospects who we really like that made this a good option for us,” A’s assistant general manager David Forst told Jane Lee of mlb.com.
The Boston chapter of the Baseball Writers of America Association named Reddick as the Harry Agganis Award winner, which goes to the Red Sox rookie of the year. He also was named to the 2011 Topps Major League Rookie All-Star Team.
A 17th round draft pick in 2006, Reddick made his big league debut in 2009. In 143 career games, Reddick has 10 homers and 37 RBIs.
Reddick also took part in Major League Baseball’s Taiwan All-Star series, with major league stars playing against Taiwanese pros. Reddick was on a team that included New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano and center fielder Curtis Granderson and San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval.
Reddick also underwent offseason hand surgery and has been rehabbing at the Red Sox facility in Fort Myers, Fla., prior to Wednesday’s trade.
Reddick played mostly in right field for the Red Sox in 2011 but spent most of his time in center field in the Sox minor league system. Forst told mlb.com that A’s hitting coach Chili Davis saw Reddick a lot in center field and liked what he saw.
“He was very good defensively in the big leagues,” Forst said.
Reddick was expected to contend for the Red Sox starting right field position in spring training, as J.D. Drew’s contract expired after the 2011 season. Ryan Kalish, another of Boston’s highly-touted minor leaguers, suffered a neck injury last April and did not play the rest of the year.
Of the A’s outfielders on the active roster, none has logged more than 100 at-bats in the big leagues.
