Gabe Speier, a 2013 graduate of Dos Pueblos High School, was traded from the Boston Red Sox to the Detroit Tigers on Thursday as part of a trade involving star players Yoenis Cespedes and Rick Porcello.
Speier, 19, was drafted by the Red Sox last year in the 19th round of the First-Year Amateur Draft. Not long after that he was forced to have elbow surgery but returned to the mound in the summer of 2014 and completed 29 innings with an ERA of 1.55, 0.79 WHIP, 26 strikeouts and a 3-0 record for the Red Sox’s Gulf Coast League affiliate. He also spent time playing in the Dominican Republic and the fall instructional league.
Speier spent time rehabbing at the Red Sox’s Fort Myers, Florida spring training facility, as well as in Santa Barbara.
The blockbuster trade involved sending Cespedes, an All-Star in 2014 and two-time home run derby winner, from Boston to Detroit for Porcello, a 25-year-old pitcher coming off his best major-league season. Along with Speier, Detroit also picked up another pitcher in Alex Wilson.
“We’re thrilled to be adding an All-Star to our team in Yoenis Cespedes,” said Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski in a statement released by the organization. “Cespedes is a dynamic all-around player who hits for power, provides solid run production and will play left field. Alex Wilson is a solid performer who has pitched at the major league level and will compete for a job in our bullpen this spring. Gabe Speier is a young player that our scouts like.”
In high school, Speier was Presidio Sports’ 2013 All-City Pitcher of the Year and was named the Channel League’s MVP that same year for leading the Chargers to a league championship.
