Felix Doubront traded to Cubs for PTBNL

Red Sox left-handed pitcher Felix Doubront (pictured) has been reportedly traded to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for a player to be named later (PTBNL). This was first reported by Jon Morosi of Fox Sports. WEEI's Alex Speier added that the PTBNL would be determined after the Rule 5 draft, but the return is unlikely to be significant. The Red Sox have yet to confirm these reports.

Doubront made his Red Sox debut on June 18, 2010 and saw some additional time in the minors in 2011 before becoming a fixture of the major league squad in 2012. Overall he struggled in the starting rotation for the Red Sox in 2014 and to date carries a 6.07 ERA, 1.60 WHIP and 43 strikeouts to 26 walks over 59 1/3 innings. He was moved to the bullpen after his June 20th start, and has publicly stated he is unhappy with that situation and wanted to be traded.

Doubront's exit likely allows for the recall of right-hander Brandon Workman and also the activation of left-hander Chris Hernandez off of the temporary inactive list where he will join Triple-A Pawtucket. It is possible that other roster moves may be necessary if the deal is not formalized in time.

UPDATE, 6:30 p.m.: The Red Sox have announced the trade, as well as the recall of Brandon Workman.

Photo Credit: Felix Doubront by Kelly O'Connor

Will Woodward is a Staff Writer for SoxProspects.com. Follow him on Twitter @SPWill.

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Cup of Coffee: Owens lifts Portland, Guzman's big day not enough for Greenville

7/30 Cup of Coffee: It turned out to be a mostly down day on the farm, with Portland and the DSL Sox picking up the lone victories of the day. The GCL Sox saw their doubleheader get interrupted once again by mother nature while Lowell's struggles at LeLacheur Field continued. 

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Game One: Portland Sea Dogs 3, Reading Fightin Phils (PHI) 2
Henry Owens picked up his 14th win of the season as he tossed five innings, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks, striking out three. Aaron Kurcz grabbed the save, adding two scoreless innings of relief.

The Sea Dogs scored a single run in the second, third and fourth innings, enough to hold on for the victory. Derrik Gibson was 1 for 3 with an RBI double in the leadoff spot, while Ryan Dent paced the offense with a 3 for 3 outing, adding an RBI double and a run scored. Dent has started off the second half of the season on fire at the plate, going 12 for 30 (.400) with four doubles and three RBI in his last 10 games.

Game Two: Reading Fightin Phils (PHI) 4, Portland Sea Dogs 1
Portland grabbed an early 1-0 lead on a first inning RBI single from Michael Almanzar, but were unable to score again, getting just one runner to second the rest of the contest.

Jeremy Kehrt took the loss as he allowed four runs on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings of work. Mike McCarthy added 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief in the loss. Dent again led the Sea Dogs offense, going 2 for 3 with a pair of singles. 

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Justin Haley promoted to Portland; Jonathan Aro moved up to Salem

The Red Sox announced a pair of promotions today. Right-handed pitcher Justin Haley has been promoted from High A Salem to the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs and fellow righty Jonathan Aro gets the call to Salem from Low A Greenville. A third right-hander, Ty Buttrey, has been activated from the disabled list by Greenville after completing a rehab assignment with Lowell. 

Haley, a sixth-round pick out of Cal State-Fresno in the 2012 draft, was named to the Carolina League All-Star team earlier this season for his strong work at Salem. Splitting time between the rotation and a piggyback role, Haley has a 2.82 ERA and 1.079 WHIP in 92 2/3 innings. He has taken a big step forward with his control in 2014. After walking 74 batters in 124 2/3 innings with Greenville last season, Haley has cut that number to only 23 this season. He is ranked the #38 prospect in the system by SoxProspects.com. 

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Players of the Week, 7/21-27: Brian Johnson & Travis Shaw

Brian Johnson, SP, Portland Sea Dogs - 1 G, 7.0 IP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB/12 K, 0.57 WHIP, 15.43 K/9, 1.00 G/F, .043 BAA, .197 OPSA

Johnson shut down the Rock Cats (MIN) in his sole start of the period, July 25, holding them to a single hit and three walks while striking out an impressive twelve batters while cruising to the win and SoxProspects.com Pitcher of the Week honors. He is currently the ninth-ranked prospect in the organization by SoxProspects.com. This is Johnson's third SoxProspects.com Pitcher of the Week honor, having previously won for the weeks of April 14-20 and April 21-27.

Season Line: 20 G, 12-3, 2.53 ERA, 110.1 IP, 90 H, 31 ER, 32 BB/107 K, .222 BAA

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Cup of Coffee: Rain can't dampen Augliera, Swihart

7/29 Cup of Coffee: The Red Sox affiliates only managed three wins on Monday, both featuring dominant pitching performances. Mike Augliera (pictured) fired eight shutout innings for Portland despite a long interruption from Mother Nature. A quartet of GCL Red Sox hurlers combined for a seven-inning no-hitter in the first game of a doubleheader, while a ten-run barrage led them in a nightcap. 

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A late comeback fell short as the Pawtucket Red Sox dropped a 6-4 decision to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (NYY). It was a rare tough start for knuckleballer Steven Wright, who allowed five runs on nine hits in six innings. After giving two runs in the first and three in the third, Wright did settle in, closing out with three straight shutout frames. Garin Cecchini homered for the first time since June 26, a solo shot in the second inning. It was only the third extra-base hit in the month of July for Cecchini. Travis Shaw blasted his 20th home run of the season and ninth since his promotion to Pawtucket. Corey Brown was 2 for 4 with a double and triple, and Ryan Lavarnway collected a pair of hits as he continues his rehab assignment. Mookie Betts was 0 for 4, ending a seven-game hitting streak.

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Weekly Notes: Trade deadline approaches

This week's minor league notes:

• Overall, it was looking like a fairly quiet week in minor league news until word of the Jake Peavy deal broke. The Red Sox ended up getting two minor league pitchers, 25-year-old right-handed reliever Heath Hembree and 22-year-old left-handed starter Edwin Escobar (pictured, right), in exchange for Peavy. SoxProspects.com staff editor Brian Gagnon has all the details in his write up of the deal.
• Reviews of the deal were a bit mixed. Peavy was not having a great statistical season going 1-9 with a 4.72 ERA and 1.43 WHIP and thus did not have huge value. Despite this, ESPN Insider's Keith Law believes the Red Sox could have gotten more out of the deal.
• Likewise the Providence Journal's Jim Donaldson was not impressed with the deal, though I should point out his angle seemed to focus on pure statistics which were inflated for both players since they were pitching in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. At 22 years-old, Escobar is also extremely young for the league where the average pitcher is almost 5 years older.

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Cup of Coffee: Light continues to shine, Portland mounts a comeback

7/28 Cup of Coffee: Former first-round picks Matt Barnes and Pat Light (pictured) each had strong starts on Sunday, though only Light was able to pick up a victory. The Sea Dogs mounted an impressive comeback, and Greenville's offense hit the ball all over the park. 

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Pawtucket could not extend their winning streak to 12 games, falling to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (NYY), 3-1. Matt Barnes pitched well in defeat, allowing two runs on four hits in five innings, walking two and striking out six. John Ely went the rest of the way, surrendering one run in his three innings of relief. There was not much to speak of offensively for the PawSox, with Ryan Lavarnway's double accounting for the lone extra-base hit. Lavarnway had two hits, while Will Middlebrooks and Mookie Betts each added a single.

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Red Sox acquire two pitching prospects in Peavy trade

The Boston Red Sox traded veteran right-hander Jake Peavy to the San Francisco Giants on Saturday in exchange for two pitching prospects, 25-year-old right-handed reliever Heath Hembree and 22-year-old left-handed starter Edwin Escobar. Both players were optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket.

Hembree was originally drafted by the Giants in the fifth round of the 2010 draft out of the College of Charleston. He made his major league debut last season as a September call-up, and in 7 2/3 innings over nine appearances, he gave up four hits with 12 strikeouts. Heading into the 2014 season, Hembree was ranked as the Giants's sixth-best prospect by MLB.com. This season, Hembree 18 saves with 46 strikeouts and a 3.89 ERA over 39 1/3 innings.

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Cup of Coffee: Pawtucket pushes streak to 11 games

7/27 Cup of Coffee: The Pawtucket Red Sox moved their season-long winning streak to 11 games. Portland got shut out and managed only five hits. Salem got doubled up, while Greenville and Lowell were able to come away with victories.  The GCL Red Sox got behind early and lost, and the DSL Red Sox scored two runs late to get the win.

Pawtucket has continued its hot hitting and has pushed their season-high winning streak to 11 games with an 8-5 victory over Scranton-Wilkes Barre RailRiders (NYY).  Pawtucket sits just a half game behind division leading Syracuse (WAS). Starting pitcher Chris Hernandez, who replaced Allen Webster late after a call-up due to the Jake Peavy trade, got knocked around early giving up five runs in the first two innings. He settled down a bit finishing four innings having given up five earned runs on five hits with four walks and three punch outs. In just four innings, Hernandez threw 85 pitches, 51 for strikes. The Pawtucket bullpen was stellar combining for five scoreless innings, four hits and seven strikeouts.

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Cup of Coffee: Johnson strikes out 12 in win, Betts leads PawSox in route

7/26 Cup of Coffee: Brian Johnson struck out 12 in Portland's 1-0 victory while Mookie Betts leads Pawtucket in a route. Salem and Lowell won convincingly while the DSL and GCL Red Sox prevailed in tight contests. Greenville was the only affiliate who lost Friday. 

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Led by top prospect Mookie Betts (Pictured), the Pawtucket Red Sox downed the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (NYY) 10-2. Betts, who led off and played right field, reached base five times in the game; he was 4 for 5 with one walk. Designated hitter Ryan Roberts went deep in the game, his sixth home run of the season. The three-run shot came in the PawSox's eight-run fourth inning, which ultimately decided the game. Following Roberts homer in the fourth was a double from first baseman Travis Shaw. Shaw was 2 for 5 with two doubles and a run scored. 

Right-hander Anthony Ranaudo was strong through six innings; he gave up three hits and two walks while striking out four. 

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