Buster Olney's Criticism of Red Sox-Cardinals Trade Sounds Absurd

Was it better to get two months of Steven Matz or nothing at all?

Worcester’s Blaze Jordan bats against Lehigh Valley at Polar Park July 29. | Rick Cinclair/Telegram & Gazette / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Piling on the Boston Red Sox for bad moves is a popular sport at the moment, especially in the wake of reports that the team is on the hunt for right-handed bats in trades.

Entering Sunday, the Red Sox were 29th out of the 30 Major League Baseball teams in runs and home runs, and after losing Alex Bregman and Rob Refsnyder to free agency and Romy Gonzalez to the injured list, they've predictably struggled against left-handed pitching.

But that doesn't mean they made a colossal error every time they gave up a right-handed bat in the last couple of seasons, and ESPN's Buster Olney illustrated that point on Sunday.

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Olney rails against Matz-Jordan trade

Oct 1, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Steven Matz (41) pitches against the New York Yankees during the sixth inning of game two of the Wildcard round of the 2025 MLB playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Olney criticized the Red Sox for trading away corner infield prospect Blaze Jordan, who they selected in the third round of the 2020 draft, to the St. Louis Cardinals last summer for lefty reliever Steven Matz.

"The Red Sox are in the market for a right-handed hitter with thump," wrote Olney. "Last year, they gave up Blaze Jordan, a former 3rd round draft pick, for two months of Steven Matz. Jordan, 23, has a Class AAA slash line of .317/.378/.537 so far this year, with 8 homers, 14 walks, 20 Ks. Chaim Bloom knew the player."

Have we lost all measures of reason? How many prospects thrive in Triple-A every year, and how many of them go on to star in the big leagues? Kristian Campbell once put up far better numbers than Jordan in Triple-A, but you don't see Olney clamoring for Boston to call him up right now.

Plus, Matz served exactly the purpose he was intended to, pitching to a 2.08 ERA with the Red Sox in 22 regular-season appearances, then throwing two scoreless innings against the New York Yankees in the playoffs.

But where Olney's tweet was truly negligent was that he failed to mention Jordan's eligibility for last December's Rule 5 Draft. Had he not been added to his team's 40-man roster by mid-December, he could have been scooped up by anyone else for a nominal fee, meaning the Red Sox more than likely would have lost him for nothing of value.

Are the kids still using the phrase, "Find a new slant?" Because that's the only thing to tell someone like Olney when they make this big a leap in logic just to keep throwing cheap shots at the Red Sox. There are lots of other moves to excoriate that were actually bad.