Travis Shaw had to Google Tyler Thornburg after trade

Travis Shaw officially became a member of the Milwaukee Brewers two weeks ago today, after being shipped from Boston as part of a trade for Tyler Thornburg.

Shaw was a popular podcast guest for WEEI during his time in Boston, and made one last appearance recently, which was just posted today. One of the more interesting parts of the 28-minute interview? Shaw had to Google Tyler Thornburg to figure out who he had just been traded for.

No, seriously.

When asked if he knew who Thornburg was before the day of the trade, this is what he said:

"I did not, no."

...

"(GM Dave Dombrowski) just told me the Red Sox were getting a relief pitcher back. Once it broke over Twitter, that's when I found out who it was and I looked him up, and he had a pretty good year last year."

...

"I heard the name, but I didn't know what his role was or what he did in Milwaukee. I mean, obviously I knew he was a relief pitcher from Dombrowski and then seeing his ERA and what he did last year, for the Red Sox saying they're looking for him to fill in the 8th inning role, it's a pretty good guy to be traded for, I guess.

Joking aside, it’s probably understandable that Shaw didn’t know much about Thornburg. The two had never faced each other, and being in separate leagues, there wasn’t much need for scouting reports this past season. We’ll hazard a guess that the Red Sox were more focused on winning a division title than figuring out who was closing in Milwaukee during the second half of the season.

Shaw goes on to say that he had a feeling he might be traded this offseason after he essentially lost his starting job when the Red Sox traded for Aaron Hill and then promoted Yoan Moncada, and also hearing how Pablo Sandoval has been working himself back into shape.

"It seems like the more I've looked into it, it benefits both teams and both players at the major league level. Only time will tell but I feel like that trade, it's a good situation for both guys."

Shaw says he hasn't heard much from Milwaukee since the trade, but the Brewers did ship him some new workout gear to wear to the gym during the winter. He expects to make his first trip to Milwaukee sometime in January.

You can listen to the entire interview, which details some of his frustrations with his role on the Red Sox last season, here.