Red Sox land Thornburg for Shaw, 2 prospects

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The Red Sox accomplished their top priority of the offseason on Tuesday morning, acquiring righty setup man Tyler Thornburg in a trade with the Brewers, sources have confirmed.

Travis Shaw, who was Boston’s primary third baseman in 2016, will move to Milwaukee in the deal. The Red Sox are also sending two prospects — shortstop Mauricio Dubon and right-hander Josh Pennington — MLB.com has confirmed.

Neither club has announced the trade.

All offseason, Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski mentioned how much the club needed a reliever to pitch the eighth inning in front of All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel. On the second day of the Winter Meetings, Dombrowski got his man in Thornburg, who was a stud for the Brewers last season.

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Backed by a mid- to high-90s fastball and a plus curveball, the 28-year-old Thornburg notched a 2.15 ERA with 13 saves in 67 games in a breakout ’16. In fact, Thornburg handled the closer role for the Brewers the final two months of the season after Jeremy Jeffress was dealt to Texas.

A key component to the deal is that Thornburg is entering his first year of arbitration, which means the Red Sox have his contractual rights for the next three seasons.

With …

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