The results indicate that it was a good deal for the Sox. We won the A.L. East in 2016 , 2017 and 2018. You may debate just how important the acquisition of Kimbrel was to that success , but the fact is that it has not happened before or since. Meanwhile, Margot has established himself as a decent MLB player , but the other three have shown next to nothing. Their stock and trade value was maximized in this deal . It would not have grown any by keeping them. And their departure did very little to decimate the farm. I understand why some did not like this trade when it happened , but given how it turned out, I cannot understand how you can still question it.