5 Prospects the Red Sox Could Target if They Sell at the Trade Deadline

[Billy Mock]

The stove should be heating up soon for the Red Sox as the trade deadline approaches. At 46-45 heading into Monday's game against the hapless Rockies, the Sox are in an interesting situation this year where they could be either buyers or sellers come the end of July, and likely could do a little bit of both. Despite the fact that their high-end prospects will soon be graduating, this is still one of the top farm systems in all of baseball. They have plenty of assets in the farm to acquire some talent at the deadline, but at the same time, adding depth to the farm is never a bad thing, either. My job today is identifying five prospects across the league from teams looking to buy at the deadline that would fit in the Red Sox system. 

Moises Ballesteros, C, Cubs #2 prospect, MLB #53

It's no secret that the Cubs are looking to buy at the trade deadline in the midst of the race for the NL Central crown. Among this year's group of contenders, they have one of the best farm systems to make a trade from. Of their four prospects ranked in MLB Pipeline's top 100, three are near MLB-ready (or have already debuted for a brief stint in Ballesteros' case) but are blocked for the foreseeable future. With that being said, the Cubs are more than likely going to have to deal one of these guys, especially in what feels like a make-or-break year for them.

Outside of Carlos Narvaez, who has been quite the pleasant surprise for the Sox, there is a true lack of catching depth in Boston. It seems likely they will be moving on from Connor Wong pretty soon, and beyond him, there isn't a whole lot of options in the farm that move the needle. Johanfran Garcia is the best catching prospect in the system, but is obviously a few years away from making any sort of impact.

A trade for Ballesteros could help answer that problem for the Red Sox. He has been one of the top hitting catchers in the minors dating back to 2023 and is the fifth-ranked catching prospect in baseball right now. In a full season across Double-A Knoxville and Triple-A Iowa, the 21-year-old hit 19 home runs while posting an .826 OPS and a 123 wRC+. He has kept pace thus far in 2025 with an .886 OPS and a 127 wRC+.

The premier tool for Ballesteros, and what will likely make him a big league regular, is the hit tool. He has consistently kept his strikeout rate around 15% at each of his stops in the minors despite a pretty aggressive approach. He does a good job of hitting the ball on a line or in the air at a high rate, and has flashed pop to all fields. He does have a bumpy track record when it comes to hitting lefties, so there is some platoon risk with him. However, he could pair well with Carlos Narvaez behind the dish. Narvaez is excellent defensively, but is likely not going to hit this well long-term, and while Ballesteros is not going to turn heads with his glove by any means, he projects as an above-average big league hitter. 

The bat should warrant Ballesteros at least a platoon role if he were to be traded to the Sox, and he has also gotten reps at first base throughout his minor league career, another obvious need for the roster. He doesn't quite have multi-time All-Star upside (at least until he displays a much better glove behind the dish or more over-the-fence pop), but he at least looks like a very reliable depth piece on a contending team for years to come. It seems like the Red Sox are looking to re-tool rather than completely rebuild, so Ballesteros makes a lot of sense in a trade. 

Harry Ford, C, Mariners #5 prospect, MLB #56

Keeping up with theme of top catching prospects, we have Harry Ford, the top catching prospect in the Mariners system who also happens to rank right behind Ballesteros overall. In a similar fashion to the Cubs' situation, the Mariners need to acquire some talent at the trade deadline to make a postseason push, and have the assets to do so. And not to mention, Ford is also blocked by the best catcher in the league, Cal Raleigh. 

Adding Ford to the system would grant them one of the more dynamic catchers in the minors. He was the 12th overall pick to the Mariners in the 2021 draft, one of just four high school catchers drafted in the first round dating back to 2021. With that being said, he entered pro ball with high expectations, and for the most part, he has delivered. 

He's a very mature hitter at the plate, making excellent swing decisions which has helped him achieve a pretty high floor as a hitter. He swings at pitches outside the zone at a well below-average rate while swinging at pitches in the zone at roughly a league-average rate. The approach has led to a 16.5% walk rate and a .407 on-base percentage for his career. His power production took a dip last year at Double-A Arkansas, but because he was still able to get on base at a high rate, he still clocked a 130 wRC+ on the season which ranked third among all catchers at Double-A last year. 

While his power has yet to really take off (career-high 15 home runs at High-A Everett), there is another element to Ford's game offensively that makes him an interesting prospect. Despite being behind the plate for the majority of his pro career, Ford is comfortably a 60-grade runner, and should still grade out as above-average even after he has sustained the wear and tear of a few big league seasons. He stole 35 bases at Double-A in 2024, which is the most in a single season by a minor league primary catcher dating all the way back to the early 2000s. 

At the rate Ford gets on base, his athleticism will be another layer to his game that should help him become an above-average big league catcher. Whether or not he continues to steal bases, he has a good foundation as a solid mover behind the plate. He has recently gotten some reps in the outfield as well, so he should have some flexibility if he's not to stick as a catcher long-term. If he were to move to an outfield role full-time, you could see the bat play up more while he can also really lean into his athleticism. The addition of Ford could be a very low-risk play for the Red Sox if they have what the Mariners are looking for. 

Boston Bateman, LHP, Padres #5 prospect

You can never have enough pitching depth in a farm system, so arms should always be near the top of your list when identifying prospects you want to acquire in a selling period. The Red Sox have become one of the premier organizations when it comes to developing young pitchers, and this deadline may be a chance to add future major league arms to the pitching pipeline. 

For Boston Bateman, it's not just the name that could be appealing to the Red Sox, but the full profile as well. Bateman was one of the top prep arms to come from last year's draft and was selected 52nd overall in the second round by the Padres. Red Sox fans have begun getting familiar with a minor league arm in their system by the name of Payton Tolle who draws a lot of similarities to Bateman. In fact, Tolle was selected just two spots ahead of Bateman in the same draft as the 50th overall pick.

Not only were Tolle and Bateman nearly draft neighbors, but they are nearly the same pitcher. That might excite the front office considering the early returns they've gotten from Tolle. At only 19 years old, Bateman stands in at a massive 6'8" and 240 pounds and moves well for his size. Nearly a whole three years younger than Tolle, there could be a lot more to dream on when it comes to polishing his game. 

Although Bateman entered San Diego's system last year, he didn't debut until this spring and has spent the entirety of 2025 with Low-A Lake Elsinore. in 60 2/3 innings across 13 starts, he owns a 3.41 ERA and a 27% strikeout rate. The appeal obviously comes from the physicality and his ability to handle larger workloads, but he also creates additional intrigue through his deceptive delivery that features some cross-fire action along with a lower arm angle that helps his fastball play up. The fastball has ticked up this spring, sitting in the mid-90s and has been an excellent table-setter in his arsenal. 

His big curveball was his go-to secondary out of the draft without true feel for any other offerings, but has developed a slider this spring that has found a lot of success. The addition of another arm-side offering would really complete his pitch-mix as a starter, and a changeup is in the works. It's an interesting pitch and looks a lot like the trendy "kick-change" that pitchers are throwing now, and almost mirrors his slider in terms of shape. The development of his command seems to be ahead of schedule as well as he has turned in an 8.3% walk rate and a 63.4% strike rate thus far in 2025. 

While the Red Sox likely will be looking for more prospects closer to MLB-ready, Bateman is certainly a pitcher that bulks up your pitching depth and can slot into a lot of organizations as a top-five pitching prospect. Of the five players discussed here, this could be the player most likely to land with the Red Sox considering their ties to the Padres as trade partners for the last couple of weeks. 

Eduardo Quintero, OF, Dodgers #5 prospect

Considering the Dodgers are always looking to add at the trade deadline, it was hard not to take a look at their farm system. A name that jumps off the page but has still managed to fly under the radar despite a breakout season is Eduardo Quintero. A 19-year-old outfielder that signed with the Dodgers out of Venezuela in 2023, Quintero has emerged as one of the better outfield prospects in the lower levels of the minors.

Young international prospects typically come with a lot of variance and are very hard to project, so they're often referred to as "lottery tickets" when brought up in trade talks. However, in Quintero's case, he has established a solid foundation of success for himself moving forward in his first year of full-season ball. 

In 345 plate appearances thus far for Low-A Rancho, he has hit 13 home runs and stole 33 bases, while owning a .963 OPS and a 159 wRC+. Among all qualified full-season hitters 19 years old or younger, he has hit the most home runs and owns the highest OPS while his wRC+ ranks third. The power has certainly taken quite the leap this year for Quintero. In his minor league career leading up to this year, he hit only eight home runs across 557 plate appearances. 

While the power has shown a lot of promise, it all starts with the hit tool and athleticism for Quintero. He makes consistent hard contact to all fields while chasing pitches outside of the zone at a well below-average rate. At the Dominican Summer League and the Arizona Complex League where strikeout rates are usually inflated for young international prospects, he kept his rates below 20%. Because of the patient approach, he has been able to walk over 15% of the time as well. With the growing power and speed on the bases, there is certainly a lot to like about him as a prospect moving forward.

Quintero spent a lot of time catching in Venezuela, so center field is still fairly new to him. He has spent some time in right field where his arm plays well, but he looks like he can be a plus defender in center field long-term with more experience. When you add that element to his game, you're then talking about one of the highest ceilings in the minors. With that being said, Quintero's rising stock may mean that a trade requires a one-for-one swap rather than receiving him in a prospect haul. Regardless, he's looking like a prospect worth betting on in that scenario. 

Khal Stephen, RHP, Blue Jays #9 prospect

To add another pitcher to the mix, we travel across the border to Toronto where the Blue Jays should be in play as buyers at the trade deadline. The Blue Jays did really well in last year's draft, adding Trey Yesavage and Khal Stephen with their first two picks, both of whom are pitchers that came from the college ranks. Given the pressure on the Blue Jays to win this year, one of, if not both, could be trade bait. Stephen is the likelier option considering Yesavage is the best pitcher in the system and could make an impact on the big league squad as early as this year. That's not to say Stephen can't do the same, as he's also looking like a fast mover that can be a big league pitcher sooner rather than later, something the Red Sox would obviously value highly.

A Mississippi State product, Stephen opened the season with Low-A Dunedin where he threw 39 1/3 innings across eight starts. He logged a 2.06 ERA and struck out 31.4% of the batters he faced, earning a quick promotion to High-A Vancouver where he has been even better.

In 42 1/3 innings across eight starts thus far, he owns a 1.49 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP, while batters are hitting only .184 off of him. For the entire season, Stephen's ERA sits at 1.76 in 81 2/3 innings, a mark that ranks third among all qualified full-season minor league pitchers.  

The success for Stephen starts with his above-average command. That was his calling card coming out of college as he walked only 5.5% of hitters in his junior year at Mississippi State. He has maintained that level of success in pro ball, walking hitters at a 5.4% clip while striking out hitters at a higher rate than he did in college. He's primarily throwing a fastball and a changeup which are thrown for strikes more often on average than breaking balls, so you could see an adjustment period as he starts to factor in his curveball and slider more often in the upper levels. 

He stands in at 6'4" and 215 pounds, so while he's not the physical specimen that Boston Bateman is, Stephen does have a big league starter's body. He already has a large enough workload under his belt dating back to his amateur days that suggests he can handle 150+ innings at the next level. Paired with his ability to command the strike zone well, the physical profile suggests Stephen already has the floor of a back-end starter.

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[TedYazPapiMookie]

I want to compliment you on the research that went into your article and ask you a few questions.

1 - The premise that BOS would trade for a catcher prospect after they gave up Teel in their deal to get Crochet, what was the basis of that choice compared to the alternative of getting a more experienced catcher? 

Teel was on the verge of being an MLB #1 catcher and now is with CWS.  Why would Breslow want to take a step backwards with regard to finding the catcher of the future?  Last year everyone thought Wong had stepped up and become the C of the future except his history suggested he was more of a pretender than a keeper, especially since Friedman gave him up.  It turns out 2025 seems to suggest that he was a pretender.  Now Narvaez coming from the Yankees is having an outstanding year.  In fact, it's a career year for a guy who toiled in the minors from 2016 to 2024 when he got a NYY call-up for 6 games and hit .231.  His minor league history is actually worse than Wong's was.  He only hit .300 once in 8 seasons so far and that was at Hi-A in 2022 where he hit .304 and recently, he went to the Venezuelan Winter League and showcased a .377 average in 24 games against lesser competition.  

I have my doubts about Narvaez just like I had with Wong.  Teel on the other hand had built a strong reputation and looked to be the next coming of Fisk or Varitek depending on how much of his full potential he achieved.  So, the idea of needing a catcher is a great one!!!   I'm only asking you why Breslow shouldn't aim hire for a proven catcher to be the #1 in 2026 with either Narvaez or Wong being the back-up?  You made a logical argument for your choices, I simply think we need to aim higher for a more experienced catcher and then consider a catcher in the draft this year in the second round. 

I got a lot of grief from some of the more vocal participants on the website for suggesting Raleigh but thinking big isn't a common practice by many of the participants on the website.  I figure anything Friedman can do; Breslow can do so go big or go home.  Find a player you can overpay for but is worth it like Friedman did with Mookie, Freddy and Ohtani is smart baseball.  Boston has the money to get a Raleigh and the prospects to make that happen so why not take a shot.

2 - Boston Bateman is an interesting choice.  He doesn't have much data to look at so I'm impressed with the depth of your knowledge about him.  His one season on Baseball Reference doesn't show anything exceptional at A ball but he does come from a hotbed of great HS programs in Southern California and ranked well with Perfect Game.  His size for me is a double-edged sword.  At 6-8 240 he is awfully large for a 19-year-old.  CC Sabathia comes to mind.  If he can pitch like him, that would be great.  His weight could also be a potential problem.  Your comparison to Tolle was very interesting.  Tolle being an accomplished College player that is 3 years older but 2 inches smaller and 10 pounds heavier would create quite the starting rotation with the current BOS starters.  It would look like a basketball team with some very big forwards!!   

I agree that this is the type of SP that BOS should be seeking to bolster our current IL pitchers with limited experience (Houck, Crawford and Sandoval).

Thanks again for putting together such a well-researched article.  It's articles like this one that make this website a fun place to find out opinions from knowledgeable baseball fans.  Great job.

[harmony]

7 hours ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

I got a lot of grief from some of the more vocal participants on the website for suggesting Raleigh but thinking big isn't a common practice by many of the participants on the website.  I figure anything Friedman can do; Breslow can do so go big or go home.  Find a player you can overpay for but is worth it like Friedman did with Mookie, Freddy and Ohtani is smart baseball.  Boston has the money to get a Raleigh and the prospects to make that happen so why not take a shot.

The Seattle Mariners have averaged 88+ wins over Cal Raleigh's first four seasons and currently hold down a Wild Card slot. FanGraphs gives the Mariners a 72.4 percent chance of advancing to the postseason while Baseball Reference lists their chances at 67.6 percent. The Red Sox chances are 31.1 percent and 43.3 percent.

What could the Red Sox offer in exchange for the Mariner cornerstone, whom Baseball Trade Values currently assigns a surplus value of $179.3 million?

Why would the Mariners want prospects in the middle of a race for the postseason appearance? FWIW Seattle entered the season with Keith Law's top-ranked farm system at The Athletic.

After just signing a six-year extension, would Raleigh, despite some family roots in New England, waive his no-trade clause to join a struggling franchise seeking a return to relevance?

[mvp 78]

1 hour ago, harmony said:

The Seattle Mariners have averaged 88+ wins over Cal Raleigh's first four seasons and currently hold down a Wild Card slot. FanGraphs gives the Mariners a 72.4 percent chance of advancing to the postseason while Baseball Reference lists their chances at 67.6 percent. The Red Sox chances are 31.1 percent and 43.3 percent.

What could the Red Sox offer in exchange for the Mariner cornerstone, whom Baseball Trade Values currently assigns a surplus value of $179.3 million?

Why would the Mariners want prospects in the middle of a race for the postseason appearance? FWIW Seattle entered the season with Keith Law's top-ranked farm system at The Athletic.

After just signing a six-year extension, would Raleigh, despite some family roots in New England, waive his no-trade clause to join a struggling franchise seeking a return to relevance?

harmony, you're just not thinking big. 

[harmony]

10 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

harmony, you're just not thinking big. 

Baseball Trade Values assigns the package of Garrett Crochet, Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer a combined surplus value of $173.7 million, just shy of Cal Raleigh's assigned surplus value of $179.3 million.

That's big!😀

Last October BTV undervalued Raleigh at $19.8 million; today's value may have overcompensated.

Or not.

[Billy Mock]

20 hours ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

I want to compliment you on the research that went into your article and ask you a few questions.

1 - The premise that BOS would trade for a catcher prospect after they gave up Teel in their deal to get Crochet, what was the basis of that choice compared to the alternative of getting a more experienced catcher? 

Teel was on the verge of being an MLB #1 catcher and now is with CWS.  Why would Breslow want to take a step backwards with regard to finding the catcher of the future?  Last year everyone thought Wong had stepped up and become the C of the future except his history suggested he was more of a pretender than a keeper, especially since Friedman gave him up.  It turns out 2025 seems to suggest that he was a pretender.  Now Narvaez coming from the Yankees is having an outstanding year.  In fact, it's a career year for a guy who toiled in the minors from 2016 to 2024 when he got a NYY call-up for 6 games and hit .231.  His minor league history is actually worse than Wong's was.  He only hit .300 once in 8 seasons so far and that was at Hi-A in 2022 where he hit .304 and recently, he went to the Venezuelan Winter League and showcased a .377 average in 24 games against lesser competition.  

I have my doubts about Narvaez just like I had with Wong.  Teel on the other hand had built a strong reputation and looked to be the next coming of Fisk or Varitek depending on how much of his full potential he achieved.  So, the idea of needing a catcher is a great one!!!   I'm only asking you why Breslow shouldn't aim hire for a proven catcher to be the #1 in 2026 with either Narvaez or Wong being the back-up?  You made a logical argument for your choices, I simply think we need to aim higher for a more experienced catcher and then consider a catcher in the draft this year in the second round. 

I got a lot of grief from some of the more vocal participants on the website for suggesting Raleigh but thinking big isn't a common practice by many of the participants on the website.  I figure anything Friedman can do; Breslow can do so go big or go home.  Find a player you can overpay for but is worth it like Friedman did with Mookie, Freddy and Ohtani is smart baseball.  Boston has the money to get a Raleigh and the prospects to make that happen so why not take a shot.

2 - Boston Bateman is an interesting choice.  He doesn't have much data to look at so I'm impressed with the depth of your knowledge about him.  His one season on Baseball Reference doesn't show anything exceptional at A ball but he does come from a hotbed of great HS programs in Southern California and ranked well with Perfect Game.  His size for me is a double-edged sword.  At 6-8 240 he is awfully large for a 19-year-old.  CC Sabathia comes to mind.  If he can pitch like him, that would be great.  His weight could also be a potential problem.  Your comparison to Tolle was very interesting.  Tolle being an accomplished College player that is 3 years older but 2 inches smaller and 10 pounds heavier would create quite the starting rotation with the current BOS starters.  It would look like a basketball team with some very big forwards!!   

I agree that this is the type of SP that BOS should be seeking to bolster our current IL pitchers with limited experience (Houck, Crawford and Sandoval).

Thanks again for putting together such a well-researched article.  It's articles like this one that make this website a fun place to find out opinions from knowledgeable baseball fans.  Great job.

Really appreciate your feedback! To answer your question about catchers - this piece solely focuses on what the Red Sox could get in return in a scenario where they are really selling off talent to re-stock the farm. We don't know if they plan to buy or sell at the deadline, so they certainly could pursue an established catcher if they wanted to. However, there isn't really a catcher market at the deadline this year. A deal for Adley Rutschman would probably be the closest thing to what you're looking for and nothing suggests Baltimore is looking to move him (although I'm sure they would field offers). I definitely agree with you that Breslow should target an established catcher in either the free agent or trade market if they truly believe they're in a win-now window, but adding a high-end catching prospect to a farm that is already one of the best in baseball would create some solid flexibility.

Bateman is a really fun prospect despite his short track record. I think he has the upside to be the top high school pitcher to come from the 2024 draft class. In a sense, he's an outlier for a pitcher his size because of how well he moves. I wouldn't be worried about his size. Yes, he's probably maxed out when it comes to physical projection, but he'd also be at the hands of one of the best player development departments that will know how to get the most out of his body type (why I compared him to Tolle). The days of "overweight" pitchers are over, organizations are in the business of developing true athletes nowadays. 

[Soxlover]

AAA OBP

.371 Narvaez

.329 Wong