Red Sox Shipped Out Three Young Pitchers for Willson Contreras — Who Were They?

[Nick John]

The Boston Red Sox improved their offense just prior to Christmas, as they completed their fourth major trade of the offseason and second with the St. Louis Cardinals. The move, which brought over slugging first baseman Willson Contreras and $8 million in cash, saw the Red Sox send back three young and exciting pitchers.

The headliner of the trade was fan-favorite Hunter Dobbins who made his major-league debut for the Red Sox in 2025. The right-hander provided valuable depth for the organization as he traveled up and down the Mass Pike throughout the season. Dobbins quickly endeared himself to the team thanks to his quality pitching, along with his immediate dislike of the Yankees, going as far to say that if only the Yankees offered him a contract, he would rather retire from the sport.

Overall, Dobbins pitched in 13 games with Boston, making 11 starts. He would go on to finish the year with a 4-1 record while striking out 45 batters across 61 innings. Despite being a rookie, Dobbins anchored the back end of the rotation while the Sox battled injuries and inconsistency. While the month of May yielded some growing pains for Dobbins (16 earned runs over 28 1/3 innings), he turned a corner when it was needed; in June, he allowed just eight earned runs across 20 innings pitched, including a huge six inning, scoreless appearance against the New York Yankees on Father’s Day weekend.

As a pitcher, Dobbins incorporates six pitches, using his fastball most often. While the right-hander was around average in chase rate (28.1%), his whiff rate and strikeout rate were both near the bottom of the league (21.9% and 17.6%, respectively). However, he managed to stay out of a lot of trouble thanks to an amazingly low walk rate (6.6%) and an ability to keep the ball on the ground at nearly a 50% rate.

Dobbins’ season ended prematurely in July when he tore his ACL in his right knee during a start in July against the Tampa Bay Rays while covering first base. Dobbins was already down at Fort Myers earlier this offseason and had shown he was playing catch at the complex. His goal is to be ready for the start of the season — if he is, could crack the Opening Day rotation for the Cardinals.

Also joining Dobbins on their way to St. Louis are two interesting minor-league pitchers in right-handers Yhoiker Fajardo and Blake Aita.

Fajardo came to the Red Sox as the return from the trade that sent left-hander Cam Booser to the Chicago White Sox. Fajardo, while young, was a quick riser on Red Sox prospect lists. He opened the season allowing just one run in 20 2/3 innings in the Florida Complex League. Then, he would go on to finish the campaign starting 13 games for Single-A Salem, tossing 51 1/3 innings and striking out 59 batters. Fajardo still has some projection to grow, especially in his upper body. He relies on three pitches, a fastball that tops out at 97 mph, a slider that flashes bat-missing potential and a changeup that already shows good movement and occasional bat-missing ability. He also has a two-seam fastball he sometimes uses that has arm-side run and sink.

Aita, on the other hand, was drafted in the sixth round of the 2024 Draft out of Kennesaw State. The right-hander pitched well in his first taste of professional baseball in 2025, making 23 appearances between Single-A Salem and High-A Greenville. Overall, he would go on to finish with a 5-7 record and a 3.98 ERA across 115 1/3 innings pitched. Aita showed better improvement upon reaching Greenville, pitching 64 1/3 innings while recording a 3.78 ERA, compared to just 51 innings and a 4.24 ERA with Salem. The right-hander throws a fastball, sweeper, cutter, and changeup, and all look to be at least average at this point. Aita took to the Red Sox pitching program well, as his fastball (which sat around 89-92 mph in college) averaged around 92-95 mph across the season. The fastball, along with his sweeper and cutter, also generated high spin rates. His sweeper alone reached over 3200 RPMs during the season and showcased strong bat-missing potential.

While the Red Sox managed to bring in a much-needed offensive improvement, it was not without a big sacrifice. Thankfully, the Red Sox under Craig Breslow have overhauled their pitching development so that moves like this don’t hurt as much as they did in the past. The trade overall seems like a win for both sides, as the Red Sox got their offensive addition while Chaim Bloom and the Cardinals got younger and brought in interesting pitching prospects that should help accelerate their young rebuild.

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