Alex Mayes

With Red Sox trade rumors flying in every direction imaginable, it's time to jump into the team's top 10 on the future values big board. If you missed the last two installments, you can find them here: 16-20 11-15. In the penultimate installment of this series, we come across two types of young players: those with extensions and those with a real chance of being moved over the next couple months. #10. Ceddanne Rafaela, OF Season age in 2025: 24 Years of team control: 7 Ceddanne Rafaela became the super-utility man for the Red Sox during the 2024 season. He shuffled from center field, where he has the potential to be a platinum glove winner, to shortstop, to second base. In April, Rafaela and the Red Sox agreed to an extension to the tune of eight years and $50 million. This helped signal that the Red Sox want to invest in their young core. For the most part, Rafaela rewarded the organization for their belief in him. He slashed .246/.274/.390 in 2024 but shined on the defensive side of the baseball (at least in center). He made plays that you wouldn’t expect most outfielders to make. To move him up on this list, Rafaela needs to work on his pitch selection. He chases pitches frequently. His 46.4% chase rate was the worst among all qualified players in 2024 and, simply, one of the worst ever recorded. A young, cost-controlled outfielder like Rafaela holds plenty of value, but unless he can learn to stop chasing pitches wildly out of the zone, he's unlikely to move up any higher on this list. #9. Tanner Houck, RHP Season age in 2025: 29 Years of team control: 3 Tanner Houck rose to prominence during the 2024 season and should now be viewed as a cornerstone of the rotation. Until he wore down at the end of the season, Houck was the team's most reliable starter and the de facto ace of the staff. He stepped into this role with ease. You knew when Houck was on the bump that a quality start was coming. He went 9-10 on the season but turned in 19 quality starts. It’s no secret that his win-loss record was hurt by the defense behind him and a lack of run support. There’s a ton of value in a reliable starter who shows four pitches and can be counted on to pitch past the fifth inning on a regular basis. Houck is arbitration eligible through the 2027 season, when he will be 31. Should the Red Sox need to add a starter to sweeten a potential trade, don’t be surprised to see the other team ask for Houck. That offer will probably be rebuffed though, at least through the 2025 season. #8. Marcelo Mayer, SS Season age in 2025: 22 Years of team control: 3 You could argue I have Marcelo Mayer too far down on this list, but although he's a top-four draft pick, his injury history weighs him down. Mayer technically ended the season at Triple A, but he saw no game action at that level. In Portland, he slashed .307/.370/.480, an incredibly impressive line. It’s obvious that when he is healthy, Mayer is a top player in the entire sport. He's considered the shortstop of the future for the Red Sox for good reason. However, his biggest value may come as a blue chip trade piece. Other teams are no doubt salivating for the chance to trade for a top-ranked prospect who plays the most athletic position in the sport and who can hit the cover off the ball. A package built around Mayer could easily land the Red Sox an ace-caliber pitcher, or even a first baseman to step into the lineup should another person we’ll get to in a minute be included in the same deal. There’s a ton of value in keeping Mayer in the organization, but as the lineup is currently constructed, he’s blocked by a (presumably) healthy Trevor Story. Mayer could be the future at shortstop, but the organization is loaded with talent in the minors at that position, so trading him away could make quite a bit of sense. #7. Brayan Bello, RHP Season age in 2025: 26 Years of team control: 6 Brayan Bello was given maybe the most surprising extension of the offseason. A young pitcher, he has proven to be solid, but not the top-of-the-rotation piece the Red Sox hoped he would be in 2024. This past season got off to a rough start. Then he spent a few extra days in Miami before his first start in July, where he began to settle in as a dominant pitcher again. In 2024, he went 14-8, posting 10 quality starts. His 21.8% strikeout rate is subpar, but he’s a groundball pitcher who thrives when he can play his sinker off his slider. His changeup is a dominant strikeout pitch as well. Bello has a high-end second starter ceiling and if the stuff he showed in the second half of the season sticks, then the Red Sox could do much worse than rolling him out every five days. The value lies in the contract. Bello is young and cost-controlled. Should the Red Sox decide, for some reason, to sell on the young starter, that extension ensures that they would get a huge return for him. The market for young starters is nuts, as we’ve seen when discussing potential trades for Garrett Crochet. The plan should be for the Red Sox to slot Bello into the rotation and allow him to keep developing as another homegrown starter. #6. Triston Casas, 1B Season age in 2025: 25 Years of team control: 4 Triston Casas has seen his name bandied about in trade rumors for the last few weeks, and for good reason. He’s a young power hitter who profiles as a future star in this league. However, even after Craig Breslow pushed back on those rumors, it seems possible that the Red Sox are at least considering moving the young star. Even after an injury-shortened season, Casas holds tremendous value both for the Red Sox and for many other teams. He projects to be a lifer at first base, no matter what team he is playing on. The front office and Casas engaged in some extension talks before the 2024 season began, signaling that Boston is serious about wanting to keep him around long-term. However, that could have been the beginning of the discussion unloading the slugger as well. If he was unwilling to sign an extension like Rafaela or Bello, then ownership and Breslow may decide that he’s worth more as a trade piece. A deal built around Casas and a prospect like Mayer could net the Red Sox their ace or someone possibly a star like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. That’s a ton to give up, but if the Red Sox are serious about acquiring someone else to play third and shifting Rafael Devers to first, or if they want to open a spot for another superstar from the Dominican Republic to help lure the likes of Juan Soto, the'll need to make big moves. View full article

Hot on the heels of the Willy Adames news, the Red Sox are interested in bringing in multiple free agent starting pitchers. To paraphrase Smashmouth, “Well, the news starts coming and it don’t stop coming.” It seems that the Boston Red Sox have decided to kick off Thanksgiving week with a bang. To go along with the news about Willy Adames, the one and only Tyler Milliken has added this little tidbit of information: The Red Sox are looking to add two of the top free agent pitchers, specifically targeting left-handers Max Fried and Blake Snell, to go with left-handed trade target Garrett Crochet. Either the front office is making contingency plans should they fail to land the White Sox ace or they anticipate that deal getting done then bringing in another left-handed pitcher along with Corbin Burnes. Let’s take a look at two possible scenarios. Sign Corbin Burnes and Blake Snell This option is the biggest splash in pitching free agency the team could make. The Sox would bring in two ace-level pitchers, one righty andone lefty. Either one would slot in as the de facto ace of the rotation and what was formerly a weakness would suddenly be a strength. A rotation of Burnes, Snell, Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello, and Lucas Giolito would be formidable. Burnes has proven throughout the 2024 season that he is more than capable of pitching in the AL East. Within the division, Burnes sported a 22.6 strikeout rate, 7.4 walk rate, and a .264 wOBA. His spray chart against the AL East adds nine more probable home runs in 2024, but as we know, the Green Monster would limit some of that damage as well. Blake Snell’s stats against the AL East show a similar strikeout percentage, 23.3%, but an elevated walk rate, 13.3%. The sample size against the division is much smaller for Snell but also had success. Trade for Garrett Crochet, sign Corbin Burnes, sign Blake Snell or Max Fried This option would be the biggest splash in the pitching market, maybe in the history of baseball. Bringing in three ace-caliber pitchers (or at least two aces and one young pitcher with all the makings of an ace) would signal that the Red Sox are dead set on competing not just for a division title, but for a World Series title. Free agent position players would be itching to take the field behind what could be the most potent starting rotation in the majors. We’ve already broken down Burnes and Snell, so let’s look at what Crochet and Fried offer to Boston. The pitch totals against the AL East for both pitchers are close enough that I’m comfortable looking at them head-to-head. They both threw roughly 10% of their total pitches against the division and ran similar strikeout percentages, Fried at 31.6% and Crochet at 29.8%. Fried holds the edge, by a large margin, on walk percentage though, 2.5% against Crochet’s 7.0. Their wOBA runs close enough as well, Fried at .225 and Crochet at .256. Adding both Crochet and Fried to the rotation gives the Red Sox another strikeout pitcher in Crochet and a contact pitcher in Fried who still can get people to strikeout when necessary. There’s something else in that tweet though, the last sentence: “No one is boasting about their plans to suddenly spend money and dive into the deepest end of the free-agent waters more than Red Sox.” What a line. In early October, Red Sox president Sam Kennedy went on MassLive’s Fenway Rundown podcast and I wrote up an overview of some comments that stood out to me. At the time, like most other fans, I took what Kennedy had to say with a grain of salt and mostly responded ‘prove it’ to anything that sounded like the Red Sox were willing to go big. It seems, about six weeks later, the Red Sox are on the verge of proving it. This doesn’t feel like a full-throttle moment anymore. The Boston Red Sox are in on Juan Soto, they want to bring in two of the top tier free agent pitchers, and there is interest in Willy Adames and Alex Bregman. They're an almost perfect match for the White Sox in a trade for Garrett Crochet, even if the price seems to have gone up from the original discussions earlier this offseason. Buckle up Red Sox fans. We may be looking at just the beginning of what could be the biggest offseason in franchise history. Here’s to hoping. [Editor's Note: Please direct all complaints about the Smashmouth reference to @iamalexmayes.bsky.social. We had nothing to do with it.] View full article

Sean Manaea made huge strides as a member of the New York Mets in 2024. Should the Boston Red Sox be interested in bringing him into the rotation for 2025? Sean Manaea may be the most improved pitcher in the second tier of pitching free agents. He changed his delivery this season in New York after watching Chris Sale. He dropped his arm slot from a 28-degree angle in the first half of the season to an 18-degree angle in the second half and saw incredible results. He will be a highly sought-after pitcher on the open market, even after he declined the qualifying offer the Mets extended. Any team that signs Manaea will have to give up draft capital. There are many pros to signing someone like Manaea to the Red Sox roster. He shows six pitches but concentrates on his sinker, sweeper, and change-up. He uses a four-seamer in conjunction with his change-up, but it sits at the same average velocity as his sinker, so it doesn’t play up unless he’s featuring it behind his off-speed pitches. He went 12-6 on the season with 15 quality starts. On the season, Manaea had a 24.9% strikeout rate and an 8.5% walk rate. Compared to the top three starters in the rotation last year; Tanner Houck (20.8%/6.2%), Brayan Bello (21.8%/9.1%), and Kutter Crawford (23.1%/6.7%) Manaea has a higher strikeout rate than all of them but walks more batters than all but Bello. As currently constructed, the Red Sox could use a reliable left-handed starter in their rotation. However, the lefty may not make sense for the Red Sox to sign for a handful of reasons. To start, declining the Qualifying Offer may already take him out of the running. Sure, when Nick Pivetta signs elsewhere, the Red Sox will receive a compensatory pick, so the argument could be made that Manaea would be worth giving up a pick to sign, but typically, that’s not how the Red Sox have operated. There are few players that the Red Sox should consider giving up draft capital to sign, and Sean Manaea could easily be on the bubble of that list. He could be the final piece should the Sox trade for Garrett Crochet but miss out on Blake Snell, Max Fried, or Corbin Burnes. On top of that, his spray chart at Fenway Park doesn’t look great. Long fly balls that turned into outs suddenly turned into home runs. The Green Monster will knock some of those fly balls down into singles and doubles, but it could potentially take a pitcher who has figured things out and inflate his numbers exponentially. If we look at the numbers over the last five seasons, some potentially concerning trends begin to emerge. I hopped on Baseball Savant and pulled Manaea numbers against the 20 qualified right-handed hitters with the highest pull rates since 2020. Specifically, I was looking at strikeout rate, walk rate, on-base percentage, and wOBA. From 2020 to 2023, those batters had a .419 wOBA and struck out 21.8% of the time. However, it seems as though Manaea may have turned the corner in 2024 after lowering his arm slot. This past season his strikeout rate went up to 33.3%, and his wOBA clocked in at an exceptionally low .160. Those 20 righties batted just .083 against him. Despite a small sample size, those are encouraging numbers. Sean Manaea could be a great fit in Boston next year. Changing his arm slot seems to have unlocked a new level of dominance for him. However, it remains to be seen if that arm slot change sticks past one season. Look for Manaea to get a multi-year contract, but the Boston Red Sox probably won’t be interested in his services unless they strike out on the top-tier starting pitching free agents. View full article

The baseball stove is hot in preparation for Thanksgiving and the Red Sox seem to be the ones turning up the heat with some Willy Adames interest. Last week, Davy Andrews wrote an excellent piece detailing the pros and cons of the Red Sox signing Willy Adames. Some incredibly valid points were raised on both sides of the argument, and Davy seemed to be a bit ahead of the game regarding the link between Boston and Adames. Tyler Milliken posted on X this morning: Woah. That’s huge news, but it begs the question: Where will Adames play if he comes to Boston? There are two answers, both with varying degrees of explanation. Let’s start with the most realistic. Red Sox Sign Willy Adames To Play Third Base This makes the most sense, especially with the rumors that the Red Sox have held internal discussions on moving Rafael Devers from third to first. Adames has said he’s open to moving to second or third, depending on what his new team asks of him. In Boston, second base seems to be Kristian Campbell’s for the taking at some point during the 2025 season, so the shift in position shouldn’t be there. Adames moving to third allows Trevor Story to continue to play his natural position at shortstop and shifts Devers into either the role of full-time designated hitter or into a brand new position at first base. Devers to first may not be the most ideal option to some, but the reasoning behind it makes sense. It’s no secret that Devers isn’t the strongest defensive third baseman. He often makes insanely difficult plays but struggles with the routine ones. At first, he has to learn to pick the ball and accept throws from anywhere on the diamond, but for a natural athlete like Devers and a mostly full offseason to work on it, that shouldn’t be too much of a problem. This also opens up the Red Sox to be incredibly strong on the trade market as a position shift for Devers will all but guarantee that Triston Casas is traded. Some people argue that trading Casas, who has the potential to be a 40-home-run hitter at first, is insane if you’re just replacing him with someone who has never played the position before, and in a vacuum, that makes sense. However, Admes has pop and should hit at least 20 home runs as a member of the Boston Red Sox. If we overlay his spray chart on top of Fenway Park, we see far more balls hit over the Green Monster. This spray chart should help settle the worry about the potential production loss from Triston Casas if he departs in a trade. The second option is a bit convoluted, but bear with me. Red Sox Sign Willy Adames To Play Shortstop, Trevor Story Moves To Second, Rafael Devers Moves To DH, Red Sox Either Sign Alex Bregman Or Trade For Nolan Arenado As Milliken said in his tweet, the Red Sox are interested in either signing Alex Bregman or trading with the St. Louis Cardinals for Nolan Arenado. Still, either option would require them also to trade Masataka Yoshida, and his market is incredibly limited. There may be something to making a deal with the Cardinals as old friend Chaim Bloom is preparing to take over the reins there after the 2025 season. However, it was reported that Bloom struggled with the Yoshida contract after it was signed, so seeing him bring Masa back into the fold seems unlikely unless the Red Sox agree to pay a large portion of his contract. Masa also recovered from a right shoulder labral repair in early October, thus limiting his value even more. He’s expected to be ready to go by the end of spring training, but taking on a contract for an injured player who hasn’t lived up to the hype isn’t a deal most teams are looking to make. Even bringing in Bregman requires a Yoshida trade, which seems unlikely at this stage. Moving Story back to second has legs, though. He played well there in the 2022 season, and playing second may slightly lessen the injury chance moving forward. Without making a secondary deal, signing Adames to play short and shifting Story to second would allow Devers to continue to play third base, which his agent claims is the position he wants to play. If the Red Sox are serious about bringing in Willy Adames, there are multiple ways to insert him into the infield and improve nearly every aspect of the game. He’s a trusted defender, hits for power, and even has started swiping bags. Adames makes a lot of sense for the Red Sox if they are willing to shift positions for other core team members. View full article

If the Boston Red Sox want to appease their fans, they'll have to go all in. Why not spend like it's World Series or bust? This series of articles is a primer for the release of our new "You're The Red Sox GM!" tool, where you play the role of Craig Breslow and build your own Red Sox offseason. Please visit the tool here and join in on the fun! That’s right, I'm going there. I’m trusting the process, buying into the messaging, and as the General Manager of the Boston Red Sox, I’ve been told to spend to make us contenders. And if trades need to be made to help make it happen, we’ve got log jams that need to be cleared. When plotting this exercise I decided that sign everyone because it isn’t my money wasn’t a realistic approach, so I tried to keep this to something that I legitimately could see happening. Some fan favorites are going to be dealt, but I've managed to keep the farm system in good shape. Let’s start with the trades. First, Garrett Crochet is headed to Boston. Boston Red Sox Receive: Garrett Crochet Chicago White Sox Receive: Wilyer Abreu, Kutter Crawford, Jhostynxon Garcia This trade makes sense for both sides. The Red Sox get a left-handed, top-of-the-rotation pitcher and the White Sox get a Gold Glove outfielder with pop, a reliable starting pitcher to help bridge the gap until they are ready to compete again, and a young prospect with a ton of promise. Crochet would play incredibly well at Fenway Park. If we overlay his spray chart over Fenway, we notice a few things. First, some of those outs in left field will turn into singles and doubles instead of home runs due to the nature of the Green Monster. Luckily, the Red Sox employ multiple outfielders who understand how to play in front of the Monster and can help limit the damage to balls hit to left. On top of that, one of the biggest strengths of the Red Sox is their glove-first outfielders. Crochet can step on the mound knowing anything hit to the outfield is going to be snared and controlled, even with the addition of a certain outfielder we’ll get to later. The second trade I’d make is within the division. Boston Red Sox Receive: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Toronto Blue Jays Receive: Triston Casas, Miguel Bleis, David Sandlin This trade may rub some people the wrong way. It’s a lot to give up for one player, but it is well worth it. Vladimir Gurerrero Jr. is a game-changer at first base. As a big fan of Casas, he’s upgradeable in someone like Vladdy. It’s no secret to Red Sox fans that Vladdy absolutely mashes at Fenway Park. The spray chart shows that. On top of the added home runs to left, he sneaks quite a few around the Pesky Pole as well. Casas could easily be the first baseman of the future in Boston, Miguel Bleis has the potential to be a true five-tool player, and David Sandlin could be one of the most intriguing arms in the system but when presented with the chance to add even more power to this lineup, you jump at it. Next, we move to the free agent signings. I’ve got money to spend and I’m planning on spending big. To start, we need two major pitching upgrades. First, go big for another starter and sign Blake Snell to a four-year, $120-million contract. Yes, Snell is turning 32 next month and this contract will take him through his age-36 season. However, the Red Sox have lacked a top-of-the-rotation, ace-level starter for years. Even with the Crochet trade, there’s still room for improvement. Snell’s Baseball Savant page is red-hot, literally. He’s a four-seam first pitcher with excellent strikeout and whiff rates. He misses barrels, something the rotation lacked in 2024. He adds a veteran voice to the clubhouse and can provide steady leadership to a young starting rotation. The second addition to the pitching staff comes in the form of a lockdown closer to captain the bullpen, Tanner Scott. A five-year, $60-million contract should be enough to bring him to Boston. The Red Sox have seemed like they have been in on Scott since the end of the season and he would make too much sense to ignore. Scott is a proven closer, notching 22 saves in 2024 while going 9-6 in wins and losses. He can slot into any situation and be trusted to take the mound and deliver results. He mainly throws two pitches, a four-seam fastball and a slider that play off each other incredibly well. Scott is the answer to the hole in the back of the bullpen, even with multiple people already in the organization who could step into the closer role. They would gladly move into a setup role to let someone like Scott close out games on a regular basis. To make room for Scott, Red Sox would DFA left-hander Brennan Bernardino. Finally, the big fish. The man who can learn to play the Green Monster on the fly because his bat is that good. And yes, he’s left-handed. That’s right, the one and only Juan Soto. My contract offer to him would be 13 years for $675 million with player opt-outs built into the contract after year six. Details from last week's meeting indicate that Soto is interested in the team's young core, and an approach that focuses on landing proven major leaguers without sacrificing the top tier of prospects should appeal to him. The Red Sox are poised to compete for every year of his contract and to instantly become a destination for free agents. We don’t have to rehash Soto’s numbers on the year but his slash line was .288/.419/.569. We all know he is the best hitter in the sport and hitting at Fenway Park should more than make him happy. Let’s look at that spray chart overlay. He should be salivating at taking aim at the Green Monster and roping monster home runs to dead center. Juan Soto would be the best hitter since Ted Williams to play for the Boston Red Sox. Let’s look at what the entire roster would look like after these additions. C: Connor Wong 1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 2B: Vaughn Grissom 3B: Rafael Devers SS: Trevor Story LF: Juan Soto CF: Jarren Duran RF: Ceddanne Rafaela DH: Masataka Yoshida 4th OF: Rob Refsnyder Utility: David Hamilton Utility: Romy Gonzalez Backup C: Kyle Teel SP1: Blake Snell SP2: Garrett Crochet SP3: Tanner Houck SP4: Brayan Bello SP5: Lucas Giolito RP: Liam Hendricks RP: Michael Fulmer RP: Garrett Whitlock RP: Justin Wilson RP: Cooper Criswell RP: Josh Winckowski RP: Justin Slaten RP: Tanner Scott These trades and signings would likely put the Red Sox around $247 million going into next season. That’s a ton of money, but it would be far from the most expensive roster in the league. The Red Sox are a big market team and should act like one. Bringing in top-tier free agents and adding ace-caliber talent through trades is exactly how they should operate year after year. If it were up to me, the offseason would already be in full swing and the fans would be talking about how the Boston Red Sox are the odds-on favorites to go to the World Series in 2025. What do you think of this offseason plan? Do you think you can do better? Then build your own Red Sox roster and hit the button below! Start Your Payroll Blueprint Now View full article

Welcome back to Talk Sox’s 2024 top 20 prospect rundown! Today concludes the top prospect list with the number one overall prospect in all of baseball, Roman Anthony. These rankings were voted on and compiled by the Talk Sox community. We made it! I’m proud of us; we did it. So far we’ve written and commented about the top 19 Red Sox prospects and it’s been great. People have disagreed with takes on the prospects and their rankings, but this one? This one was never in doubt. Roman Anthony is the top prospect in the Red Sox system and in the entire minor leagues. We all have high hopes for this kid and so far he appears as if he’s going to exceed every one of them. If there’s one prospect who should be untouchable this offseason, no matter what the return is, it’s Anthony. If you missed any of the other rankings, you can find them all below: 20-16, 15-11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Between Portland and Worcester, Anthony slashed .291/.396/.498 this season. He hit 18 total home runs and flashed a bit of speed as well, swiping 21 bags. His swing is easy, it has some loft, and it plays to all fields. Sure, he’s yet another left-handed bat, but Anthony has the potential to be a perennial All-Star as a right fielder. Once he hits the majors, more than likely in 2025, he could not only be the best hitter in Boston but potentially the best hitter in the league. That’s not hyperbole, that’s not me being a homer. Roman Anthony is that good at baseball. If we overlay his triple-A spray chart over Fenway Park it’s impressive. Keep in mind he only played 35 games in Worcester and Baseball Savant doesn’t include anything below that level in its graphs. We’re looking at someone who has the potential to light up Fenway in ways we haven’t seen in a long time. Imagine this kind of power slotted into the cleanup spot in the lineup, protecting Rafael Devers. Suddenly, Devers starts to see more fastballs as pitchers know they have another power threat in the on-deck circle and can’t pitch around him. Expect to spend a large portion of the offseason and spring training hearing about whether the Red Sox pencil Anthony into the starting lineup already. The debate has already started in media circles and it will pick up steam as the team starts to sign free agents and make trades, especially if those trades involve anyone else from the big four in Worcester. I don’t anticipate Anthony breaking camp with the Red Sox unless he shines against big league pitching in spring training, but after a few weeks down in Triple-A, he likely will prove that he’s too advanced for that league and will get the call-up to the show quickly. Roman Anthony has the potential to be the guy for the Red Sox for years to come. That’s a ton of pressure on someone who is only 20 years old. He seems ready to shoulder that pressure. In interviews he’s humble but you can tell he knows he’s as good as everyone thinks he is. That kind of confidence will play well in Boston, both with the fans and the media. Expect Anthony to be the everyday right fielder in Boston soon, even if the Red Sox do manage to sign Juan Soto. Hey, a man can dream, right? View full article

Welcome back to Talk Sox’s 2024 top 20 prospect rundown! We looked at potential shortstop of the future Marcelo Mayer last time. Today, we shift our focus to the other man up the middle in Worcester, second baseman Kristian Campbell at #2. These rankings were voted on and compiled by the Talk Sox community. The fact that you can honestly say Kristian Campbell isn't the team's most talked-about prospect is a credit to the depth and top-end talent of the Red Sox farm system. The impact he made throughout 2024 cannot be understated. Campbell started the year in Greenville, was pushed to Portland, and finally landed in Worcester to change the conversation from ‘The Big Three’ to ‘The Big Four’. Had it not been for a left lat strain that ended his season in mid-September, he may have even gotten a cup of coffee in Boston. In October, Campbell was named the Minor League Hitting Prospect of the Year as well as the Minor League Breakout Player of the Year, not just within the organization, but throughout the minors.That’s how impressive he was this past season. Can he keep his impressive start going through spring training in 2025? Currently, the expectation is that none of The Big Four will break camp with the major-league roster, but should Campbell show up and show out, he is the most likely to be the first name called up to The Show. This season, Campbell slashed .330/.439/.558 across all three levels of the minors. A swing change going into 2024 unlocked a new level of power for him, something that bodes well for his future in Boston. Previously, Campbell had been known to flash some raw power and he could muscle some balls over the fence, but his swing was built for gap-to-gap line-drive power. The ability to go gap to gap is still there, but adding a bit of loft his swing has allowed him to access more of his natural power, and the homers started to fly throughout the minors. Campbell's swing is a big unorthodox and it remains to be seen how he'll perform at the highest level, but it's hard to imagine more promising returns at this point in his young career. Orioles stud Jackson Holliday took home the MiLB Hitting Prospect of the Year last year. Could Campbell be to the Red Sox what Holliday has been to the O’s? The fan base certainly hopes so. On top of his power, Campbell possesses quickness. He stole 24 bases during his rise in the minors. He can beat out infield slow rollers for singles, and pitchers have to be aware of him when he’s on first because he’s a threat to steal second. As the Red Sox proved this past season, base stealing is something they want to focus on. Adding someone like Campbell to a roster already loaded with speed like Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, and David Hamilton makes the Sox even more deadly on the basepaths. Campbell isn’t just an offensive player. He is a steady presence at second base, something the Red Sox likely will need heading into 2025. On the season he committed six errors in total between playing multiple positions. He doesn’t seem to lose his head in big situations and can make the routine plays with ease. It’s no secret that second base has been a revolving door for the Red Sox ever since Manny Machado took out Dustin Pedroia on a high slide in 2017. Campbell is homegrown talent with All-Star potential, and he has the chance to finally put fans' minds at ease in the middle of the infield. Kristian Campbell may not be the number one prospect in the system (more on him will come soon enough) but there’s no denying that he was the fastest riser in the Red Sox’s system during 2024. Should that trajectory continue, don’t be surprised to see Campbell suit up early in 2025 for the Boston Red Sox. View full article

Pretty much where I'm at as well. Priester seems like the exact type of pitcher that can benefit from the Bailey System and I think Fitts has a much lower ceiling with a rotation like what Boston is, supposedly, looking to build for next season.

Absolutely. I just think sending Yorke to the Pirates for Priester weighs heavier than someone like Verdugo.

I originally had Fitts over Priester for the list but decided to ultimately go with Priester solely based on who they traded to the Pirates for him.

We're back with our future values big board! If you need a refresher on numbers 16 through 20, click here! We're now moving into the more familiar names of the Red Sox system. We're taking a look at both major leaguers and low-level minor leaguers in this installment. We're also getting into players with a real chance of being moved this offseason as the Red Sox explore all avenues for contending in 2025. Without further ado, let's jump into the rankings. #15. Chase Meidroth, 3B Season age in 2025: 23 Years of team control: 3 Chase Meidroth was looked at as a potential late-season call-up had Rafael Devers gone on the IL while the Red Sox were still in the playoff hunt. Truth be told, he maybe should have been called up regardless to add another right-handed bat to the lineup. Meidroth spent the entire 2024 season with triple-A Worcester, manning the hot corner but showcasing some versatility as a utility infielder. Should he make it to the majors, he doesn’t profile as a third baseman and his ability to play all over the infield will help to drive his value up, even if the bat doesn’t play up. In 2024, Meidroth slashed .293/.437/.400. There’s very little power in his swing; he’s only going to run into a homer occasionally on the pull side. His glove and positional versatility will make him useful on the trade market as an addition to a trade centered around bigger-name players. #14. David Hamilton, SS Season age in 2025: 27 Years of team control: 5 Had he not been placed on the IL with a broken finger in late August, David Hamilton probably would have manned second base through the end of the season, showing off his impressive baserunning skill and giving Red Sox fans something fun to watch during games that had no real meaning behind them. At the MLB level this year, Hamilton slashed .248/.303/.395 and swiped 33 bags. He started the year with lackluster numbers at shortstop but once he was moved to second and Ceddanne Rafaela started manning shortstop, Hamilton really settled in. He’s got some occasional pop in his bat, running into eight home runs throughout the season. His value lies in his ability to cause chaos on the basepaths. You know when he’s on base, and so does whoever happens to be toeing the rubber for the opposition. Teams are starting to place more and more value on being a consistent threat to steal, pushing Hamilton’s value higher. #13. Quinn Priester, RHP Season age in 2025: 23 Years of team control: 6 Quinn Priester came over from the Pirates and was called up towards the end of the season to make one start. Between both organizations, he appeared in seven total big-league games, going 3-6 while logging two quality starts. He sported a 4.71 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, and a 5.98 K/9. His minor-league results were similar, but he struck out more than a batter per inning. He made 16 appearances, going 6-2 while sporting a 4.38 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and a 9.75 K/9. Preister shines by way of his high groundball rate. He’s not a huge swing-and-miss guy, but he profiles as the type of pitcher who will excel with solid defense behind him, something the Red Sox are focusing on next season. There’s reason to believe that working with Andrew Bailey will unlock something, allowing him to become a middle-of-the-rotation starter, possibly as soon as next season. The Red Sox wouldn’t seem keen to trade someone for whom they surrendered a top prospect, but Priester's value lies in his potential to get outs as a starter. If he can prove that ability, then he becomes either a valuable member of the rotation or a significant trade piece. #12. Connor Wong, C Season age in 2025: 29 Years of team control: 4 Connor Wong is the only piece of the Mookie Betts trade that remains with the Boston Red Sox, but let’s not talk about that. Wong has cemented himself as the starting catcher in Boston for now, but with Kyle Teel knocking on the door, his value to the team is not as high as it once was. Wong slashed .280/.333/.425 in 2024. When he gets hot, there’s pop in the bat, almost all to the pull side. However, he goes through dry spells, and then there's his defense. Wong has gotten better at framing from the bottom half of the plate but across the board his defensive metrics are ice-cold. There’s value in a bat-first catcher on the open market, and the Red Sox could look to cash in on it if they feel that Teel is close to making the roster. #11. Braden Montgomery, OF Season age in 2025: 22 Years of team control: 10 Braden Montgomery may be the most difficult player to rank on this list. He has yet to play an inning of pro ball due to a broken ankle suffered during the NCAA Super Regional when he was playing for Texas A&M. Montgomery slashed .322/.454/.733 at A&M this past season and there's case to be made that had he not gotten hurt, they wouldn’t have lost to Tennessee in the College World Series. In short, Montgomery has the chance to be a game-changer. He profiles as a corner outfielder with easy power to all fields. That profile limits his value to the Red Sox though. As we all know, the Red Sox are flush with talent at the corner outfield spots across all levels of the organization. Were it not for his injury, he would probably be higher on this list, but his position limits is upside too. Once spring training starts, though, look for Montgomery to start making noise. It wouldn’t be shocking if other teams started taking notice of him as well. View full article

Jack Flaherty isn't at the top of the free agent pitching market, but could he make sense for a Red Sox rotation that needs more arms — especially ones that haven't spent the last season on the injured list? Despite trade rumors and interest in top-of-the-rotation arms, the Boston Red Sox should be extremely interested in adding Jack Flaherty no matter who else suits up for Boston in the starting rotation next year. I know all the knocks against Flaherty, I’m from near St. Louis and I watched his struggles with the Cardinals. I know how the Cardinals fans STILL talk trash about him, especially after his success in Detroit and Los Angeles this season. What stands out to me is how easily Flaherty has put his time in STL behind him and grown as a baseball player. If the rumors are true, adding someone of Flaherty’s status makes a lot of sense for the Red Sox, but there are also some reasons to possibly look elsewhere. Let’s start with the pros. This season Flaherty made 28 starts, going 13-7 with 15 quality starts. He posted a 3.17 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and a 10.78 K/9. Flaherty ran an excellent 32% whiff rate, something else that was sorely lacking in Boston’s starting rotation this season. Flaherty is a fastball-first pitcher, and he backs that fastball up with a solid slider and an excellent knuckle curve with a nasty break. Flaherty doesn't throw very hard at this point in his career, but there’s enough of a speed differential between all three pitches that they can play well off one another. Flaherty's spray chart shows very clearly the biggest potential downside of bringing him to Boston. When you overlay all of his balls in play on top of Fenway Park, you can see that pitching half of his games there might not be in his best interest. A lot of gray outs and purple doubles suddenly turn into home runs when you change stadiums. There’s reason to believe that when the Red Sox front office and coaching staff look at this kind of information, they’ll have be discouraged from giving Flaherty more than a second thought during discussions. On top of the possible issues with the long ball at home games, Flaherty presents some injury risk in the rotation. He spent time on the injured list in 2024 with both the Tigers and the Dodgers and has a history of right shoulder issues. On top of that, a trade with the Yankees was nixed at the last minute because of concerns about his medicals. The Dodgers obviously thought that the medicals weren’t an issue and although he spent some time on the shelf with them, they were largely rewarded for the gamble. If Boston's medical staff feels strongly that Flaherty runs little risk of reaggravation or believes they can work with him to strengthen his shoulder, then this will be far less of a concern. The Athletic projects Flaherty to sign a 3-year, $68-million contract this offseason, and if the Red Sox are truly opening the pocketbook and bringing in big-name free agents, they could do a lot worse than Flaherty. He knows the AL East well from his stint with the Orioles and has proven that he can be trusted throughout October. While his spray chart may not line up well with the home ballpark, that kind of track record should make him desirable to a Red Sox team that needs not just a frontline starter, but a veteran who can provide reliable innings and show up in high-pressure starts. View full article

With the Milwaukee Brewers declining to pick up the option for Devin Williams, it would make far too much sense for Craig Breslow and the Red Sox to pick up the phone and give the Brewers a call to see what it would take to get the ace closer to Boston. Somewhat forgotten with the talk of adding a top-of-the-rotation arm and a power first right-handed hitter, the Boston Red Sox need a closer. Kenley Jansen departed in free agency and is almost guaranteed not to return to Boston. A reunion with Chris Martin seems possible, but trusting him to close out games across a full season seems like a tall task. I’ve already written about internal candidates for the closer role and still believe any of them stand a chance to take it. Still, with recent news out of Milwaukee that the Brewers declined the option on Devin Williams, it caused me to start wondering what a trade for him would look like. The Brewers have a history of this; just look at free agent Corbin Burnes. They’ve recently even gone on record saying they have no plans to trade Williams, but that doesn’t mean much in modern-day baseball. At one point, they had no interest in trading Burnes or Josh Hader before him. With that in mind, let’s look at what a potential trade for Williams could cost the Red Sox. I contacted some colleagues from Brewer Fanatic to see what they thought a fair return for someone of Devin Williams' caliber would be. The general consensus was that a high-ceiling pitcher with a decent mix of fastballs would have to be included in the deal. Enter Luis Guerrero. Guerrero features one main fastball, a four-seamer that tops out at 100mph, but has also thrown a cutter and a sinker. He spent most of this season in Worcester, where he posted a 5-3 record, 3.31 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, and 13.09 K/9. After his call-up in September, he appeared in nine games out of the bullpen, sporting a 0.00 ERA, .80 WHIP, and 8.10 K/9, opening the eyes of fans everywhere. He profiles as a middle-inning reliever, but his ceiling is that of a high-leverage, back-end reliever. Losing out on Williams could cause the Brewers to look at Guerrero as a potential replacement for some of what would be walking out the door with Williams. Rarely are trading for MLB-caliber pitchers a one-for-one deal. With the likely departure of Willy Adames in free agency, the Brewers will want to add someone who could potentially end spring training at Triple-A, knocking on the door to the majors. While Mikey Romero isn’t the perfect answer there, he makes the most sense from Boston’s side. He surged this season at Greenville, earning a promotion to Portland. Combined, Romero slashed .265/.813/.508. He committed 11 errors on the season, posting a .948 FLD%. He’s solid at shortstop and second base, making highlight reel-style plays at both. Romero could easily be fast-tracked to the major leagues as long as he continues to improve at the current rate; the Brewers could be incredibly interested in adding his services. The trade for Devin Williams would undoubtedly bolster the back of the Red Sox’s bullpen, and giving up any of the “Big Four” for a rental of Williams isn’t smart for the organization's future. Still, a reliever like Guerrero, who projects to be a high-leverage arm, and someone blocked at all levels of the organization like Romero makes a ton of sense. The Red Sox would likely have to include a compensatory draft pick as well, but that would be far easier to stomach should Nick Pivetta turn down the Qualifying Offer and sign elsewhere as he’s now expected to. The Red Sox look like they are primed to make a splash in free agency, so why not also make a huge splash in the trade market? View full article