The Red Sox need to find ways to make the Major League roster better, this includes trading prospects
The Red Sox under Chaim Bloom built up their farm system over the last four years. Boston has amassed a strong group of young players that includes Marcelo Mayer, Nick Yorke, Nazzan Zanetello, Kyle Teel, Roman Anthony and more.
The Red Sox will not be able to keep all these players, there is only so many roster spots available on the big league roster. This offseason, new chief baseball officer Craig Breslow will need to move one or more of these players to bring back top talent.
Breslow expects to pursue all avenues to build a stronger big league roster. Admittedly, he has spent the last two weeks on the job familiarizing himself with the entire group of players within his new system.
“Admittedly, I’m not in a position to make a decision unilaterally at this point,” he said of which prospects could be traded.
However, with a fresh set of eyes on the farm system, he was asked if that makes it easier to trade from, given his lack of attachment to the group.
“I think it can cut both ways,” he said. “You’re right, I don’t have the emotional attachment having been part of the decision to draft the guys or to acquire them. With that, though, comes the possibility that I’m not seeing the total picture though. The further away these guys are from the big leagues, the harder it is to project future performance. So that’s why we’ll lean into others who do know these players far more intimately than I do.”
Trading Anthony or Teel doesn’t seem like something the Red Sox will do. Teel is the catcher of the future and is not far away from making his major league debut. He should get the full season in the minors in 2024 with 2025 being his target date for Fenway Park.
Anthony tore the cover off the ball at every level of the system he played in last season. His power bat is only going to get better, he is becoming a complete hitter and will surely lockdown one fo the Red Sox outfield corner spots in the coming years.
Mayer was Bloom’s prized pick following the poor 2020 season. Breslow holds no attachment to the players in the farm and if he feels the others drafted after Mayer project as better options, he could flip the shortstop for a frontline ace.
Breslow intends to leverage the strong farm system to make the major league product the priority and focus.
“I do think there are ways to meaningfully improve the team in the short term without sacrificing long-term wins,” he said. “I think it’s important not to lose sight that the goal of any organization is to win major league games. It’s not to have the greatest farm system. It’s not to have the most prospect depth. It’s to win games.”
Red Sox fans who covet the players in the farm and are hyper-focused on where they rank in the standings for top systems will need to be comfortable with the idea some of these players will be gone heading into the 2024 season.
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