The Boston Red Sox minor league system saw a major shake up thanks to the trade deadline. What does this mean for the prospect watch? A lot.
Well, that was fun. The trade deadline provided the Boston Red Sox with some new talent for their World Series push. However, at the same time, it caused them to lose some talent in the minors.
A trade for pitcher Nathan Eovaldi lost Boston Jalen Beeks. While I believe Beeks will be a solid contributor in the future, there’s no doubt Eovaldi will be much more valuable to the team this year.
Then last night after the Blake Swihart walk-off (the man is absolutely raking), the Red Sox traded for Ian Kinsler. The second baseman cleans up a position that’s struggled without Dustin Pedroia. However, two top prospects were lost for his services in Williams Jerez and Ty Buttrey.
Jerez is a 26-year-old left-hander who’s enjoying his second straight strong season. The left-hander could’ve factored into the bullpen this season. If not, he’d have been a candidate to make the team next year.
Buttrey is 25 and has been having a career-year in Triple-A. The left-hander has been dominating all season long but has yet to get a chance in the Majors. This was perplexing because Buttrey has been on the 40-man roster. Now he should get a chance with the Los Angeles Angels though.
While it hurts to lose these three pitchers, it does open up more opportunities for other prospects to make names for themselves. It will be interesting to see who gets these chances, and who seizes them.