Having an opportunity to play and come up through this organization at the same time as Jon Lester, Jonathan Papelbon, and Xander Bogaerts isn't just fun to say, it was a privilege. I got a firsthand look at what those names actually meant inside the clubhouse — not just to the fanbase, but to personnel and teammates who watched them up close before the rest of the world caught on.Â
I was fortunate enough to make my own major league debut in August 2014, a year removed from the 2013 championship, sharing a field with Bogaerts himself that day — a 20-year-old who'd been thrown into that World Series run and never looked like he didn't belong. You develop a real feel, from the inside, for which prospects the organization actually believes in versus which ones are just filling out a minor league roster.
Everyone in that system knew who they were before they ever debuted and the team got a spark from the energy they brought. Franklin Arias is starting to feel like the next name that gets said with that same reverence. Craig Breslow was asked directly this week whether Arias could help the big-league club down the stretch, and he didn't shut the door.
"I hate to put those types of expectations on a 20-year-old," Breslow said. "But what I am very excited to say is that every challenge that he has faced, he's met, which is pretty incredible for someone his age and what he's done at each level. I just feel like we'll continue to take note of what he's doing."
Craig Breslow didn't rule out Franklin Arias promotion to Red Sox following shortstop miss before trade deadline
Arias has been one of, if not the fastest-rising prospect in the game this year — he was MLB's No. 31 prospect entering the year, and now he is Baseball America's No. 2 prospect in all of baseball, only behind Milwaukee's Jesús Made.
He's hitting .310/.398/.578 with 21 home runs this year across Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester, where he was promoted on July 24. The power is newer development, and it's exciting seeing it translate at higher levels. The bat-to-ball skills and the glove were never in question and likely the reason Breslow feels comfortable considering him in Boston.
Arias could be particularly useful in the big leagues after the Red Sox failed to add another shortstop before the trade deadline. After trading Marcelo Mayer to the San Francisco Giants, Andruw Monasterio and Trevor Story are Boston's best shortstop options, and at this point, Arias might be better.
If these Red Sox are for real this October, the blueprint is already sitting in franchise history. Breslow was on that 2013 World Series team with Bogaerts watching firsthand, and he just told you he's thinking about writing that story again.
Add us as a preferred source on Google