Red Sox swing quiet under-the-radar Opening Day trade with Giants

In the lead-up to the start of the season, the Boston Red Sox made some shuffles to their major and minor league rosters.

One of the trades they made involved former Worcester shortstop, Christian Koss. Boston shipped Koss to the San Francisco Giants, reportedly for cash considerations, per MassLive's Chris Cotillo.

Koss came to the Sox in 2020 through a trade with the Rockies, who received reliever Yoan Aybar through the transaction. Koss was one of many shortstops in Boston's farm system and, among his competition, he never had a real shot to break the majors with the Red Sox. In the front office's current spending mindset, sending him elsewhere for cash was a wise choice, especially if it allows another up-and-coming shortstop some extra reps in the field.

Koss was regarded by soxprospects.com as an above-average defender with a below-average bat. He played at three levels for the Red Sox organization last year in the Florida Complex League, Double-A and Triple-A, and his offensive numbers for his season weren't outstanding. Koss batted .235/.287/.353 with four homers across the three teams he played for.

Red Sox traded Christian Koss to Giants for cash, removing a shortstop from still oversaturated farm system

Koss made seven appearances in spring training games for the Red Sox this year and he collected three hits and two strikeouts in six at-bats. He's been placed in Double-A in the Giants organization so he won't have an immediate impact on the big-league club, but he offers middle-infield depth, if needed.

The trade is a good deal for Koss, who would've struggled further in the Red Sox organization with so much competition for roster spots in the middle infield. San Francisco received a good defender with a quality locker-room presence to bolster its farm.

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