The Boston Red Sox are World Series champions, but that shouldn’t stop Dave Dombrowski from making moves to improve the team.
WEEI’s John Tomase recently speculated about the Boston Red Sox trading for Arizona Diamondbacks all-star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. If the Sox did “think big” as suggested, what might a potential trade look like?
In light of the Red Sox no-brainer resigning World Series MVP Steve Pearce, a trade for Paul Goldschmidt is now more a flight of fancy than a bold prediction.
Still, if Dave Dombrowski wanted to make any big trades this offseason, does the Red Sox farm system have enough quality prospects to tempt other teams?
The short answer is, yes.
The longer answer involves speculating on a few of the players Dombrowski might’ve offered in a theoretical Goldschmidt deal.
Here is a list of top prospects in the Boston Red Sox organization who could be used in potential future deals.
Big corner bats
The Boston Red Sox are seemingly set for the foreseeable future with 22-year-old Rafael Devers manning the hot corner. Behind him, however, are a trio of young corner bats with the kind of power potential to make opposing GMs drool.
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Topping the list is former first-round pick Michael Chavis. The shine dulled a bit on Chavis prospect star when he was suspended 80 games for PEDs. Upon returning, Chavis mashed to the tune of .298/.381/.538 across three stops, restoring some of his lost prospect luster. At just 23-years-old, Chavis would be intriguing to any team with a hole to fill at first or third base.
While Chavis offers prodigious power, another 23-year-old, Bobby Dalbec might offer even greater power potential. With that power, however, comes plenty of strikeouts as Dalbec has a whifftastic 36 percent K rate for his minor league career. He does walk a fair amount and with 32 homers across A+ and AA last season, good things happen when he does make contact.
For those daring to dream, 18-year-old Triston Casas might be their guy. The Red Sox first-round pick in 2018 received just a token five plate appearances before suffering a torn thumb ligament. But he already has 70 grade raw power and projects as the kind of big and powerful first baseman not seen in these parts since the days of Mo Vaughn.
Hard throwing pitchers
With the big league rotation at least 80 percent set thanks to the presence of Chris Sale, David Price, Rick Porcello and Eduardo Rodriguez, Red Sox fans may not be aware of the plethora of young arms in the pipeline. You can be sure the opposing GMs already know these names, however.
Another former first-round pick, Tanner Houck, as Marc Hulet of Fangraphs puts it, is a “divisive prospect.” Control is a concern after posting a BB/9 of 4.54 in 2018, though he boasts the mid-90s fastball and plus slider to help him wiggle out of jams. He showed enough improvement in the second half of the season that he still projects as a mid-rotation starter with the potential for more.
Lefty Darwinzon Hernandez might have the team’s best raw stuff in the minors, with a fastball that can touch 98. Indeed, he whiffed 134 batters in just 107 IP for an impressive 11.3 K/9. Command and polish are lacking, but he is just 21-years-old and will mostly likely begin next season at Double-A.
A somewhat forgotten name is another lefty, picked 12th overall in 2016, Jay Groome. Groome had Tommy John surgery and missed all of 2018. When healthy Groome’s performance has been similar to Houck’s and Hernandez’s with plenty of both strikeouts and walks. Tommy John surgery isn’t likely to deter a team from having interest in a pitcher once compared to Clayton Kershaw and mentored by Chris Sale.
The best of the rest
Teams that value defense up-the-middle might find C.J. Chatham, a slick fielding shortshop, of interest. Bryan Mata and Mike Shawaryn also project as mid-rotation starters, though Mata is younger and has the secondary stuff to be more.
Looking way ahead, 18-year-old shortshop Antoni Flores shows a promising combination of uncommon plate discipline and bat speed for such a precocious player.
The New York Yankees fired the first salvo of the offseason, acquiring starter James Paxton from the Mariners to front their rotation.
If Dombrowski and the Boston Red Sox wish to respond with a big trade to set themselves up for a title repeat, they have plenty of intriguing, young prospects with which to make that happen.