As the Red Sox enter July, they are surprisingly in first place in their division, and have the best record in the American League. Another positive surprise is the the shape their farm system is in. At the beginning of the season the perception was that it was in good to average shape. Now, it looks to be loaded compared to many other teams.
SoxProspects.com lists to Red Sox top prospects in order. There's a few players on that list that are doing better than expected:
- Xander Bogearts – He has just torn up AAA. He's very close to being ready. Keith Law over at ESPN has him as the number 3 overall prospect in MLB right now. Most scouts thought he'd need another year after this one. It doesn't look like it. He could be playing 3rd base next season if Iglesias sticks at short and they move Middlebrooks to 3rd. Or they could move him to the OF to make room for Cecchini at 3rd.
- Garin Cecchni – At the beginning of the year scouts were really split on Cecchini. Not anymore. He's leading all of minor league baseball and is tearing it up after getting called up to AA a few weeks ago. He and Begearts could be the best offensive players to come through the Sox system since Pedroia.
- Anthony Ranaudo – After an injury riddled 2012 where many scouts got down on him, Ranaudo has been the best Sox minor league pitcher this season and an All-Star at AA.
So… their system is stocked right now with top flight prospects at several positions and looks to be pretty deep in pitching. So who could be dealt at the trade deadline? One factor to look at is the Red Sox 40 man roster. Several of the Sox top prospects will have to be put on the 40 man roster this year of they could be lost in next year's Rule V draft. Right now they have more good prospects than 40 man roster spots, so something has to give.
Tim Britton over at the ProJo gives a rundown on how this could affect the Red Sox trade deadline actions:
Which prospects end up in a deal this month has a lot to do with longer-term roster management.
Specifically, the Red Sox have a number of players they need to protect from the Rule 5 Draft this winter, and that will explain who’s available and who’s not in July.
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This year, in addition to Bogaerts, Cecchini and Ranaudo, the Red Sox will also have to consider protecting Brentz, Jeremy Hazelbaker, Brandon Workman, Michael Almanzar, Keury De La Cruz and Brandon Jacobs among others. One can easily see the glut of outfielders on a roster that already includes Shane Victorino, Jonny Gomes, Daniel Nava, Ryan Kalish, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Alex Hassan.
Boston won’t be able to fit Brentz, Hazelbaker, De La Cruz and Jacobs all on there, and that’s assuming Jacoby Ellsbury departs in the offseason.
That means it shouldn’t be a surprise if the Red Sox include one of those outfielders in a package this month.
Another way to look at this is that the Sox have some chips to play with that they would lose othrewise. Which chips to play will be the question. I can't imagine Cecchini or Bogearts would go, but you never know. They were willing to trade Anthony Rizzo for Adrian Gonzalez a few years ago, and that really bit them in the butt.