July 30, 2024 at 1:00 PM
Minor Notes: Sox acquire Jansen, Priester, Paxton, trade away Coffey, Paulino, Batista, Yorke
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Red Sox trade for catcher Danny Jansen
Boston improved their backup catcher situation, trading for former Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen. To pull off the deal, they dealt Eddinson Paulino, Cutter Coffey, and Gilberto Batista to Toronto. Paulino, who was ranked 15th in the system, is a 22-year-old infielder who had been in the Red Sox' system since 2018 when he signed as an international free agent. In 69 games for the Sea Dogs in 2024, Paulino was hitting .263/.349/.391 with 16 doubles, three triples, three home runs, and 10 stolen bases. Coffey is another infielder who was selected by Boston back in 2022 in the second round out of high school. With Greenville this year, the 20-year-old was hitting .238/.321/.463 with 12 doubles, 14 home runs, 46 RBI, and eight stolen bases. He had a monster stretch earlier this year in which he belted seven home runs in a six-game span, including one in each of the six games. He was ranked 28th here at SoxProspects.com. Batista is a right-handed pitcher who was signed as an international free agent back in the winter of 2022. He pitched in 11 games this year for the FCL Red Sox and posted a 3.92 ERA with 23 strikeouts and 13 walks in 20 2/3 innings. He was not ranked.
To make room for Jansen, Boston designated Reese McGuire for assignment. Jansen is an offensive upgrade over McGuire and should help Boston against left-handed pitching. With Toronto this year, Jansen was hitting .212/.303/.369 with 13 doubles and six home runs. In 158 games between 2022 and 2023, Jansen put up very good offensive numbers, slashing .242/.324/.493 (126 OPS+) with 25 doubles, 32 home runs, and 97 RBI.
Sox Deal Yorke to Pirates for Quinn Priester
The Red Sox also traded Nick Yorke to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for 23-year-old right-handed pitcher Quinn Preister. This was Yorke's fifth year in the organization after being selected by the club in the first round in 2020 out of high school. He posted a .784 OPS last season in 110 games with Portland, but that slipped down to a .691 OPS in 45 games with the Sea Dogs this year. However, Yorke caught fire again after being promoted to Worcester. In 38 games with the WooSox, Yorke was hitting .310/.408/.490 with eight doubles, six home runs, and six stolen bases. He was splitting time between left field and second base.
Like Yorke, Priester was also a first-round pick out of high school. He made his MLB debut in 2023 with the Pirates, and so far has a 6.46 ERA across 94 2/3 MLB innings. He pitched very well in Triple-A this year, however, making seven starts with a 3.21 ERA and a 2.85 FIP, striking out 9.6 batters per nine innings. According to Baseball Savant, Priester has five pitches, including a sinker (31%), slider (27%), four-seamer (15%), curveball (15%), and changeup (11%). He throws a lot of strikes and keeps his walks down, as he had just a 6.5% walk rate this year for the Pirates. He also generates a lot of ground balls at 55.5%. He was optioned to Triple-A, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. Per our own Chris Hatfield, Priester is under team control through at least 2029. However, if he is optioned for 24 more days, he will be under control for 2030 as well.
Sox re-acquire lefty James Paxton
Boston also added James Paxton to help out the rotation. He posted very similar numbers with the Dodgers this year as he did in 2023 with the Red Sox. In 2023, he made 19 starts and had a 4.50 ERA and a 4.68 FIP. With Los Angeles in 2024, he made 18 starts with a 4.43 ERA and a 4.96 FIP. The Red Sox traded 17-year-old infielder Moises Bolivar to the Dodgers to acquire Paxton. He was hitting .270/.364/.423 with 10 extra-base hits this year for the DSL Red Sox Blue. He was also not ranked.
New podcast episode
On the 326th edition of the SoxProspects.com podcast, Chris and Ian welcomed Jim Callis of MLB.com. The trio discussed Boston's recent draft picks as well as the state of the farm system.
Sox sign 16 draft picks
Speaking of Boston's recent draft picks, the team has signed 16 of their 20 selections so far, along with an undrafted free agent. According to Alex Speier of The Boston Globe, the expectation is that the Red Sox will eventually sign all of their picks. The deadline is August 1st at 5 PM. Most notably, the Red Sox signed their top pick, outfielder Braden Montgomery, to an under-slot deal at $5,000,000. Their second-round pick, left-handed pitcher Payton Tolle, signed for $2,000,000, which is roughly $150,000 over the slot value. Eighth-round pick Conrad Cason was somewhat up in the air, as he was committed to play at Mississippi State. However, he and the Sox reached a deal for $1,250,00, a little over $1,000,000 more than the slot value. Check out the rest of the details on our Draft History page.
Players of the Week for July 22-28
Mikey Romero, SS, Greenville Drive
5 G, 20 AB, 7 H, 3 2B, 2 HR, 4 R, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 5 K, .350/.435/.800
Romero (pictured) has caught fire after a rough month of June. So far in July, the 20-year-old shortstop is hitting .31/5.432/.685. He has slugged five of his seven home runs in the month, including a two-homer game in his most recent action. He has also added 10 doubles and a triple in July.
The left-hand-hitting Romero was Boston's first-round pick back in the 2022 draft. Overall, in 48 games between the FCL Sox and Greenville, he is hitting .266/.309/.488 with 28 extra-base hits. He has mostly played shortstop but has also appeared in 13 games at second base.
Hunter Dobbins, RHP, Portland Sea Dogs
1 G, 1-0, 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K
Dobbins continued his terrific season for the Sea Dogs this past week with five no-hit frames. The right-hander has made 17 starts and tossed 83 2/3 innings this year with a 3.66 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He has 79 strikeouts to pair with 33 walks and has only allowed one home run all season long.
Dobbins is 24 years old and was selected by the Sox in the eighth round back in 2021 out of Texas Tech. Last season between Greenville and Portland he had a 3.67 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP in 112 2/3 innings pitched. He has been very consistent, with batters hitting .240 off him last year and .232 off him this year.
Photo Credit: Mikey Romero by Kelly O'Connor