April 8, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Minor Notes: Campbell and Crochet extended; Priester traded to Milwaukee
Campbell and Crochet extended
The Red Sox announced two massive extensions last week that will shape the foundation of the team for years to come. They agreed to terms with Kristian Campbell (pictured, right) on an eight-year contract extension which runs from 2025 to 2032 with club options for 2033 and 2034. While there are options and escalators built in, it has a guarantee of $60 million. While the sample size is still small, Campbell looks the part in his first two weeks in the big leagues. Mike Petriello of MLB.com went in-depth on the advanced analytics that point to Campbell being a budding star for the Red Sox.
The day prior, the Red Sox had signed ace Garret Crochet to a six-year, $170 million extension that goes into effect in 2026. Crochet can opt-out after 2030 (at age 31). There is also a $15 million conditional club option for 2032 if Crochet misses 120 days due to a significant arm injury. His opt-out after 2030 would also be void if that injury occurs prior to the opt-out date.
For the most up-to-date view of the Red Sox payroll commitments, be sure to check out or Payroll page.
Priester traded to Milwaukee
In a surprise move on Monday, the Red Sox traded right-hander Quinn Priester to Milwaukee in exchange for outfielder Yophery Rodriguez, a Competitive Balance Round A selection in the 2025 Draft, and a player to be named later or cash considerations. The draft pick sits at 33 overall, which in 2024 had a $2,766,100 slot value. Priester is going back to the NL Central after he was originally acquired from the Pirates in exchange for Nick Yorke in July of 2024. The Red Sox completely revamped Priester's arsenal after the trade, and the results were poor as he worked through those changes with the WooSox. He had a 5.40 ERA over 38 1/3 innings in Worcester, though he did pick up the win in his only major league start in the 2024 season finale against the Rays. He had a good chance to break camp with the Red Sox to start 2025 due to the numerous pitching injuries, but Richard Fitts, Sean Newcomb, and Hunter Dobbins all received a start before him.
MLB Pipeline has initially ranked Rodriguez as the 11th-best prospect in the system. The 19-year-old is one of the youngest position prospects in High-A, and he has gotten off to a hot start over his first three games. In 2024 as an 18-year-old in Low-A, and the youngest player in the Carolina League, he hit .250/.343/.383 with seven home runs and seven steals. Rodriguez bats and throws lefty, and was Milwaukee’s top signing in the 2023 international class with a $1.5 million signing bonus out of the Dominican Republic. MLB Pipeline notes that he likely lacks the speed to stick in center field, but he should have plenty of arm to stick in right field. He will join Nelly Taylor and Zach Ehrhard in the outfield with Greenville.
The trade opened up a 40-man roster spot which was filled by Robert Stock. Stock is taking the place of Cooper Criswell in Boston, who was optioned to Triple-A after recording a three-inning save on Sunday night. Stock has not appeared in the majors since 2022, and has pitched 8 1/3 scoreless innings for Worcester to start the year.
Dobbins gets the win in MLB debut
Dobbins limited the Cardinals to two runs over five innings on Sunday night to pick up the win in his big league debut. Dobbins was promoted from Worcester to be Boston’s 27th man for its doubleheader, and he struck out five while surrendering eight hits. He showed off his five-pitch mix, including his splinker (splitter/sinker) that Baseball Savant has tagged as a splitter. He threw the pitch 12 times (mostly to lefties) and batters went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts against it.
Dobbins will move down the depth chart a bit with Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito in Triple-A on rehab assignments, but his strong showing on Sunday night will keep him in the conversation if Boston needs to look to Worcester for some pitching down the road.
An updated top-60 is available on our home page. The 2025 Opening Day rankings include debuts of Blake Aita (pictured, left) (39), Enddy Azocar (51), and Kleyver Salazar (60). The five most notable risers were Mikey Romero, Juan Valera, Jedixson Paez, Dorian Soto, and Brandon Clarke.
Opening Day podcast
With all four full-season affiliates in action for the first time on Friday, Chris and Ian released a podcast episode where they analyzed the full-season affiliate rosters, talked about the Campbell and Crochet extensions, and discussed the rankings update. At just over two-hours long, it is a great way for fans to dig in as the 2025 minor league season gets underway.
Affiliate seasons begin
While Worcester started on March 28, Portland, Greenville, and Salem all began the 2025 campaign on April 4. Full rosters for the full-season affiliates, as well as projected rosters for the complex leagues, are available on our Rosters page.
Valera hits 100
The fast-rising Juan Valera is the youngest pitcher in High-A across baseball. The 18-year-old hit 100 mph in the first inning of his debut, and struck out seven while allowing two runs in 3 2/3 innings. The 6-foot-3 right-hander only pitched 23 innings for Salem last year, so the Red Sox are testing him with an aggressive placement to begin 2025.
Grissom plays first base
2024 was a lost year for Vaughn Grissom as multiple injuries derailed his season. Acquired for Chris Sale before the 2024 season, many Red Sox fans were hoping Grissom would be the long-term solution at second base. He had first reached the majors in 2022 at the age of 21 and put up a .792 OPS over 141 at-bats. He struggled in short stints in the majors in 2023 and 2024, but he is looking to add some versatility with Campbell and David Hamilton ahead of him on the second base depth chart. Reports surfaced that he was getting reps at first base in practice, and he played in his first professional game at first base on Friday.
Chris Henrique of the Boston Sports Journal spoke with Grissom, who discussed what he learned from last season's struggles and what he is doing to get back to the big leagues.
Where are they now?
In January, the Red Sox traded Chase Shugart to the Pirates in exchange for minor league right-hander Matt McShane. Shugart made his MLB debut for the Pirates on Sunday, retiring Paul Goldschmidt with two outs in the ninth to keep the game tied. McShane made his professional debut on Sunday, striking out six in 2 2/3 innings for Salem.
Players of the Week for March 31 - April 6
Franklin Arias, SS, Salem Red Sox
3 G, 12 AB, 7 H, 2 2B, 5 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB, 1 CS .583/.643/.750
While it was a short week for Salem as they started their season on Friday, Arias did enough damage in those three games to win the award. Ranked fifth in the system heading into the season, the 19-year-old helped lead Salem to a 3-0 start to its year. Leading off and playing shortstop in all three games, Arias reached base in nine of his 14 plate appearances, and added two doubles and a stolen base. He is ranked as the 76th best prospect in the game by both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline, and he was named a 2025 SoxProspects.com Pre-Season All-Star.
Blake Aita, RHP, Salem Red Sox
1 G, 1-0, 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Aita faced the minimum through five innings as his one walk was immediately erased by a double play. It was an impressive professional debut for Aita who did not appear in a game last summer after getting drafted in the sixth round out of Kennesaw State. He features a fastball that has ticked up to 92-95 mph while maintaining a high spin rate. His sweeper and cutter have high spin rates as well. The 21-year-old showed why Salem named him the starter for their season opener, and he is now ranked 39th in the system after not being ranked in the top-60 prior to spring training. Aita was also named the Pitcher of the Week in the Carolina League.
Photo Credit: Kristian Campbell and Blake Aita by Kelly O'Connor