Minor Notes: Early and Sandlin promoted to Worcester as trade deadline looms large

The MLB trade deadline (6pm ET on Thursday) is rapidly approaching and the Red Sox are poised for a flurry of activity in the coming days. The Red Sox currently occupy the third wild card spot but Texas trails the Sox by only a half game. Boston will look to acquire major league talent at the deadline and the team is expected to add to the starting rotation, the bullpen, and first base. As they prepare for the deadline, the Red Sox also promoted a pair of top prospects and agreed to terms with all but one of their 2025 draftees. 

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Early and Sandlin promoted to Worcester

Two members of Portland's standout starting rotation are making the leap to Worcester. As first reported by Andrew Parker and later confirmed by a team source (via Chris Hatfield), the Red Sox will promote left-hander Connelly Early and right-hander David Sandlin (pictured) to Triple-A. Early, who ranks as the 10th prospect in the system, has pitched to a 2.51 ERA with a dazzling 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings with the Sea Dogs this year. Early has the potential to throw three average-to-better pitches with solid command and he will look to establish himself as legitimate major league rotation depth with a strong finish to the season in Worcester. Sandlin ranks as the 11th prospect in the organization and delivered 82 1/3 innings with a 3.61 ERA, 86 strikeouts, and 27 walks during his time in Portland this season. Sandlin throws his fastball in the mid-to-upper 90s and he has potential for four pitches that are at least league average. He has a ceiling as a mid-rotation starter or high-leverage reliever.

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Red Sox sign draftees

The Red Sox signed almost all of their remaining draftees in advance of the deadline at 5pm on Monday. Over the last week, the Red Sox agreed to terms with second compensatory round pick Henry Godbout ($1.09M bonus), fourth-round pick Mason White ($642,000 bonus), seventh-round pick Myles Patton ($285,200 bonus), and eighth-round pick Dylan Brown ($229,000 bonus). All four players signed for exactly slot value. The only 2025 draftee who did not sign was 20th-rounder Garrison Sumner, a right-hander from Brigham Young University. 

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Florida Complex League season concludes

The FCL Red Sox played their last game of the season last Thursday. Overall, the FCL Red Sox went 25-34 on the season and finished in fifth place. The top performers on the mound this season were right-handed pitchers Yhoiker Fajardo (0.44 ERA in 20 2/3 innings, promoted to Salem on 6/17), Jesus Travieso (2.77 ERA in 39 innings), and Yermain Ruiz (2.79 ERA in 42 innings). Offensively, 44th-ranked prospect Jorge Rodriguez (.289/.359/.410 in 28 games) and 55th-ranked Anderson Fermin (.283/.454/.377 in 48 games) delivered strong seasons. With the FCL season ending, the Red Sox promoted Travieso, as well as Jose Bello and D'Angelo Ortiz, to Single-A Salem. 

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New podcast episodes

It's a busy time for the Red Sox system between the end of draft season and the upcoming trade deadline. Fortunately, Red Sox fans can stay up to date with two new episodes of the SoxProspects.com Podcast. MLB.com's Jim Callis joined Chris and Ian to discuss their impressions of the 2025 Red Sox draft class. Chris and Ian also released another episode of the podcast discussing how the Red Sox might approach the trade deadline. 

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Additional transactions

• The Red Sox placed second-ranked prospect Marcelo Mayer on the 10-day injured list with a sprained wrist and recalled David Hamilton from Worcester. Mayer has hit .228/.272/.402 with four home runs through 44 games in the major leagues. 
• Greenville placed Nazzan Zanetello and Matt McShane on the 7-day injured list. 
• In the wake of these injuries and Salem's new additions from the FCL, the Red Sox promoted to handful of players from Salem to Greenville including Austin Erlicher, Luis Cohen, and Fraymi De Leon. 

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Where are they now?

White Sox catcher Kyle Teel hit his first major league home run in a game against the Rays last Wednesday. The top-rated prospect in the trade that brought Garrett Crochet to Boston last December, Teel is now hitting .276/.385/.368 through 30 games with Chicago. 

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Players of the Week July 21-27

Kristian Campbell, 1B/2B, Worcester Red Sox

6 G, 23 AB, 11 H, 1 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 8 R, 3 BB, 4 K, .478/.538/.783

It appears that Campbell (pictured) has finally emerged from his slump. He got off to a tough start after being optioned to Worcester, going 8 for 49 through his first 13 games. However, Campbell's offensive performance has dramatically improved over the last week as the 23-year-old has settled in as Worcester's everyday first baseman. His recent hot stretch has brought his slash line up to .257/.390/.406 in 28 games with the WooSox. 

Danny Kirwin, RHP, Greenville Drive

2 G, 1-0, 6 1/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K

Kirwin dominated in a pair of relief outings last week. He picked up the win with 3 1/3 shutout innings on Wednesday and then threw three more scoreless frames on Sunday, striking out three batters in each game. Kirwin has a 4.41 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 49 innings with Greenville this season.  

Photo Credit: David Sandlin and Kristian Campbell by Kelly O'Connor

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