The Red Sox have interest in Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing, according to a report from Sean McAdam of MassLive. McAdam also reports that the Dodgers have had a scouting presence at Boston’s High-A affiliate in Greenville to monitor shortstop prospect Franklin Arias and left-handed prospect Brandon Clarke. It’s unknown whether a deal between the two sides is close at this time or what the exact framework of a deal involving Rushing would look like.
Rushing, 24, was a second-round pick by the Dodgers in 2022 and entered the 2025 season as a consensus top-30 prospect in the sport. He slashed a sensational .308/.424/.514 in 31 games at Triple-A Oklahoma City for the Dodgers earlier this year before being promoted to the majors back in May. He’s struggled since that promotion while serving as the backup to Will Smith, with a .216/.280/.297 slash line across 27 games. He’s struck out in a worrisome 41.5% of his plate appearances, but has looked like a capable defensive catcher and has some impressive underlying power numbers including a 12.2% barrel rate.
While Rushing may not be an immediate impact player at this point, he’d be a long-term addition with plenty of upside for the Red Sox who could make up for the loss of Kyle Teel in this past winter’s Garrett Crochet deal. In the short-term, meanwhile, he would surely be an improvement over Connor Wong as the backup to Carlos Narvaez behind the plate in Boston. Wong has had a brutal season in 2025, hitting just .144/.228/.144 across 101 plate appearances. That’s 95% worse than league average by measure of wRC+, and his weak offense has been complemented by middling defense behind the plate. Rushing would provide as much or more defensive value as compared to Wong, with a modestly more valuable bat in the short-term and plenty of long-term room for growth behind the plate both offensively and defensively.
Both prospects McAdam reports the Dodgers have been scouting are extremely well-regarded. Following the graduations of Kristian Campbell, Roman Anthony, and Marcelo Mayer earlier this year, MLB Pipeline rates Arias as the top prospect in Boston’s system while Clarke clocks in as the system’s fourth-best prospect. Baseball America, meanwhile, places Arias fourth and Clarke sixth in the system on a ranking that still includes both Anthony and Mayer. Arias is ranked 34th overall in Pipeline’s top 100 while Clarke is unranked. BA is lower on Franklin (55th overall) but views Clarke as a top-100 talent in his own right as he’s 72nd on their list.
That pair of prospects would be a substantial return if the Dodgers were able to land them both in exchange for Rushing’s services, particularly considering the fact that Rushing is largely blocked by the presence of Smith on a long-term deal. Catching talent is highly sought-after around the league, however, and with other catching-hungry teams like the Rays, Nationals, Guardians, and Mets all potentially on the lookout for help behind the plate it would surely be a competitive market if the Dodgers were to make Rushing available.
That L.A. is scouting some of Boston’s high-end prospects should not necessarily be taken as a sign that a deal is close or especially likely. McAdam suggests that the Dodgers might not be motivated to part with a player on their major league roster to acquire prospects far away from the majors. It wouldn’t be a shock if a club that was willing to offer L.A. immediate help of significance was better positioned to land Rushing, and the Guardians in particular have intriguing pieces they could dangle such as closer Emmanuel Clase and outfielder Steven Kwan, both of whom could make plenty of sense for a Dodgers club that is on the prowl for bullpen help and has gotten minimal production from Michael Conforto in left field. That’s a largely speculative connection, of course, and Rushing by himself surely wouldn’t be enough to land either one of those players.
All that said, it wouldn’t be the first time the Dodgers have dealt a blocked top prospect in exchange for long-term pieces. Prior to the 2024 season, L.A. swapped Michael Busch (and right-hander Yency Almonte) to the Cubs in a deal that landed them outfield prospect Zyhir Hope and left-handed pitching prospect Jackson Ferris. That pair of prospects were not yet consensus top-100 talents and were even farther from the majors then than Arias and Clarke are now, but the deal has certainly paid off for the Dodgers given that Hope is rated as the sport’s #31 prospect by Pipeline while Ferris clocks in at #97. Of course, it must be noted that the Busch trade was an offseason deal, and the urgency associated with the trade deadline could make the Dodgers less incentivized to focus on bolstering their farm system when they’re in the midst of defending their title as the reigning World Series champions.
Can he play first? 😂
He does have 10 innings as a late game replacement at 1B this season. Seems like the Dodgers may need to buy prospects to flip in other deals. Rushing will never get to play everyday in LA with Smith signed long-term so might as well get something you need for him. Heck the Sox can throw Wong in the deal too as he has been effectually useless all season
Wong went from being a 5-6 day a week catcher to a seldom-used backup. That will drop a player’s performance. He’s still better than Vazquez who’s name I always hear in trade rumors.
Giving up 2 of our top prospects for an unproven catcher who has not hit at the major league level seems like way too much.
He can. And probably without an attitude.
And without a bat to make any impact what-so-ever.
He came up in the hitter friendly PCL and has skunked at mlb level.
Not worth either arias or Clarke IMO.
Yeah, they may not pan out as prospects, but, neither has this guy so far. I’d stick with the much higher ceiling in what we know than what’s in LAs cast offs.
Dating back to the blockbuster 200m salary clearer or even to mookie, all of the ‘well regarded’ LAD prospects sent to Boston were worth less than a hill of beans. Don’t buy friedman’s castoffs
You are so wrong in your assessment of Rushing. But that is ok. We need to keep him.
I’m fine with keeping Clarke he has some of the nastiest stuff in the minors.
Cease and Campusano to the BOSOX for Garcia boys and Early.
that’s a worse deal for the red sox than the trade offer reported earlier
Red Sox can pawn off another product of media hype, Franklin Arias and his mediocre stats.
At least his mediocre stats are better than fellow media hype product, Kristian Campbell
Media hype Kristian Campbell? He’s a kid that flew through the minor leagues and got called up too soon. He will be back and he will be good.
Yeah, his stats in the minors last year were not media hype. He just wasn’t ready for major league pitching (and yet still held his own surprisingly well for being so obviously outmatched). He’s very young even for AAA, so people ready to throw in the towel and declare him a bust already are out of their minds.
You can see the guy’s username – trolls are gonna troll!
I’d bet this is the first time you’ve ever heard of Franklin arias.
You legitimately don’t know ball Arias is a phenomenal prospect with a much higher ceiling than Rushing
It’s a stretch to say he has “a much higher ceiling than Rushing”.
Dodgers need to make a decision on him fast. Would rather move him to LF and get his bat in there everyday. Idc how awful he is defensively. They learned with Busch these kids need a chance
This is a great point. I wish we could have that patience with at least ONE of these hitting prospects.
Patience is unnecessary when you can spend like there’s no tomorrow ( not a dodgers fan )
Really! Not a Dodger fan? Never would have guessed it.
Trading Busch wasn’t about a lack of patience, it was about acquiring two highly-rated prospects for a blocked player.
I don’t have any problem with that deal. Rushing isn’t blocked to that extent. They need to be a little more bold looking for offense and if he is a butcher in LF so be it. Outman, Rojas, Ruiz (twins RP walking him aside) are not cutting it. They need more depth offense
Or you could trade him for these prospects and turn those prospects, along with maybe one or two more, into Clase and Kwan. That might be more appealing to Cleveland.
Rushing (and any other Dodgers catching prospect) is trapped behind the Great Wall of Smith.
if only they had an all star right fielder in the fold
I think Rushing will be just fine but that said we still haven’t seen him flourish at the plate at the MLB level so no guarantees he can rake at MLB level. Busch in my opinion was a mistake but I am probably in the minority.
Right now it looks bad. If Ferris and/or Hope amount to average or better, then it might not be as bad. Dalton, to me, has similar offensive capabilities if given enough of a runway. 4 – 8 AB’s a week is difficult for a rookie to flourish.
Seems like Rushing has a good approach so more likely than not I’d think he will be an MLB level or better hitter. But always a chance he won’t. AAA numbers can be hit or miss with the PCL, but that said, he has also hit at other levels. We shall see. For Ferris and Hope it’s still a long road to MLB. Many elite prospects have faltered between high A/AA to MLB.
All good points, my friend. I “hope” they pan out. To be honest, in my opinion, Dodgers biggest need right now is for some players already on the roster to get healthy and for Marcus Lynn Betts to snap out of whatever it is he’s going through right now.
Agreed, that best case is for current guys to snap out of funks (Betts, Teo, Edman, Conforto, Yates, T Scott), Getting Muncy, Snell and Treinen back also huge.
That said, they also need guys who can contribute now via trade. A bat and two high leverage bullpen arms.
Fools Rush in!
Rushing is a 60 FV talent who has done nothing but solidify that status since being called up. He is a very valuable asset for the Dodgers moving forward. No player is untouchable, of course. But, Clarke and Arias (50 FV) hardly seem like the players needed to entice Friedman to move Rushing.
Moreover, the current needs for LA are not at all addressed by the two prospects mentioned in this article. Friedman loves complicated, three-way deals and so something could be in the works, but it’s gonna have to be a much bigger deal than these three players.
I still think the best deal that’s waiting to happen is Rushing and DePaula to CLE for Clase and Bo Naylor. Makes a lot of sense for both teams. Naylor is much better suited as a backup which most Guardians fans are aware of.
If the Guardians are demanding that for Clase, he will never move. I doubt the Dodgers would part with either one, let alone both for Clase.
Dodgers certainly would not move either of those two players for Clase, they would have ZERO interest in Naylor.
Clase has only been Elite in 1 of the last 3 seasons, and in his elite season in 2024, Clase choked away the series on his own to the Yankees.
Clase is a good closer and has a nice contract, but they are looking for team to grossly overpay for an Elite closer.
That is ludicrous. The Dodgers wouldn’t make that trade #1, and #2, it’s way too much for Clase.
A reliever is the most volatile of all positions. Soooo hot and then cold. We’ve seen it this year in LA. Two, not one, but TWO all star relievers have been terrible. LA paid a lot of money for them too. Trades are always a risk, but sending a top 5 prospect for a reliever is riskiest.
How can you say he’s “done nothing but solidify that status since being called up”? He has a 41.5% strikeout rate and a 0.081 ISO. Mind you, I’m inclined to give that the “small sample size” AND the “first exposure to MLB pitching, proceed with caution” treatments, but I think it’s safe to say he hasn’t added any further confidence to whatever was there at the moment of his call-up, no?
Also, don’t forget, getting good marks for framing is rapidly becoming obsolete with the impending robo-umps and the proposed challenge system for strike calls.
Boston isnt trading Arias & Clarke for just Rushing! LA would need to kick in something else
It would not be a “substantial return” that’s bs
We’ve already seen what the Dodgers had to give Boston for Mookie Betts so I’m not doubting they could get both of those guys for Rushing.
Yeah, they could probably get 2 more added on.
The Dodgers took on $48M in the Betts trade which was half of David Price’s remaining contract. That was the main return to the Red Sox. When you take on that much money, the player return is less.
Also, there’s a different GM than before, for whatever that’s worth.
So what bloom would accept has no correlation to what id hope breslow expects
Of course they would. Rsox fans are so precious. Bless their hearts.
Spoken like a truly ignorant fan to prospects. Well let me educate you Arias is an elite contact hitter at 19 years old in High A. He strikes out about 10% of the time he has been hitting to a lot of bad luck indicated by his .278 babip in High A but that will change he does hit a lot of ground balls but he’s a really good prospect.
Let me introduce you to Brandon Clarke as well his stuff is some of the nastiest in the minors high 90’s high spin fastballs coupled with one of the filthiest sliders in the minors. The point is barring injury he’s at least a lights out closer at the back end and if he can develop one of his other secondaries he can be a tor arm. It’s way too much to pay for a guy who will be a backup catcher on the Bosox.
Pumping prospects is pathetic. Leave that to Padres fans who think Salas is still amazing.
Dodgers would have to get another catcher somewhere their minor leaguers are pretty underwhelming.
He’s been dreadful at the plate this year since the thumb injury, but I’m sure the Red Sox could send Connor Wong along with whatever prospects so the Dodgers have someone for backup catcher.
Might be able to toss in Jeter Downs too if we’re really feeling frisky!
Them’s fightin words
lol
Yeah, who backs up Smith if they send Rushing to Boston?
Feduccia is next in line. Already on the 40-man.
Hunter Feduccia who is at AAA. He is more than capable. And obviously backup catcher is not an important position until of course the starting catcher goes down.
Hunter Feduccia will be just fine as an MLB backup catcher. I’d think an upgrade from Austin Barnes, their prior backup catcher for years.
Dodgers have endured a half-decade of Barnes doing nothing as a backup. They would just move Hunter Feduccia into the backup catcher role and be perfectly fine. Prefer him to Naylor anyway.
Nothing but managing pitchers at a very high level, which is a catcher’s primary job.
Feduccia is just fine but I would keep Rushing. He plays once maybe twice a week. When he gets more at bats, he will be very good.
Dodgers should be able to get something good for Rushing. He’d likely be a top ~15 catcher right now if he wasn’t blocked.
Needs to show he can hit mlb pitching and respond to mlb pitching adjustments to keep that bat going before he’s even in consideration as a top 30 catcher, let alone 15.
As automated ball-strike systems appear, catcher value will become more dependent on hitting ability and CS %age
Most teams have backups or defensive-first starting catchers, so being a top 15 catcher isn’t that difficult. Most teams have a need for an MLB-ready catcher. He’s also good enough offensively where he can still have value at 1B.
He has nothing left to prove in the minors and the only reason he’s not playing is that he’s backing up a top 3 catcher and a future Hall of Fame 1B.
How about they send him over for a PTBNL and a dry handy from Henry’s wife since they fleeced us so bad on the Mookie Betts trade? Then we can call it even.
Breslow will deal Duran and Romy to get Rushing.
Like moves like this
Phillies acquire:
A. Chapman LHP
R. Refsnyder LF
B. Clarke LHP (#25)
Red Sox acquire:
R. Marchan C
O. Kemp INF (#20)
J. Cabrera RHP (#11)
A. McFarlane RHP (#16)
C. Ricketts C (#27)
K. Anthony 1B (#29)
Buy and sell baseball cards and do a lot of baseball reference searches on other teams’ prospects – and I really like Brandon Clarke. Kind of nerdy but I write down mid level prospects from other teams that I think will be big leaguers. Have been watching Clarke’s stats after all his starts, the Phillies have a need for upper minors LHP’s (even after the draft) and have a knack for developing them successfully. Really do feel a blockbuster coming.
Kudos for research, but nothing about these players constitutes a ‘blockbuster’.
Average-buster ?
Mediocre – buster?
The Red Sox are trying to compete, why would we dump our best reliever and a platoon bat who absolutely murders left handed pitching for prospects?
Not just that Dirty, but not even particularly impressive prospects?
No thanks on Otto Kemp… saw him in the 3 versus the Sox…. Nothing impressive…. not a thing
Anything further, father?
I’m sure the Dodgers scout lots of players, but I am doubtful they trade Rushing for prospects when they have immediate bullpen needs.
However, they would do this as part of a three-way trade. They acquire these two prospects for Rushing, add one or two more from our system, and then go out and get Clase and Kwan with the other part. Friedman loves his three ways.
Well, in that case they are still trading for the relievers they need, just in a more convoluted way.
Rushing for Crochet straight up, who says no?
The Dodgers say no. They have plenty of starting pitching. Too much, really. Their need is in the bullpen.
Both sides say no then, because there’s no way the Red Sox even consider that; they just traded Teel (similarly ranked to Rushing) plus three other well regarded players for Crochet 7 months ago…
The Dodgers would not say no….
They might have tons of good starters but they don’t have 5 who are better than Crochet. If they could get him for so stupidly cheap they would be thrilled to do so and figure out what to do with the other guys later.
The Dodgers could add Roki to the deal and the Red Sox would still ponder if they’d make that trade. Not a ton of SP’s with more trade value than Crochet.
Nobody would argue that Crochet wouldn’t make a great addition to any rotation, but he is on a long and expensive contract. So in addition to the Dodgers having far more immediate needs, this is the other reason why they say no. But I also agree that Boston is unlikely to move him.
Pretty sure Crochet’s 6 year, $170 million contract is a better value than Blake Snell’s 5 years for $182 million, Tyler Glasnow’s 5 for $136 M, and Yoshi Yamamoto’s 12 year, $325 million ($375 when you factor in they had to pay the $50 million posting fee just to talk to him).
Yoshi has at least been a stud, but no one wants to be on the hook for a 12 year deal. Crochet has been worth half as much WAR value this year as Glasnow has created in 10 years. Snell has hardly ever been durable, he’s going to spend at least half that contract on the DL. It is absurd to believe that the Dodgers would not gleefully trade for Crochet in a heartbeat if it could be done at the cost of just this one prospect, and then turn around and trade one of those other starters somewhere else.
First, a correction: teams don’t pay posting fees “just to talk” to a player. They pay the fee only if they sign the player.
Second, it’s nice to hear from someone who can predict the future with such certainty and knows in advance who will be injured and who will not. Got any hot stock tips?
Third, Crochet’s contract includes $2M per season in escalators based on CY voting. This brings his AAV close to or above the AAV of the other pitchers you mention. He also has an opt-out. Value to the player, not the team. So, not as much excess value in this contract as you assume.
Fourth, the Dodgers probably would not be interested in Crochet in the very unlikely event the Red Sox make him available, not because his contract is a poor “value” but because starting pitching is not their need. They will spend their trade chips on what they do need. But didn’t I say that before? I sure did. At least twice.
Lol. Argue away on the semantics of posting fees. The important part is they signed him, so they paid it .$375 million over 12 years, deep into his 30s.
Regarding Snell, the guy is almost 33 and has hit 180 IP in his career just twice. How many guys have you heard of becoming *more* durable as they get well into their 30s? Excluding the ones who were on HGH. Got a long list of guys who established a blueprint on squeezing longevity out of an arm that’s rarely been able to endure any?
Paying Crochet an extra $2 million if he places in the Cy Young race does not make him *less* valuable or desirable, but that sure is an interesting take. And his opt-out is not until after 2030, so he is locked in for at least 5 years.
And for the umpteenth time, I get it, I understand the Dodgers are not LOOKING to make a move like this. But if you sincerely believe, as you originally commented, that the Dodgers would say no to Crochet for this one prospect if the offer was presented to them (which is the premise of the comment we are both replying to, in case you forgot), then you are all kinds of stupid.
By semantics, you mean the facts. A complete trash argument.
That’s funny.
LMAO… BlueSkies_LA…. Comedy or just stupidity.
Brilliant.
No way Crochet has the same numbers in the 2nd half of the season. Not worth it
Crochet’s numbers for the first half of this season closely track his career work. So, no reason to think he won’t continue to perform at this level. The Dodgers have good reasons to not trade for him, but performance ain’t it.
He is about to go over his max innings, we shall see.
Seriously ?
Reminescent of trading Wong for Betts
straight up
MIN should really be in on any Rushing trade. They really need a real catching prospect and this is the only one that’ll be available any time soon. It’ll cost the moon, but a Jax/Duran caliber reliever with two years of control left also costs the moon and this might be the time to play that card.
Duran and Coulombe for Rushing and Banda.
There was a time when Wong was the 4th or 5th best Dodger prospect C behind at least Ruiz, Smith, and Cartaya. He’s made a good career.
Until Hope (A+ minors) and Ferris (AA) actually do something at the MLB level or are traded for someone who actually does something at the MLB level I’d hardly consider this trade as paid off. Busch has been raking at the MLB level. Prospects are exactly that until their potential is materialized. More often than not prospects should be traded for more known values.
They aren’t giving up Arias lol
I wouldn’t be Rushing to acquire Dalton, unless of course the Double Deuce needed protection.
You’re thinking of a far more impressive Dalton as well.
What’s the Hurry?
Since when are the Dodgers flush at the Catcher position?
Dodgers need 2 things by the deadline:
1) A closer
2) Michael Conforto off the roster. This guy can’t even hold the bat boy’s jock, and it’s been that way all year long.
Probably do this if I were the Sox. Rushing basically replaces Teel with a better catching prospect.
Arias seems like a classic low power short stop with meh speed. Clarke feels like a thoroughbred with questions whether he’ll ever race.
Rushing is at least ready to step up and fill the Sox’s biggest need. The Sox have enough depth with Tolle and Early etc to hold down their starting prospects.
Unless there is something I’m missing about Rushing.