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Jeter Downs

Jeter Downs Signs With NPB’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

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Catching up on some news that was set aside during the trade deadline frenzy, the Yankees announced yesterday that infielder Jeter Downs was released and signed with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.

Downs, 26, wasn’t a Yankee for very long. He was claimed off waivers from the Nationals in December, with the Yankees then passing him through waivers unclaimed in January. He didn’t have the right to elect free agency at that time and has been in the Yankees’ system in a non-roster capacity since then.

He has been having a decent year at Triple-A. In 69 games for Scranton Wilkes-Barre, he hit 10 home runs and slashed .264/.360/.498 for a wRC+ of 117. He also stole 15 bases while bouncing between second base, third base and shortstop.

Despite those decent numbers, he never got called up to the majors even though the Yankees have had plenty of infield challenges. Players like Gleyber Torres, DJ LeMahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera have had disappointing seasons so far and Jon Berti has been on the injured list for most of the year. But the club never felt compelled to call upon Downs and eventually acquired Jazz Chisholm from the Marlins and plugged him onto their roster. Since he was fairly blocked from getting any playing time in the Bronx, he will instead go overseas to see if this opportunity will work out for him.

Downs was once a top 100 prospect during his time in the Dodgers’ system, before being traded to the Red Sox in the now-infamous 2020 deal that sent Mookie Betts and David Price to Los Angeles. He struggled to live up to the hype in the subsequent seasons, hitting .200/.309/.365 in the minors over the 2021-23 campaigns. He was only given brief looks in the majors, producing a line of .182/.260/.273 in 50 plate appearances. He went from the Red Sox to the Nationals on waivers in December of 2022 but then the Yankees got him off waivers a year later, as mentioned.

If he fares well in Japan, he could intrigue teams based his past. He hit .267/.359/.458 in the minors from 2017 to 2019, though mostly at the lower levels, with only 12 games above High-A in that time. But he has the former prospect pedigree and was performing well in Triple-A this year. A nice run with the Hawks could perhaps lead the way to a return to the majors down the line, especially since he’s still only 26 years old.

Yankees Outright Oscar González, Jeter Downs

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The Yankees announced that outfielder Oscar González and infielder Jeter Downs were both outrighted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. That indicates that both players passed through waivers unclaimed after being designated for assignment in the past week. A third player that they club put on waivers, outfielder Bubba Thompson, was claimed by the Twins.

González, 26, debuted with a splash while with the Guardians in 2022. He hit 11 home runs in 91 games and slashed .296/.327/.461 for a wRC+ of 125. He also endeared himself to fans by using the SpongeBob SquarePants theme song as his walk-up music and hitting a series-clinching walk-off home run in the 15th inning of a game in the Wild Card round against the Rays.

But things went off the rails last year, as his poor plate discipline got worse and his production couldn’t stay afloat. His 3.9% walk rate in 2022 was already less than half the league average and that mark fell to 2.8% in 2023. His 19.6% strikeout rate also ticked up to 25.6%. He hit .214/.239/.312 in the majors and spent most of the year on optional assignment.

Poor pitch selection seems to be a clear issue for him, as he has swung at 49.1% of pitches outside the strike zone in his career thus far. That’s the highest rate among MLB hitters with at least 550 plate appearances over the past two seasons. He still managed to hit enough to be useful a couple of years ago but his stock has clearly fallen since.

The Guardians put him on waivers earlier in the offseason, with the Yankees making a claim in early December. The fact that he passed through waivers this week means that all 29 other clubs declined to give him a roster spot. Since this is his first career outright and he has less than three years of service time, he will stick in the organization as non-roster depth.

The 25-year-old Downs is in a similar situation, having just been claimed by the Yankees last month. Fairly or unfairly, he is best known by many fans for going to the Red Sox in the deal that sent Mookie Betts and David Price to the Dodgers. Once a top prospect, he hasn’t been able to hit much since that trade. He has produced a batting line of .200/.309/.365 in the minor leagues over the past three years, leading to a wRC+ of 80. He’s only been given 50 major league plate appearances in that time and hit just .182/.260/.273 in those.

He has gone from the Red Sox to the Nationals and now the Yankees via waivers, but today’s transaction indicates no club was willing to give him a roster spot. Like González, he lacks the necessary service time or previous outright to elect free agency, meaning he will stick in the organization as depth without taking a spot on the 40-man roster.

Yankees Claim Diego Castillo, Designate Jeter Downs For Assignment

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The Yankees have claimed utility player Diego Castillo off of waivers from the Mets, the team announced. In a corresponding move, infielder Jeter Downs was designated for assignment.

Castillo, 26, returns to his original organization. The Yankees signed him as an international amateur out of Venezuela but flipped him to the Pirates alongside Hoy Park in the 2021 deadline deal that didn’t work out well for the Bucs. Both Castillo and Park were designated for assignment and traded to new clubs by the end of 2022, while Holmes has turned into the closer for the Yankees.

As for Castillo, he hit .206/.251/.382 in 96 games with the Bucs in 2022 then was traded to the Diamondbacks. The latter club mostly kept him in the minors, putting him into just one major league game. In 124 Triple-A contests, he only hit three home runs but walked more than he struck out, a 17.4% rate of free passes compared to 14.2% for the punchouts. His .313/.431/.410 batting line translated to a wRC+ of 117. He’s had other good Triple-A seasons in that vein, pairing minimal power with strong on-base abilities.

Defensively, Castillo has played all four infield positions and has spent some time in the outfield corners. He can also swipe a bag here and there, stealing 13 with the Reno last year. Despite that solid year with the Aces, he’s been on the transaction carousel this offseason, getting claimed off waivers by the Mets and now the Yankees.

The Yanks project to have an infield of Anthony Rizzo, Gleyber Torres, Anthony Volpe and DJ LeMahieu. The guys on the corners are into their mid-30s now and coming off injury-marred seasons. Volpe had some mixed results but was only 22 and should get a chance to continue his development. Torres is solid at the keystone but is in his final year of club control before reaching free agency.  Oswald Peraza, Oswaldo Cabrera,  and Jorbit Vivas are also on the 40-man but the club continues to focus on the depth. They recently signed Kevin Smith, Josh VanMeter and José Rojas to minor league deals and have now added Castillo into the mix. Since Castillo still has an option remaining, he can be kept in the minors as depth until his services as needed at the big league level.

They are also potentially losing one depth infielder in today’s transaction, with Downs no longer on the roster. The 25-year-old is perhaps best known for going from the Dodgers to the Red Sox as part of the return in the deal for Mookie Betts and David Price. Though he was once a top 100 prospect, he hasn’t lived up to that billing thus far. He struggled to establish himself with the Sox and has since gone to the Nationals and Yankees on waiver claims.

Between the Sox and the Nats, he’s only been put into 20 major league games, hitting .182/.260/.273 in those. His work in the minors hasn’t been much better, with a combined slash of .200/.309/.365 over the past three years.

The Yanks, who just claimed him last month, will now have a week to trade him or try to pass him through waivers. Despite the lack of offensive production, he may still garner interest from other clubs. He’s still quite young, has the former prospect pedigree and defensive versatility. He’s lined up at the three infield positions to the left of first base and a brief spell in the outfield. He also has one option year remaining, meaning he doesn’t need to be guaranteed an active roster spot.

Yankees Claim Jeter Downs From Nationals

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The Yankees announced that they have claimed infielder Jeter Downs off waivers from the Nationals. The infielder was designated for assignment a week ago when the Nats signed right-hander Dylan Floro.

Downs, 25, was once a prospect of note, having been selected 32nd overall by the Reds in 2017 and later appearing on top 100 lists. His time as a minor leaguer saw him change organizations twice as part of a major trade, first going to the Dodgers in a seven-player swap and then to the Red Sox in the deal for Mookie Betts and David Price. The Yankees now have two of the three players that went to Boston in that deal, having acquired Alex Verdugo earlier this month and leaving the Sox with just Connor Wong.

But as for Downs, he hasn’t yet delivered on that prospect hype. In 963 minor league plate appearances over the past three years, he has hit just .200/.309/.365 for a wRC+ of 80. Due to that performance, he’s been allowed to make just 50 trips to the plate at the major league level, with a slash of just .182/.260/.273 in those. The Sox put him on waivers prior to 2023, with the Nats putting in a claim but now letting him go via the same door he came in.

Despite that tepid offensive production, there’s little harm in the Yankees putting in a claim. They had three open roster spots to work with, as this claim brings their 40-man count to 38. Downs still has an option, meaning he can be stashed in the minors as depth for the upcoming season, if he sticks on the 40-man for that long. It’s also worth pointing out that he’s still young and could perhaps turn the narrative of his career around.

The Yanks are currently slated to have an infield of DJ LeMahieu, Anthony Volpe, Gleyber Torres and Anthony Rizzo with Oswald Peraza and Oswaldo Cabrera in the mix for bench/utility roles. Downs has played all three infield spots to the left of first base and even had a brief stint in center field this year, allowing him to provide some depth at various spots.

Nationals Sign Dylan Floro To Major League Deal

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The Nationals announced that they have signed right-hander Dylan Floro to a one-year major league deal. They also announced their previously-reported pact with infielder/outfielder Nick Senzel. To open a spot on the 40-man roster, infielder Jeter Downs was designated for assignment. Per Jim Bowden of The Athletic, Floro will make $2.25MM plus incentives. Jon Morosi of MLB.com relays that Floro will get an extra $1.25MM if he pitches in 60 games next year.

Floro, 33 this month, has plenty of major league success but is coming off a frustrating 2023 campaign. From 2018 to 2022, he tossed 252 2/3 innings for the Reds, Dodgers and Marlins with an earned run average of 2.96 in that time. He struck out 21.6% of hitters faced, issued walks at a 7.6% clip and kept 50.9% of balls in play on the ground.

He was back with the Fish to start 2023 but had an earned run average of 4.54 through 39 2/3 innings. He was then traded to the Twins for another struggling reliever in Jorge López, with both clubs hoping for a change-of-scenery boost. But Floro posted a 5.29 ERA in 17 innings for Minnesota before getting released as the season was winding down.

There’s no denying that those results were less than ideal, but it’s possible that the baseball gods were responsible for them. Floro’s peripherals were still strong, as he struck out 23.4% of batters for the season as a whole, walked just 6.9% and got grounders at a strong 54.4% rate. But his .401 batting average on balls in play and 65.3% strand rate were both on the unlucky side of average. His 2.96 FIP and 3.34 SIERA suggest he may have been closer to his previous self than would appear on first glance. His 37.1% hard hit rate in 2023 was a career high but his 87.1 mph average exit velocity was actually lower than the year before.

The Nats are in rebuilding mode and aren’t expected to compete in 2024. They can give Floro a job in their bullpen and perhaps flip him to a contender at the deadline if he bounces back. This was a strategy the Nats deployed last season, signing Jeimer Candelario, Dominic Smith and Corey Dickerson to one-year deals. The deals for Smith and Dickerson didn’t work out, but Candelario bounced back nicely and was flipped to the Cubs at the deadline for two prospects.

Downs, 25, was claimed off waivers from the Red Sox about a year ago. Once a highly-touted prospect, he was part of the package that the Sox received in the Mookie Betts trade. But his performance in the past few years diminished his stock significantly. He played in just six games for the Nats in 2023, spending most of the year either on optional assignment or the injured list. In 60 minor league games this year, he walked in 16.6% of his plate appearances but also hit just three home runs. His .222/.363/.356 batting line translated to a wRC+ of 91.

The Nats will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers. He still has one option year remaining and less than a year of service time. Given his past status as a top prospect, some club could put in a claim and wouldn’t even need to commit an active roster spot to him.

Nationals Select Jacob Young, Transfer Stone Garrett To 60-Day IL

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1:15PM: The Nationals have now made it official, announcing that they have selected Young’s contract. In corresponding moves, infielder Jeter Downs was optioned to Triple-A Rochester and Garrett was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Garrett suffered a fractured fibula earlier this week and underwent a season-ending surgery yesterday, as Nats manager Davey Martinez informed the Washington Post’s Andrew Golden and other reporters.

11:51AM: The Nationals are calling up outfield prospect Jacob Young, according to Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (X link).  Young will be making his MLB debut whenever he appears in a game, which could be as early as today against the Marlins.  The Nats will need to make at least one corresponding move, since Young isn’t on the 40-man roster.

Young is a University of Florida product who was a seventh-round pick for the Nationals in the 2021 draft.  Playing in A-ball for his first two pro seasons, Young has made a quick progression in 2023, starting in high-A ball and now moving all the way up to the majors.  Hitting well at both the high-A and Double-A levels, Young has only played in four Triple-A games, appearing in Rochester for the first time just earlier this week.

Over 496 total minor league plate appearances this season, Young has hit .305/.376/.418, with six homers and an impressive stolen base ratio of 39 steals against seven times caught.  This comes on the heels of Young’s 52 steals (in 59 chances) at A-level Fredericksburg in 2022.  Pundits rate Young as plus-plus speed, with Baseball America’s scouting report noting “some scouts called him one of the best baserunners they have ever seen.”

This skill alone makes the 24-year-old Young an interesting player to watch, though the rest of his game might need some polish.  BA ranks Young 24th among Washington prospects and MLB Pipeline ranks him 30th, as Young doesn’t have much power and is reliant on his speed to beat out a grounder-heavy approach.  His defense is promising, since Young has mostly played left field in the pro but has also seen time as a center fielder and right fielder, as well as a couple of games at second base.

With Stone Garrett likely out for the season due to a leg fracture, the Nationals have some need for outfield help.  Young figures to join Lane Thomas, Alex Call, Jake Alu, Blake Rutherford, and utilityman Ildemaro Vargas in the outfield mix, as the rebuilding Nats continue to evaluate their young talent while quietly playing some quality baseball in recent weeks.  Washington has a 24-15 record since the All-Star break.

Nationals Option Luis García, Release Corey Dickerson

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The Nationals announced after today’s game that they have requested unconditional release waivers on outfielder Corey Dickerson and optioned infielder Luis García to Triple-A Rochester. The corresponding moves haven’t been announced but Talk Nats reports that outfielder Blake Rutherford will be selected to the roster for one of them. Infielder Jeter Downs will be recalled for the other, per Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post.

García, 23, was once a top 100 prospect but has continually struggled to hit in the big leagues. Dating back to the 2020 season, he’s appeared in 302 games and taken 1,169 plate appearances, coming into today’s action. He’s mustered a batting line of .263/.291/.388 in that time, which amounts to a wRC+ of 82. That includes a .260/.294/.363 showing this year, translating to a 74 wRC+.

Those numbers are especially concerning since his hit tool was supposed to be his standout feature as a prospect. Advanced defensive metrics don’t like his glovework at second base much, with García having tallied -2 Defensive Runs Saved there in his career, along with -14 Outs Above Average and a grade of -6.5 from Ultimate Zone Rating. His numbers at shortstop are worse.

The Nats will now send him back to Triple-A to get more work there, though he has little to prove at that level. In 82 games there in his career, he’s hit .306/.368/.554 but hasn’t been able to replicate that at the big league level. He’ll now try to get back in a groove and earn himself another chance.

From a service time perspective, he began this year with one year and 164 days of service. He’s already gone well past the two-year mark but his chances of reaching Super Two status at the end of the this year could go down, depending on how long he’s out. Perhaps more importantly, he has just one option year remaining. Once he spends 20 days on optional assignment, he’ll burn that last option here in 2023 and be out of options going into 2024. The Nats will likely still be rebuilding next year and could give him another shot, though his grasp on a roster spot would likely be more tenuous at that point.

As for Dickerson, 34, it’s hardly a surprise to see him lose his roster spot now. He was one of a handful of veterans that the Nats brought in over the winter on one-year deals to serve as veteran mentors and hopefully become trade chips. Jeimer Candelario showed the best-case scenario as he mashed and was able to be flipped to the Cubs for a couple of prospects. But Dickerson has hit just .252/.285/.357 for the year, producing a wRC+ of 71 that would be a career low for him. Now that the deadline has passed, the club will use his roster spot to give a chance to other players with a greater chance to help in future seasons.

One of those players the Nats will get a look at will reportedly be Rutherford. The 26-year-old was a first round pick of the Yankees, getting selected 18th overall in 2016. He was considered a top 100 prospect going into 2017 before getting flipped to the White Sox that summer as part of a seven-player deal that sent Todd Frazier, David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle to the Yankees.

The Sox added him to their 40-man roster in November of 2019 to prevent him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft, but he didn’t hit much in the years to come and was eventually outrighted off the roster, without getting a chance to make his major league debut. He cleared waivers in the process, meaning the other 29 clubs in the league had a chance to grab him and passed.

He reached free agency after last year, signing a minor league contract with the Nats in the winter and has seemingly been back in good form. He’s hit .345/.395/.583 in 62 games split between Double-A and Triple-A this year, producing a 153 wRC+. That’s obviously much better than his combined batting line of .262/.305/.399 from 2019 to 2022. The Nats will now give him a chance to see how he can handle major league pitching. If he succeeds, he still has no service time and can be retained for six seasons beyond this one. He also has an option year remaining, giving the club a bit of roster flexibility to use at some point.

Nationals Announce Several Roster Cuts

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TODAY: Adams will wait until at least Tuesday to decide on his future, the infielder told Mark Zuckerman and other reporters.  He’ll report to the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate unless another team presents a clear big league opportunity in the coming days.

MARCH 25: With Opening Day now less than a week away, teams around the league are making their final roster decisions. The Nationals announced several such decisions today, with right-hander Paolo Espino and infielder Jeter Downs getting optioned to the minors, while non-roster invitees right-hander Alex Colome, Andres Machado and Wily Peralta were all reassigned to minor league camp. Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com spoke to manager Dave Martinez about the roster configuration, who added that first baseman Matt Adams has been informed that he won’t be making the club.

These moves bring the club’s roster down to 26, which suggests everyone who has not been cut has made the team. However, it seems that is not set in stone, with the Nats staying open to a late waiver claim or perhaps some other player become available by an opt-out. “There’s no set roster right now,” Martinez said. “We still have decisions to make. We probably won’t make any decisions until we go back to D.C.” Several veterans on minor league deals have opt-outs they could trigger this weekend and other players could wind up on waivers as teams make their final roster decisions, so the Nats aren’t carving things in stone. However, the cuts do seem to indicate who won’t be on the club.

Espino, 36, seems like he could be the first one called if the Nats need another starter. With Stephen Strasburg on the shelf for the foreseeable future and Cade Cavalli set to miss the entire season due to Tommy John surgery, the club’s rotation has already taken a couple of hits. It seems like they will start the year with Patrick Corbin, Trevor Williams, Josiah Gray, MacKenzie Gore and Chad Kuhl as the top five, with Espino staying stretched out in Triple-A.

“I think I’ve done a really good job in spring,” Espino said. “But at the same time, I have options. There’s always a possibility (of getting demoted) having options. I know some of the guys, most of them, don’t have options. It’s just part of the game, part of baseball, and some decisions they have to make. For my part, I’m just going to go where they send me and I’m going to put in the innings I need to do to get the job done. And hopefully be back up soon.”

Of the five aforementioned rotation members, only Gray and Gore can be optioned, but they are two of the club’s top prospects. Getting them big league experience is a priority for the team this year, which seemingly nudged Espino down to the minors. Kuhl is not yet on the 40-man but can opt out of his minor league deal today if he doesn’t get a spot. Espino operated as a swingman for the club last year, posting a 4.84 ERA in 113 1/3 innings. It seems highly likely he’ll get another shot in the big leagues as soon as health or fatigue among the other pitchers warrants it.

Colome and Machado, meanwhile, both seem likely to factor into the Nats bullpen at some point this season, while Peralta could feasibly contribute in either role, given 139 of his 258 career appearances have come as a starter, though the Nationals mostly used him as a reliever during camp. Of course, Colome and Peralta will both have the ability to opt out of their contracts this weekend, should their wish to do so.

With ten seasons under his belt as a big league reliever, Colome is among the more experienced options at Washington’s disposal for their bullpen, but with a 4.82 ERA (92 ERA+) since the start of the 2021 season, it’s easy to wonder if the 34 year old Colome might not reclaim the success he saw from 2016 to 2020, when he posted a 2.62 ERA (163 ERA+) in 274 2/3 innings while racking up 138 saves for the Rays, Mariners, and White Sox.

Machado, 29, has posted a 3.41 ERA (117 ERA+) in 95 innings of work in the big leagues since making his Nationals debut in 2021. That being said, underlying metrics don’t rate the right-hander’s work so highly, with subpar strikeout (18.3%) and walk (9.9%) rates explaining his 4.56 FIP over the past two seasons. Peralta, meanwhile, provides the Nationals with a veteran swing-man who has posted a 4.29 ERA (95 ERA+) in 911 1/3 innings of work over ten seasons in the major leagues.

On the positional side, Downs was among the more highly regarded prospects in baseball in the lead-up to the 2020 season, when he was shipped from Los Angeles to Boston as part of the Mookie Betts deal. Since, then, however, Downs has struggled mightily, with a .661 OPS in 180 games at the Triple-A level. Downs figures to attempt to right the ship in Triple-A with the Nationals to begin the season, and could supplant Ildemaro Vargas as a middle infield option for the big league roster sometime this season if he manages to bounce back.

Adams was a member of the World Series champion 2019 Nationals, though he struggled to a .226/.276/.465 slash line in 111 games that season. A power bat with a high strikeout rate, Adams stood as the primary challenger to Michael Chavis for a role as a pinch hitter off the bench. That role appears to be poised to go to Chavis while Adams, 34, will decide whether or not to try his luck in another organization or stick with the Nationals.

Nationals Claim Jeter Downs, Designate Reed Garrett

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The Nationals announced they have claimed infielder Jeter Downs off waivers from the Red Sox. Downs had been recently designated for assignment by Boston. To create space on the 40-man roster, the Nats designated reliever Reed Garrett for assignment. Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post. reported the claim of Downs prior to the official announcement.

Downs, 24, is perhaps best known as one of the key pieces of the trade that sent Mookie Betts and David Price to the Dodgers in February of 2020. Downs went to the Red Sox alongside Alex Verdugo and Connor Wong. At the time, Downs was a highly-touted prospect, featuring on the back end of Baseball America’s top 100 list in both 2020 and 2021.

Unfortunately, his stock has completely nosedived in the past two years. After the pandemic wiped out the minor leagues in 2020, Downs spent 2021 in Triple-A, getting into 99 games on the year. His power and speed were still evident, as he hit 14 home runs and stole 18 bases. However, he struck out in 32.3% of his plate appearances and finished with a batting line of .190/.272/.333 for a wRC+ of 62.

2022 was an improvement but only slightly. His strikeout rate dropped but was still quite high at 29.6%. He added another 16 homers and swiped 18 more bags, but his batting line of .197/.316/.412 added up to a 95 wRC+. He also got into 14 MLB games but hit just .154/.171/.256 in that small sample, striking out in 51.2% of his trips to the plate.

The Sox gave up on him by designating him for assignment last week but the rebuilding Nats will give him a shot. He’s still only 24, was a top prospect less than two years ago and has two option years remaining. He also brings defensive versatility, having primarily played shortstop but also some second and third base.

The Nats will have a young middle infield consisting of CJ Abrams at shortstop and Luis Garcia at second. Third base figures to be manned by Jeimer Candelario, though he’s only on a one-year deal and could be dealt at midseason if he’s performing well. Carter Kieboom is also in the mix for work at the hot corner though he’s struggled in the big leagues so far and missed the 2022 season entirely due to Tommy John surgery. Veteran Ildemaro Vargas is also on hand as a utility option, though there are avenues there for Downs to work his way into the picture if he can get things back on track.

Garrett, 30 in January, he has limited MLB experience, getting into 13 games with the 2019 Tigers and another seven with the 2022 Nationals with a stint in Japan in between. He posted a 6.75 ERA in the big leagues this year but was much better in the minors. He logged 47 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 3.04 ERA, 27% strikeout rate, 9.2% walk rate and 47.4% ground ball rate. The Nats will have one week to trade him or pass him through waivers. He still has a couple of option years remaining and had solid minor league numbers this year, which could lead to some interest from other clubs.

Red Sox Designate Jeter Downs For Assignment

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The Red Sox have officially announced their signing of outfielder Masataka Yoshida. To create space on the 40-man roster, infielder Jeter Downs was designated for assignment.

Downs, 24, is perhaps best known as one of the key pieces of the trade that sent Mookie Betts and David Price to the Dodgers in February of 2020. Downs went to the Red Sox alongside Alex Verdugo and Connor Wong. At the time, Downs was a highly-touted prospect, featuring on the back end of Baseball America’s top 100 list in both 2020 and 2021.

Unfortunately, his stock has completely nosedived in the past two years. After the pandemic wiped out the minor leagues in 2020, Downs spent 2021 in Triple-A, getting into 99 games on the year. His power and speed were still evident, as he hit 14 home runs and stole 18 bases. However, he struck out in 32.3% of his plate appearances and finished with a batting line of .190/.272/.333 for a wRC+ of 62.

2022 was an improvement but only slightly. His strikeout rate dropped but was still quite high at 29.6%. He added another 16 homers and swiped 18 more bags, but his batting line of .197/.316/.412 added up to a 95 wRC+. He also got into 14 MLB games but hit just .154/.171/.256 in that small sample, striking out in 51.2% of his trips to the plate.

Despite making him a key piece of a franchise-altering trade, it seems the club has run out of patience with him. They will now have a week to trade him or put him on waivers. Despite the rough results in the past two seasons, it seems likely that some team would take a flier on him. He’s still only 24, was a top prospect less than two years ago and has two option years remaining. He also brings defensive versatility, having primarily played shortstop but also some second and third base.

For the Boston fans, trading away an elite talent like Betts was always going to be a bitter pill to swallow, but it seems to be getting worse with age. While Betts helped the Dodgers win the 2020 World Series, Verdugo seems to have settled in as an adequate but unexciting outfielder. Wong has yet to establish himself at the big league level and Downs is now potentially leaving the organization on a low note.

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