boston – Jeter Downs She was rated the Red Sox’ No. 1 prospect for every MLB pipeline soon after she came on Trade 2020 That sent permanent all-star Mookie Betts to the Dodgers.
The Red Sox certainly bought the Downs’ lofty status, which is why they terminated the controversial deal once the shortstop was included in the package by Los Angeles. However, Downes didn’t come close to fulfilling his promise in three years in Boston’s farm system.
“This was a tough one,” said Red Sox baseball head Chaim Blum. “The fact that he was in a position where we considered him and selected him to be appointed, I think just speaks to some of the difficulties we had in getting him on the right track.
“I still think there’s a lot of physical ability there, but we just couldn’t unlock it consistently. Sure, he’s still young and there’s no reason to write him off, but he obviously had some difficulties.”
The most Downs faced was a beating. He hit 0.10 at Triple-A Worcester in 2021, and averaged just 0.197 at the same affiliate this past season.
The 24-year-old made his MLB debut in 2022, when the Red Sox were decimated by injuries, and had a memorable moment producing his first career hit — a game-tying RBI single — in the bottom of the inning. . ninth against the Yankees. A few minutes later, he scored in the first round.
In 14 games, Downs, a center fielder, hit just . 154 for Boston with a homer and four RBIs.
“I’m glad he was able to get into the big leagues with us,” said Bloom, “and I’m glad he was able to spend some time with us here in Fenway, and help us win a big game.” “It was very flattering for a lot of people, but we obviously couldn’t get him to be as consistently successful as anyone would like with Jeter.”
Bloom was asked if DFA was hard to swallow given he was one of the three pieces that came with Betts, joining Alex Verdugo and Connor Wong, who are still with the club.
“I don’t think that changes what the decision is, because ultimately we have a responsibility to every player in this organization to make the right decision by all of them when we make decisions for the organization,” Bloom said. “There’s no doubt that it was a big part of a really important deal, that we didn’t get him to the level we expected hurt, but at the end of the day we want to do the right thing by all our players and the organisation.”
