The Red Sox had a chance to explore a different path in the Connelly Early talks, and according to reporting from Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, Arizona was in the mix before Boston ultimately sent Early to the Washington Nationals on Saturday.
Boston’s decision to go with Curtis Mead makes sense on the surface. Mead brings a stronger short-term resume, and that mattered in a deal built around present value. Still, the Diamondbacks had at least one young bat in the system who would have been awfully tempting if he was part of the conversation: Ryan Waldschmidt.
Waldschmidt, Arizona’s 2024 first-round pick, fits the profile of the kind of right-handed hitter Boston could have targeted. He’s a well-rounded outfielder with real upside, and if he was actually available, it would have been a tough call for the Red Sox to pass him up. The catch is that Piecoro did not identify which Arizona prospects were discussed, so Waldschmidt may never have been on the table in the first place.
If he wasn’t, Boston probably wasn’t losing sleep over it. If the offer was something more along the lines of Tim Tawa, that’s a different story entirely.
Waldschmidt has only one home run and a .697 OPS in his first 42 major league games with the Diamondbacks, but his minor-league track record is much louder: a .889 OPS across 199 games. He’s been described as a high-average hitter with a great eye and plus speed, and he looks like Arizona’s center fielder of the future.
That’s why the Red Sox’s choice is easy to understand and still a little intriguing. Mead gives them the more immediate answer, which lines up with their need for impact and more pop in the top half of the order. Waldschmidt, though, is the sort of player who could end up with the best career of the three names in this discussion, alongside Mead and Early.
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