The Red Sox have made a habit of finding value in places other teams overlook, and that pipeline matters even more now that the organization has already moved prospects to Baltimore for Adley Rutschman. The top of the system draws the spotlight, with Franklin Arias, Justin Gonzales, Juan Valera and Franklin Primera all standing out as headline names. But the next layer is where Boston’s 2027 picture could really take shape.
That group includes six minor leaguers who are still waiting for bigger roles, and none of them is on the 40-man roster yet. That means everything depends on roster space, timing and the inevitable injuries that pop up. Blake Wehunt and Brooks Brannon are also Rule 5 Draft eligible this December, so Craig Breslow has a decision coming soon on whether they’re worth protecting.
Wehunt is one of the more interesting arms in the system. A 6-foot-7 right-hander who grew up helping on his family’s chicken farm in Carnesville, Ga., he spent three years at Southern Miss, transferred to Kennesaw State and then went in the ninth round in 2023.
He works with six pitches and posted a 3.52 ERA with 72 strikeouts in 53 2/3 innings at Portland before finishing with a 3.47 ERA at Worcester. With Sonny Gray and Patrick Sandoval gone, he looks like a natural depth starter.
Brannon brings a different kind of appeal. Boston drafted the North Carolina high school catcher and first baseman in the ninth round in 2022, and injuries have followed him, including hamate surgery this March.
Even so, he slugged 22 homers with a .915 OPS in 93 games at Portland. The Red Sox hit just 163 home runs this season, fifth-fewest in baseball, so a plus-plus right-handed power bat deserves attention and, at worst, gives them more depth at DH.
Godbout’s stock got a boost after an injury interruption of his own. The second baseman and shortstop, who played high school ball with Nick Kurtz in Tennessee and starred at Virginia, was taken as compensation for Nick Pivetta’s departure.
A pitch broke his left hand in May, but he returned and finished with a .973 OPS in 22 games at Portland. With Trevor Story entering the final year of his deal, that kind of contact bat up the middle can buy time for Arias if he needs it.
Winnay is another player who fits the organization’s mold. He’s from Newton, Mass., starred at Wake Forest and lasted until the 13th round in 2025.
In his first full season, he reached Portland with 17 homers and a .405 on-base percentage. His range at third still needs work, but the bat gives him a chance as corner depth.
Brooks is the kind of pitcher who can sneak up on a system. Drafted in the 11th round out of Cal Poly, his fastball topped out around 93 mph on draft day.
This season, his strikeout rate jumped from 8.86 per nine innings to 13.01 across High-A and Double-A. If that gains stays real when he repeats Double-A, Boston could push him.
Jackson was part of a trade last December, when Breslow sent Vaughn Grissom to the Angels for the outfielder. The left-handed hitter from Arizona State put up 21 homers and played plus defense in center, though he only got to Portland in September. That makes him more of a late-2027 possibility, but he fits the type of trade acquisition this organization tends to develop well.
Tracy knows this terrain better than most. He spent years managing players like these in Worcester, and the Red Sox don’t need all six to become regular contributors. In a loaded division, two or three ready answers can make the difference when Boston’s next wave arrives.
In Other News...
Alex Cora Revisited The Red Sox Collapse That Cost Him His Job
Alex Cora has already spent time revisiting the rough start that ended his latest run in Boston, and the part that stands out most is how quickly the season turned on the Red Soxs pitching. After a 10-17 opening, the club fired Cora along with several coaches, making Aprils mound struggles a central reason for the move. In the months since, Cora has talked on a podcast about how much those early issues shaped the decision.
What makes the episode linger for Red Sox fans is how sharply the pitching story changed after the fallout. Boston settled down on the mound as the season went on and finished with one of the best team ERAs in baseball, a reminder that the same area that sank the club in April eventually became one of its strengths. It leaves the original collapse looking even more costly, and Coras reflection only sharpens the sense of how different things might have felt with a steadier start. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Trade Return Sparked Hope Before Turning Into A Bigger Debate
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Kyle Harrison offered the opposite kind of storyline for Milwaukee, at least at first. He was strong out of the gate and gave the Brewers real reason to believe they had landed immediate value, but injuries and later performance issues changed the tone of the discussion as the season went on. His eventual move to the bullpen only added another layer to what had already become a broader debate about which side of the trade was getting the better end of the bargain. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Face One Big Hurdle In Chasing AL East Pitching Help
The Red Sox are already mapping out ways to strengthen their pitching staff, and Nick Martinez fits the kind of profile that usually gets a teams attention. The Rays right-hander has been valuable in a swing role, working as both a starter and reliever, and he backed that up with a first-time All-Star season and a 3.10 ERA over 180 innings.
The challenge for Boston is not just identifying the right arm, but selling the idea of coming to a club that is still trying to climb back into contention. Martinez is coming off a run with a World Series participant, so any pursuit would come with a simple but significant hurdle: persuading a veteran pitcher that the Red Sox are the right next step before he reaches free agency after the 2026 season. [Read more 🡒]