Craig Breslow isn’t closing the door on Franklin Arias helping the Red Sox in the final stretch of the season, and that alone says plenty about how far the 20-year-old has come.
Breslow was asked this week whether Arias could be part of the big-league mix down the stretch, and he made sure not to shut it down. “I hate to put those types of expectations on a 20-year-old,” Breslow said.
“But what I am very excited to say is that every challenge that he has faced, he's met, which is pretty incredible for someone his age and what he's done at each level. I just feel like we'll continue to take note of what he's doing.”
That kind of response carries weight in Boston, where the organization has seen plenty of young talent arrive with buzz and only a few who actually looked like they belonged right away. Arias is starting to sound like one of those names. He was MLB’s No. 31 prospect entering the year, and now he sits at No. 2 on Baseball America’s list of the best prospects in baseball, trailing only Milwaukee’s Jesús Made.
The numbers explain why the hype keeps building. Arias is hitting .310/.398/.578 with 21 home runs this season between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester, where he was promoted on July 24.
The power is the newest part of the package, and it has shown up as he’s climbed. The contact skills and the defense were already part of the appeal, and those are the traits that make Boston at least entertain the idea of giving him a look.
That possibility matters more now because the Red Sox didn’t add another shortstop before the trade deadline. After trading Marcelo Mayer to the San Francisco Giants, Boston’s shortstop options are Andruw Monasterio and Trevor Story. At this point, Arias may be the more intriguing answer.
There’s also a familiar Red Sox blueprint lurking in the background. Breslow was part of the 2013 World Series club and saw up close what it meant when a young player like Xander Bogaerts arrived and handled the moment. Arias hasn’t debuted yet, but he’s starting to get spoken about in that same kind of tone - the kind reserved for prospects the organization truly believes in.
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Craig Breslows denial of the rumors swirling around Mayer and Roman Anthony only sharpened the spotlight on what actually drove the trade, because the speculation had threatened to turn a baseball move into something bigger. In the end, Boston sent Mayer to the Giants, but the more interesting question for the Red Sox may be whether this was simply a deadline reshuffle or the first sign that Mayers fit in the organization had already become more complicated than anyone wanted to admit. [Read more 🡒]