The Boston Red Sox aren’t just dabbling in the pitching market this offseason-they’re setting the pace. After already making waves with the acquisitions of Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo, Boston doubled down on its rotation depth with another intriguing move: a prospect-for-prospect swap that sends a clear message-this front office is betting big on its pitching blueprint.
On December 15, the Red Sox traded right-hander Luis Perales, one of their top pitching prospects, to the Washington Nationals in exchange for lefty Jake Bennett, the Nats’ No. 11 prospect. Both players were already on their respective 40-man rosters, so no roster juggling was required to complete the deal. It’s a clean one-for-one exchange, but there’s a lot more beneath the surface.
Let’s start with Perales. The 23-year-old Venezuelan righty has been on the Red Sox radar since he signed as an international free agent and had been rising steadily-until Tommy John surgery hit.
But in 2025, he made his return and wasted no time showing he still had the juice. He was touching 100 mph with the fastball, and Boston didn’t hesitate to move him up the ladder.
After a quick stop in Double-A Portland, where he didn’t allow a run in one inning, he was bumped up to Triple-A Worcester. There, he gave up two runs without allowing a hit, walked two, and struck out four over 1.1 innings.
Small sample, sure, but the stuff was electric.
Perales also impressed in the Arizona Fall League, earning All-Star honors and putting himself squarely back on the radar. There was even chatter that he might get a late-season call-up to help the big league bullpen during Boston’s playoff chase, but that call never came. Still, the potential was clear-this is a high-upside arm with a power fastball and swing-and-miss stuff.
Now he heads to Washington, where the Nationals are clearly betting on that upside. For Boston, the return is just as intriguing.
Jake Bennett, 25, brings a very different profile. The 6-foot-6 lefty is a former second-round pick out of Oklahoma, where he was college teammates with current Red Sox top pitching prospect David Sandlin.
He missed all of 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in late 2023, but came back strong this past season. Across three levels-Single-A, High-A, and Double-A-Bennett logged 75.1 innings with a 2.27 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 64 strikeouts, and just 19 walks.
That’s a solid return to form.
Bennett isn’t a flamethrower like Perales, but he’s got something Boston’s front office, and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow in particular, values highly: command, extension, and projection. According to reports, Bennett’s “elite extension” gives his fastball extra life, and his control allows him to attack hitters in a way that fits the Red Sox’s pitching model. He’s not overpowering, but he’s efficient and deceptive-traits that can play up in a system that emphasizes sequencing and execution.
This trade also reflects the growing ties between the Red Sox and Nationals. Washington’s new president of baseball operations, Paul Toboni, was formerly Boston’s assistant GM and knows the Red Sox farm system inside and out.
That familiarity likely helped get this deal done. We’ve seen Boston make similar moves with other teams led by former Sox execs-like Ben Cherington’s Pirates and Chaim Bloom’s Cardinals-and this may just be the beginning with the Nationals.
Breslow, for his part, has made it clear he’s favoring the trade market over free agency this winter. And with rumors swirling that Nationals lefty MacKenzie Gore could be available, this deal might be laying the groundwork for something bigger down the line.
For now, though, it’s a smart, calculated move on both sides. Boston swaps a high-octane righty with some injury red flags for a polished lefty with upside and a clean path to the rotation. It’s not the kind of blockbuster that grabs headlines in December, but it’s the kind of trade that could quietly pay off in the months-and years-to come.