Red Sox: 3 trades to get Max Scherzer if the Nationals decide to sell

2. Prospect centered

Again, the Nationals can use being a seller to restock a moribund farm system. As the 12th overall pick in the 2016 draft, Jay Groome has been derailed by injuries all the way, as he only pitched 66 innings in his five seasons as a pro (none above Single-A). Yet, MLB.com still ranked him as the No. 7 prospect in the Red Sox system entering this year.

Matthew Lugo is the 12th-best prospect in Boston’s system, but he’s not close to the big leagues right now. Cameron Cannon was a second-round pick in 2019 out of the University of Arizona, and he’s a top-25 prospect in the system himself. A prospect-centric offer will surely get Washington’s attention if they look to move Scherzer.

1. Sending a one-time prospect to Washington

Bryan Mata and Blaze Jordan are top-10 prospects in the Red Sox system right now, and both are likely a year or two away from the big leagues. But given the state of their system, the Nationals will take any good prospects they can get if they do shift into sell-mode.

Michael Chavis was a top-end prospect in the Red Sox system prior to his arrival in 2019, and he hit 18 home runs in his first run of big-league action that season (95 games, 382 plate appearances). The truncated 2020 season wasn’t good for him, and he was called up from Triple-A when Kiki Hernandez went on the IL.

Chavis has some position versatility, as he can play both corner infield spots as well as second base. But the corner infield spots for Boston going forward look to be the domain of Rafael Devers and Bobby Dalbec until further notice, and their No. 1 prospect (as ranked by MLB) is a first baseman (Triston Casas). So Chavis is trending toward being a tradeable asset.