3 Red Sox prospects who won’t survive the trade deadline and why

The Boston Red Sox are in a tough spot in 2024. They have plenty of talent, but they play in such a stacked division that it's almost not worth it to try to be competitive until they have the talent to compete at the top of it.

But Boston has just enough talent that they could place themselves in the World Series race if they make a few aggressive trades over the next few weeks. But to get as competitive as they want to be, they're going to need to trade away some of their top prospects.

3. OF Miguel Bleis (No. 4 Prospect)

When the Red Sox are out looking to acquire major league talent in order to improve their odds of coming out of the loaded American League, they will likely list their top three prospects, Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel, off limits in any trade deal out there. Yes, this includes deals for the likes of Luis Robert and Garrett Crochet.

So, if the Red Sox plan on acquiring a serious difference maker, they will need to use their next highest-ranked prospect, outfielder Miguel Bleis, as the headliner in that deal.

Bleis, 20, is one of the more complete prospects in baseball. MLB Pipeline grades him as potentially a five-tool prospect, where he's above average across the board. His headlining skills are his power and his speed, a combination rarely seen in a prospect of his age. He's struggling in 2024 though, slashing .225/.311/.335 across Low-A and High-A this season.

Bleis isn't a guy that the Red Sox will be openly shopping, but Boston is expected to make a few expensive trades this month. If they are looking to do that and eyeing some of the better talent on the market, they're going to need to attach Bleis to one of those deals.

2. SS Nazzan Zanetello (No. 8 Prospect)

Nazzan Zanetello fits in a very similar boat to the aforementioned Miguel Bleis. With Boston unlikely to want to move their top three prospects, they could be forced to package their fourth and eighth-ranked prospects in a deal to acquire the high-end talent they need.

If Boston ends up doing business with one of the major rebuilding teams, like the Athletics, Marlins or White Sox, Zanetello could catch their interest. He's the ideal prospect that these teams are looking for. He's still a teenager, incredibly raw in his talent and he's a tremendous athlete that currently plays shortstop.

Yeah, he's struggled in 2024, but he's still just 19 years old. Plenty of young prospects struggle at these lower levels, as they are still growing into their bodies and adjusting to facing pitching much older than they are.

The 19-year-old is slashing .205/.331/.369 over 33 games at Low-A this season. Stats like this aren't incredibly rare from such a young hitter, especially when he's a power-over-hit kind of player. I expect the bulk of rebuilding teams to find a tremendous amount of interest in the Red Sox eighth-ranked prospect. He very well could be a key piece in one of their trades this month.

1. RHP Richard Fitts (No. 10 Prospect)

Now, Richard Fitts is a completely different idea than the two prospects listed above. Those two are being dealt to the teams that are a long way away from being competitive. Those teams are looking for younger prospects with higher potential that are a few years away from the big leagues.

Fitts would match up much better with one of those selling teams that's found themselves on the edge of selling or rebuilding. It's often called reloading the roster, rather than rebuilding it. A team like the Cubs or even the Giants could come to mind here. These two teams are a few pieces away from being competitive in October, but they probably won't end up there this year. They can deal away their expiring contracts for prospects like Fitts, who's ready to be in the big leagues, and put themselves in a great spot in 2025.

Fitts, 24, has looked solid this year. He holds a 4.26 ERA across 69.2 innings at the Triple-A level. His three-pitch arsenal could use an additional fourth pitch, most likely a breaking ball, to get hitters off his slider. The addition of a cutter or curveball could be the difference between being a Triple-A pitcher and being an MLB arm.