Red Sox Predicted To Shop MLB's No.95 Prospect In Potential Blockbuster Trade

More big trades coming?

Feb 18, 2019; Lee County, FL, USA; A general view of a Boston Red Sox helmet as Boston Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. (19) walks on the field during a spring training workout at Jet Blue Park at Fenway South. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images / Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

Are the Boston Red Sox gearing up to make any more trades this winter?

Acquiring Garrett Crochet from the Chicago White Sox has been the biggest move of the Red Sox's winter thus far, and they gave up significant prospect capital to do it. But they still have lots of prospects left to make deals if they so choose.

You can never have too much pitching, and the Red Sox have sniffed around arms like Luis Castillo of the Seattle Mariners and Jared Jones of the Pittsburgh Pirates this winter. If the Red Sox are going to grab one of those arms, they'll have to part with someone good.

There are certain prospects who are likely off-limits, most notably outfielder Roman Anthony and utility player Kristian Campbell. That brings the next tier of prospects, headlined by shortstop Franklin Arias, into focus.

Hunter Noll of FanSided predicted that Arias, MLB.com's number-95 overall prospect at the moment, would be one of the Red Sox's top trade chips in prospective deals for the rest of the winter.

"There are potentially two lower-level shortstops on the table. Yoeilin Cespedes and Franklin Arias. We're going to focus on Arias here because he has higher value at the moment," Noll said.

"He'll spend all of 2025 as a 19-year-old and is considered a top-100 prospect in the sport by every major outlet. Being in the lower levels, Arias still might not be able to produce a big return by himself. But he could be the main prospect in a trade (with a major league talent) to get back a pitcher."

Arias is regarded as an elite defender at shortstop, and those aren't easy to find. If his bat continues to grow at the upper levels of the minors, he'll quickly rise up the prospect ranks, and it's easy to envision him making the Red Sox miss him if he leaves in a trade.

Nevertheless, acquiring star players is supposed to hurt. If Arias does get dealt, it's likely a sign that the Red Sox are inching closer to finally re-entering the playoff mix.

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