Ever since Craig Breslow took over as Red Sox chief baseball officer, he’s brought in a steady supply of big-bodied arms with the physical tools to develop and maintain velocity as a starting pitcher.
Monday night he brought in another pitcher fitting that profile.
The Red Sox announced they have acquired left-hander Jake Bennett from the Washington Nationals in exchange for right-hander Luis Perales. Neither has pitched in the majors, making the trade a one-for-one swap of promising arms that each side is betting has a higher ceiling than the other.
The deal is also noteworthy given that it’s the first between Breslow and Paul Toboni, who until September served as one of Breslow’s assistant general managers before taking over as president of baseball operations with the Nationals.
Bennett, 25, stands at 6-foot-6, 245 pounds and entering the week ranked as the Nationals’ No. 6 prospect according to Baseball America. Bennett was a second-round pick in 2022 out of the University of Oklahoma, where he was teammates with fellow Red Sox pitching prospect David Sandlin.
This past season Bennett posted a 2.27 ERA with 64 strikeouts in 75.1 innings over 19 appearances (18 starts) spread across three levels. Bennett spent the majority of the season in Double-A, where he had a 2.56 ERA over 45.2 innings.
Prior to this year Bennett missed all of 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery and didn’t return to the mound until May. Following the season Bennett made five appearances in the Arizona Fall League.
Baseball America’s scouting report describes Bennett as a “no-doubt starter with a good chance to settle in as a No. 4 type in a rotation.” He uses six different pitches he can use to attack both sides of the plate, and his four-seam fastball averaged between 92-93 mph and topped out at around 96.
Bennett will presumably start 2026 in either the Portland Sea Dogs or Worcester Red Sox rotation.
Perales, 22, has been one of Boston’s top pitching prospects for the past few years and ranked No. 5 in the Red Sox system according to Baseball America prior to the trade.
Like Bennett, Perales also recently returned from Tommy John surgery, though his timeline was somewhat later. He didn’t return to the mound until mid-September, at which point he made three appearances in the minors before making six more starts in the Arizona Fall League.
Prior to undergoing Tommy John surgery in June of 2024, Perales had recently broken into Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects list after striking out 56 batters in 33.2 innings through his first nine starts of that season. Upon his return Perales immediately began hitting triple-digits on the radar gun, including 101 mph during one Arizona Fall League outing.
Had he returned Perales likely would have started next season in the WooSox rotation with a chance to compete for a spot in Boston’s Opening Day bullpen.
Why move on from an electric talent like Perales? Unlike Bennett and the majority of the pitchers Breslow has brought in during his tenure, Perales is very small by comparison, standing at 6-foot-1, 160 pounds. He also hasn’t been able to consistently keep his heater in the zone, and without further developing his secondary pitches there is a risk he could wind up being limited to a relief role.
Monday’s trade marks the latest in what has been an active offseason for Breslow, who has now swung nine deals since the season ended. Those deals have netted the Red Sox right-handers Sonny Gray, Johan Oviedo and Ryan Watson along with numerous minor leaguers and depth options while sending out lefties Brennan Bernardino and Chris Murphy, righty Richard Fitts, outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia and infielder Vaughn Grissom, among other non 40-man roster players.