The Red Sox and Nationals Trade Big League-Ready Pitching Prospects
Last night, the Boston Red Sox and the Washington Nationals swapped pitching prospects in a one-for-one challenge trade that will likely have an impact on both clubs in 2026. Hard-throwing 22-year-old righty Luis Perales heads to Washington, while changeup-oriented lefty Jake Bennett goes to Boston. Both pitchers participated in the 2025 Arizona Fall League, starting a game against each other on November 1.
Of the two, I slightly prefer the 25-year-old Bennett, who I have evaluated as a near-ready starter and a potential Top 100 prospect this offseason due to his floor and proximity to the majors. Bennett entered pro ball much more fully formed than most pitching prospects from a stamina standpoint, as he worked 117 innings as a junior at Oklahoma. He had Tommy John at the very end of his first pro season, in September of 2023, which cost him all of 2024. He returned to action this past May, and his stuff was up about two ticks compared to when he was last healthy, while his feel for location was intact. He posted a 2.27 ERA across 75.1 innings while reaching Double-A, then picked up 20 more innings in Arizona and was added to the Nationals 40-man roster after the season.
Bennett is a strapping 6-foot-6 southpaw who throws quality strikes with a 92-95 mph fastball that plays up a bit due to its other traits. He powers way down the mound and generates just over seven feet of extension, and he also routinely commands his fastball to elevated locations where it plays best, giving it slightly more bat-missing ability than a pitch with below-average velocity typically enjoys. His changeup has average action, but it generated plus miss in 2025 because of how well Bennett hides the ball and sells hitters the look of a fastball on release. His slider isn’t great, but Bennett is able to command it just off the corner of the plate.
Lefties with plus command of plus changeups tend to pan out, and Bennett fits this archetype to a tee. He feels a lot like Parker Messick did last offseason, a valuable plug-and-play rotation piece who is ready to assume a rotation spot by the end of the season. An aggressive promotion and major league debut seemed more likely in Washington, and the crowded field of potential big league pitchers in Boston makes it more likely that Bennett debuts in a spot start capacity. Long-term, he projects as a fourth starter.
Perales, a 22-year-old Venezuelan righty, is more likely a reliever. He had a two-tick fastball bump in 2024 preceding his own Tommy John, which cost him all but the very end of the 2025 regular season. He was touching 101 and sitting 97-99 in Arizona during the fall, but Perales more often pitches off of his low-90s cutter, which he commands more reliably (though not by much). It’s possible Perales was rusty because he was fresh off of rehab, but he lacked feel for finding the strike zone. His violent delivery, relative lack of size compared to other starters, and the way his fastball plane makes it vulnerable to contact (hence the cutter-heavy approach) are all markers of a future reliever.
But Perales will probably be a really nasty one, potentially a good closer. There are times when the downhill plane of his pitches adds artificial depth to his cutter, and he, in effect, ends up throwing 89-94 mph sliders. He also has an explicit slider in the 84-86 mph range, and it’s very hard for hitters to stay on both of these pitches even though they finish on the same side of the plate. An occasional splitter rounds out a pitch mix that Washington would totally be justified in attempting to shape into a starter for another season, especially if Perales’ injury history ends up fetching them an extra option year. More likely, Perales ends up in the bullpen, and he could be one of the best two or three Nats arms there by the end of the year.
Eric Longenhagen is from Catasauqua, PA and currently lives in Tempe, AZ. He spent four years working for the Phillies Triple-A affiliate, two with Baseball Info Solutions and two contributing to prospect coverage at ESPN.com. Previous work can also be found at Sports On Earth, CrashburnAlley and Prospect Insider.
This is a pretty interesting swap. These guys are almost complete opposites. You’ve got the high floor, low ceiling bet in Bennett. He’s got the physique to hold up to a starters workload. His stuff seems to just be OK but he commands it well.
In Perales you’ve got a lower floor but a higher ceiling. His body may not be able to hold up to a starters workload and his command is erratic. His stuff is electric though. Hitting 101 and striking 40% of the batters he faces leaves a lot to dream on. If he can get his command under control and perhaps fill out a little more, he could be a #2.
Boston has to have another trade coming at some point, right? Can’t have enough pitching etc. etc. but there’s now crochet, gray, bello, Sandoval, Tolle, early, Oviedo, dobbins, and Bennett as 40 man rotation options. And that’s not mentioning Sandlin and Harrison who should probably be relievers but could be starters. Someone in there has gotta be more valuable to someone who would more readily slot them into a major league role
Don’t forget Kutter Crawford!
Jake Bennett is “Optionable Depth.” Same with Dobbins and Drohan.
Tolle could use some more seasoning in the minors. Early has options and they might keep him down to manage his innings.
There’s no guarantee that Crawford is going to be totally healthy after he missed this much time and even so he need some time to shake the rust off; he has two options left, as does Bello (if it comes to that).
Oviedo, Harrison, and Sandlin probably should all be a relievers, and if not they’ll need to be in the minors to work on stuff.
I don’t think they have to trade anyone. They could even add another starter if they’ve got a good shot to be a #3 or better like Michael King, Freddy Peralta, or Emmet Sheehan.
It’s not that you can’t carry all those guys, just that someone eventually has to be more valuable to a team that would be more likely to use them in the majors now
Unfortunately Crawford and Sandoval don’t have any value right now, not until they prove they are healthy (and can pitch). Sandoval might wind up in relief, and Crawford might start in the minors.
Somewhat paradoxically, Bennett, Drohan, and Dobbins don’t have much value in trade and teams still really like keeping the ones like them around. I think they stay. I think something like that is probably also at play for Bello, who is not so good as a #2 but fits in as a #4.
Early has a ton of value but he’s definitely the one that everyone, including the Red Sox, should want. Tolle also is probably has a lot of value. It does feel a bit like they are going trade one of them, not because they *have* to but because it seems like Breslow’s main goal right now is to make the team less left-handed for both hitting and pitching.
I think the most likely scenario is trading someone, but they really don’t have to if they don’t want to. It’s nearly impossible to block pitchers. They’re getting close, but they’re not there yet.
Agreed. The Red Sox are trying to be the Dodgers Lite when it comes to the staff, and they appear to be accomplishing it.
The way they are loading up with pitchers, many of whom appear to have value, I sense a huge package, including one of the 4 quality outfielders and a couple of the pitchers, being put together for a big name player. Ketel Marte anyone.
I wonder if the Red Sox think they can coax some more stuff out of Bennet to raise the ceiling a bit. Even if not, a higher-floor player makes more sense to a contending club, while the Nats should be trading for upside at every opportunity. Seems like a good trade for both clubs.
The problem with this thinking is the Red Sox already had high floor depth in upper minors with Early/Tolle/Harrison all likely to start in AAA, should shoot for more upside, they don’t need a guy to fill many innings in 2026.