Red Sox DFA Jeter Downs, the top prospect they got for Mookie Betts
Downs, 24, struggled in Triple-A Worcester over the last couple seasons.
The Red Sox are cutting ties with one of the three players they received in the infamous Mookie Betts trade.
Shortstop Jeter Downs was designated for assignment by the Red Sox on Thursday. The move coincided with the announcement that the team signed Japanese outfielder Masataka Yoshida to a five-year deal.
Downs, 24, was the top prospect the Red Sox received in the February 2020 trade for Betts. MLB.com ranked Downs as the 44th best prospect in baseball at the time of the trade.
Not long after the trade went down, the COVID-19 pandemic struck and the minor league baseball season was shut down in 2020. Downs began the 2021 season with Triple-A Worcester despite playing just 12 games in Double-A in the Dodgers’ organization in 2019.
Downs struggled at the plate in his two seasons with the WooSox, hitting .193 with a .661 OPS to go along with 30 homers and 72 RBIs.
Downs made his MLB debut in June as the Red Sox struggled with injuries in the midst of their last-place season in 2022. He had a couple of bright spots with the Red Sox, recording a hit and an RBI before scoring the game-winning run in a July game against the Yankees. A week later, Downs hit his first MLB home run at Yankee Stadium.
But Downs’ Triple-A struggles continued in the majors for the most part. He hit .154 with a .427 OPS to go along with a home run and four RBIs in 14 games.
Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said Downs being a part of the Betts trade didn’t factor into Thursday’s decision.
“I don’t think it changes what the decision is, because ultimately we have our responsibility to every player in this organization to make the right decision by all of them when we’re making decisions for the organization,” Bloom said. “No doubt he was a big part of a really significant trade. That we haven’t gotten him to the level we expected hurts. But at the end of the day, we want to do right by all of our players and he was the right decision, we thought, in this case.”
Along with Downs, the Red Sox also received outfielder Alex Verdugo and catcher Connor Wong in the trade for Betts. Verdugo’s been a solid player for the Red Sox, hitting .288 with a .768 OPS, 30 homers, and 152 RBIs over three seasons. Wong has played in only 33 games with the Red Sox, hitting .213 over those games.
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