Red Sox call on Jake Bennett amid rotation injuries after offseason trade

This offseason, the Red Sox and Nationals completed a rare prospect-for-prospect deal, swapping young arms.

Boston acquired left-hander Jake Bennett in exchange for right-hander Luis Perales. The trade also marked the first between chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and new Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni, who departed the Red Sox organization this offseason to take over in Washington.

Bennett and Perales are two very different types of pitchers; Bennett aligns with Boston’s focus on big-framed arms, while Perales offers the Nationals high-upside potential as they continue to rebuild.

Additionally, there wasn’t much overlap between the two pitchers beyond their return from Tommy John surgery. Bennett underwent the procedure in September 2023 and missed the entire 2024 season. Perales had the surgery in 2024, returned to the mound late in 2025, and then pitched in the Arizona Fall League that October.

Bennett bounced back in 2025, posting a 2.27 ERA and 1.08 WHIP over 19 appearances (18 starts) across three levels, and has been dominant this season with Worcester. Through five starts, he owns a 0.86 ERA, allowing just two earned runs on 12 hits with 16 strikeouts over 21 innings.

At 6-foot-6, Bennett fits the mold of the type of pitcher Breslow has targeted during his tenure leading Boston’s front office.

The southpaw fits that mold while offering a high floor, and now appears on the verge of making his big league debut Friday night as he steps into the rotation with Garrett Crochet landing on the injured list due to shoulder inflammation.

“Big-time strike thrower,” interim Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said about Bennett on Tuesday in Toronto. “The velocity and the fastball have obviously ticked up. He was coming off an arm injury when he was with Washington. But when he’s sitting there 94, another guy kind of like (Payton) Tolle, doesn’t throw as hard, but big guy that really gets down the mound with big extension. So he tends to get in on hitters, too, because the fastball plays up.

“He’s in the zone a lot,” Tracy added. “Does a good job of holding runners. He can go from a slide step, he can use a leg kick, lands all stuff. But he’s really, really good, at least down there has been, of getting the ball in the strike zone. And he gets a lot of weak contact.”

Across Breslow’s first two MLB Drafts, the Red Sox have selected 20 pitchers with an average size of 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, a clear trend toward bigger, power arms.

That includes 6-foot-6, 250-pound left-hander in Tolle, whom Boston took in the second round of the 2024 draft out of TCU. Since then, his fastball has developed to touch 96 mph.

In the most recent draft, Boston selected right-hander Marcus Phillips out of Tennessee with the pick acquired in the Quinn Priester trade. The 6-foot-4, 246-pounder brings premium velocity, sitting 96–99 mph and topping out at 100.8 mph in college.

As Bennett joins the Red Sox rotation, even on a temporary basis, he becomes the third left-hander from Breslow’s pitching pipeline to start for Boston this season, joining Tolle and Connelly Early, both of whom have quickly risen through the system and are now contributing at the big league level.

Perales, meanwhile, remains a high-upside arm, making his inclusion in the offseason deal a surprising one. His fastball touches 100 mph and consistently sits 97+, complemented by a solid-average changeup and two developing breaking balls. He’s also incorporated a low-90s cutter that could eventually replace his four-seamer as his primary fastball, along with a gyro-shaped slider and a splitter that serves as his changeup.

At 6-foot, 160 pounds, Perales lacks the physical build of someone like Bennett, and his combination of size, velocity, and inconsistent command could ultimately point to a future in the bullpen, where he has the potential to be an impact arm.

He faced his former organization Thursday in Game 1 of a doubleheader between Worcester and Rochester, entering in the second inning behind opener Zach Penrod and throwing six innings of relief. Perales allowed two runs on three hits with two walks while striking out four.

Another reason Bennett fits Breslow’s mold is extension, a metric that measures how far in front of the rubber a pitcher releases the ball. Greater extension can make at-bats more uncomfortable for hitters. The Red Sox have targeted pitchers with elite extension, and both Tolle and Bennett check that box.

While pitching in the Arizona Fall League, Bennett averaged 7.02 feet of extension, placing him in the 93rd percentile among Major League pitchers in 2025. For comparison, Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez and Giants right-hander Sean Hjelle, who stand 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-11, respectively, are among big leaguers who generate seven feet or more of extension.

Bennett is the latest arm from the Red Sox pitching pipeline to get a shot in the big leagues this season, as Boston’s rotation depth has been hit hard early.

The Sox are without Sonny Gray (hamstring), Crochet (shoulder inflammation), Johan Oviedo (right flexor strain), Kutter Crawford (right elbow inflammation), and Patrick Sandoval (biceps), leaving the staff thin.

With the injuries piling up, Boston finds itself in last place in the American League East and searching for a way to climb back toward .500 and into contention by Memorial Day. Bennett gets the ball on Friday night and will look to guide the Red Sox back into the win column with the Astros coming to Fenway Park.