MLB Notebook: Former Red Sox prospects fueling White Sox’ stunning turnaround

It’s always easy to play Monday morning quarterback and second-guess blockbuster trades years after they’re made. At some point in the near future, Red Sox fans will undoubtedly revisit the deal that sent Garrett Crochet to Boston for four prospects and debate which organization ultimately came out ahead.

From Boston’s perspective, it was a move worth making every time. The Red Sox desperately needed a young, controllable ace to anchor their rotation and had the prospect depth to pay the price. Meanwhile the White Sox, firmly entrenched in a rebuild, landed an impressive haul in catcher Kyle Teel, outfielder Braden Montgomery, infielder Chase Meidroth, and right-handed reliever Wikelman Gonzalez.

Now, all four former Red Sox prospects have reached the major leagues.

The latest to arrive is Montgomery, who made his MLB debut this week and wasted no time making history. The outfielder blasted a walk-off home run in his first big league game, becoming just the fifth player in MLB history to hit a walk-off homer in his debut. He joined Carlos Perez (2015), Miguel Cabrera (2003), Josh Bard (2002), and Billy Parker (1971) in accomplishing the rare feat.

Montgomery finished his debut 2-for-5 with three RBIs and also became the 12th player to debut for the White Sox this season. He joins an emerging young core that includes Sam Antonacci at the top of the lineup, former first-round pick Jacob González, breakout infielder Miguel Vargas, and Colson Montgomery, who has established himself as Chicago’s everyday shortstop.

The White Sox have also received tremendous production from Japanese star Munetaka Murakami, who is hitting .240 with 20 home runs and 41 RBIs through 57 games in his first major league season after signing a two-year, $34 million contract over the winter. Although he is currently sidelined with a right hamstring strain after receiving a PRP injection, he has been a major catalyst for Chicago’s resurgence.

The White Sox have had a power surge that has been fueled by the trio of Murakami, Montgomery and Vargas, who have combined for 38 home runs this season. That kind of production is rare in franchise history; only 16 White Sox players have ever reached the 20-homer mark as rookies. The organization has only had two players reach 20 homers in the same season once, when Jermaine Dye and Jim Thome both did so in 2006.

That young nucleus has helped propel the White Sox to just a half-game out of the American League Central while playing one of the game's more entertaining brands of baseball. Former Red Sox prospects Montgomery, Teel, and Meidroth are now central pieces of that foundation.

Teel has yet to appear this season after suffering a hamstring injury in spring training, but he is nearing his 2026 debut. Once healthy, he should provide a significant offensive boost behind the plate and reduce the workload for Edgar Quero and Drew Romo.

The Red Sox reportedly explored the possibility of bringing Teel back this offseason, but the White Sox rebuffed those inquiries at every turn.

Boston selected Teel in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft, and he wasted little time proving he was major league-ready. After earning a promotion in June, the catcher hit .273 with a .786 OPS, eight home runs, and 35 RBIs across 78 games during an impressive rookie campaign. His work behind the plate, however, remained a work in progress, as his minus-seven Outs Above Average ranked among the lowest at his position.

Given Boston’s unsettled catching situation in 2026, it’s easy to understand why the club checked in. Carlos Narváez has struggled to provide consistent production, forcing the Red Sox to rely more heavily on Mickey Gasper and Connor Wong.

Whether Teel would have solved all of those issues is debatable, but his combination of offensive upside and long-term potential clearly remains highly valued around baseball.

The Red Sox could really use a player like Meidroth right now.

All Meidroth did throughout his time in Boston’s system was get on base, and he’s continued doing exactly that in Chicago while playing both shortstop and second base. Through 67 games this season, he’s batting .279 with five home runs and 23 RBIs. His 12-game hitting streak ended Saturday against Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who flirted with both a perfect game and a no-hitter before a Mookie Betts error and a Tristan Peters home run spoiled the milestones.

Meidroth has given Chicago exactly what it hoped for, offering defensive versatility, quality at-bats and consistent on-base ability. Meanwhile, from a Red Sox' standpoint, their infielders have struggled. Caleb Durbin has stumbled out of the gate for Boston, batting .197 with three home runs and 26 RBIs despite showing signs of improvement in recent weeks.

One interesting subplot is that Durbin has reportedly sought outside instruction from Aaron Judge’s personal hitting coach, Richard Schenck, working at Gradum Gswing in Waltham. That naturally raises questions about the Red Sox’ own hitting development process and whether more internal adjustments could have accelerated his progress.

Since making his major league debut on April 11, 2025, Meidroth has posted a .336 career on-base percentage over 189 games. By comparison, Marcelo Mayer owns a .277 on-base percentage through his first 105 big league contests and has yet to consistently produce offensively.

The fourth piece of the trade, Gonzalez, entered 2024 as a relatively under-the-radar arm after posting a 4.73 ERA at Double-A Portland. Although his four-pitch mix intrigued evaluators, inconsistency limited his ability to stay in the bigs since his promotion. 

Since joining Chicago, Gonzalez has shown flashes of promise, posting a 2.66 ERA in 16 major league appearances in 2025 before returning to Triple-A Charlotte, where he owns a 2.57 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 14 innings this season.

Of course, the centerpiece of the deal remains Crochet. He rewarded Boston immediately, finishing as runner-up in the 2025 American League Cy Young Award voting after posting a 2.59 ERA while leading the league in both strikeouts (255) and innings pitched (205 1/3). His performance helped propel the Red Sox to an 89-win season and a Wild Card berth. Injuries have interrupted his 2026 campaign, but when healthy, he remains one of the premier left-handed starters in baseball.

The White Sox are one of baseball’s feel-good stories right now. They weren’t expected to contend in the American League Central, yet they sit at 37-32 and are on pace for an 87-win season after losing 101 games in 2023, 121 in 2024, and 102 just a year ago.

It’s worth noting just how poor their start was. Chicago opened 0-3, stumbled to 1-5, and later sat at 6-13 before finding its footing. The AL Central has hardly been a juggernaut, and the White Sox have taken advantage by beating up on division rivals like the Tigers, Guardians, Twins and Royals. Still, good teams capitalize on opportunities, and Chicago has done exactly that.

Front office leader Chris Getz deserves significant credit for engineering the turnaround. His trade that brought Vargas from the Dodgers in the three-team deal involving Erick Fedde, Tommy Pham, Micahel Kopech and cash has paid major dividends, and his acquisition of Crochet’s return package from Boston will ultimately define his tenure. He also extracted value in smaller moves, including acquiring right-hander David Sandlin from the Red Sox in a deal tied to absorbing Jordan Hicks’ contract.

Today, the White Sox and Red Sox appear to be organizations moving in opposite directions. Both possess intriguing young talent, but Chicago’s core is fueling optimism and wins, while Boston’s has been overshadowed by inconsistency and front-office turmoil. They fired Alex Cora, symbolic of the team not meeting expectations this season. 

The White Sox are still a work in progress, and the Red Sox have plenty of talent despite their struggles. But the two franchises will remain forever linked by the Crochet blockbuster. For now, both clubs can make a reasonable case that they got what they wanted. The real verdict, however, won’t come this season or next. iIt will come years down the road. 

Bello's Triple-A Debut

Brayan Bello took the mound for his first Triple-A start of the season on Saturday and turned in a solid outing, pitching four innings while allowing two runs on five hits with no walks and five strikeouts in Worcester’s 3-2, 10-inning victory over Rochester. He did not factor into the decision.

Bello cruised through a perfect first inning, recording a called strikeout, a groundout and a flyout. Rochester got on the board in the second, however, when Bello surrendered a two-out single, followed by a stolen base and an RBI base hit.

The Red Wings scratched across another run in the third after a leadoff double, a wild pitch and an RBI single, but Bello limited the damage and continued to miss bats throughout his outing.

The right-hander generated 11 swings and misses, including six on his cutter, which proved to be one of his most effective pitches. He also leaned heavily on his sinker, throwing it 34 times while averaging 94.5 mph and topping out at 96.4 mph.

The Red Sox optioned Bello to Triple-A on June 4 following another difficult outing against the Orioles, hoping a reset away from the major league spotlight would help him rediscover his form.

“This was no longer the best place for him to reset and work through his struggles,” chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said at the time. “You’re always thinking about how to put the team in the best position to win games and how to put a player in the best position to perform as they’re capable. Sometimes the best place to do that is the big leagues.

“But when you reach the decision that it’s no longer the right place, then you have to make that move, no matter how difficult it is.”

Saturday’s performance was an encouraging first step. Bello attacked the strike zone, avoided issuing a walk, and showed swing-and-miss stuff with both his cutter and sinker. If he can continue to build on those positives, he could work his way back into Boston’s pitching plans later this season.

Around the League

The Miz was Excellent 

Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski turned in one of the most dominant pitching performances of the season in his latest start, overpowering the Phillies en route to a complete-game one-hitter with 15 strikeouts.

The only blemish on his afternoon came in the fourth inning when Kyle Schwarber singled. Otherwise, Misiorowski was virtually untouchable, throwing 95 pitches, 74 for strikes, while generating an astonishing 25 swings and misses. Philadelphia hitters whiffed on 57% of their 40 swings against his four-seam fastball.

The flamethrowing right-hander also made history with his velocity. He struck out Schwarber in the first inning with a 104.5 mph fastball, the fastest pitch ever recorded by a starting pitcher in the pitch-tracking era (dating back to 2008), and still reached 103.1 mph while fanning Justin Crawford in the ninth inning.

The outing capped an extraordinary eight-start stretch in which Misiorowski owns a microscopic 0.17 ERA with 80 strikeouts while allowing just one extra-base hit. His performance earned a Game Score of 100, making him just the 10th pitcher this century to reach that milestone.

Bo Bichette Expected to Test Free Agency

According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, rival executives expect Mets third baseman Bo Bichette to opt out of the final two years of his contract after the season despite being owed $79 million. The gamble mirrors the path Alex Bregman took last winter, betting that another strong campaign will lead to a more lucrative long-term deal on the open market.

Reid Detmers Drawing Trade Interest

Angels left-hander Reid Detmers is generating significant buzz ahead of the trade deadline. Over his last four starts, Detmers is 1-0 with a 1.73 ERA, 0.54 WHIP, a .105 opponents’ batting average, and 37 strikeouts in 26 innings. With two additional years of team control remaining, he could become one of the most coveted starting pitchers available if Los Angeles decides to sell. A young club like the White Sox could make sense as a potential suitor.

Bryce Eldridge Showing Why Red Sox Wanted Him

Giants first baseman Bryce Eldridge, whom Boston reportedly sought in Rafael Devers trade discussions, has quickly established himself as an everyday player. The 21-year-old is hitting .316 with a .959 OPS and continues to flash the offensive upside that made him one of baseball’s premier prospects. Even with Willson Contreras entrenched at first base, Eldridge would have represented a compelling long-term fit at Fenway Park.

Rockies Suffer Devastating Chase Dollander Injury

The Rockies were dealt a crushing blow when young right-hander Chase Dollander was diagnosed with a torn UCL, an injury expected to sideline him for roughly a year. Dollander had begun to look like a foundational piece for Colorado, posting a 3.89 ERA while striking out roughly one-quarter of the batters he faced over 44 innings. Losing one of the organization’s most important young arms is a major setback for the franchise.

José Ramírez Lands on IL

The Guardians placed superstar third baseman José Ramírez on the injured list after he sustained a fractured left hamate bone during Saturday’s win over the Tigers. Ramírez previously suffered a hamate fracture in 2019 and returned in about a month despite an initial recovery estimate of five to seven weeks. Cleveland will hope for a similarly speedy recovery this time around.

Royals Awaiting Word on Vinnie Pasquantino

Kansas City first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino exited Saturday’s loss to Houston with a right hand injury after appearing to experience discomfort following a swing in the fifth inning. The Royals later identified the issue as a hamate injury. Pasquantino has appeared in 68 of the club’s 71 games this season and is batting .224 with six home runs and 32 RBIs. The severity of the injury could have significant implications for Kansas City’s lineup moving forward.

Seiya Later?

The Cubs could have an intriguing decision to make at the trade deadline: whether to move veteran slugger Seiya Suzuki.

Chicago reportedly fielded interest in Suzuki last offseason, largely because impact right-handed bats were in short supply. That market is likely to remain thin this summer, making the 31-year-old an attractive option for contenders seeking middle-of-the-order production.

On paper, Suzuki would seem to fit what the Red Sox need. Boston has lacked consistent right-handed power for much of the season and could use another proven bat to lengthen the lineup. The complication, however, is positional fit. Suzuki is primarily an outfielder, an area where the Red Sox already have considerable depth.

Suzuki, who turns 32 in August, may also no longer align with the Cubs’ long-term timeline. He possesses a full no-trade clause, giving him complete control over any potential destination, but he could be motivated to approve a deal since players traded during the season are ineligible to receive a qualifying offer from their new club.

Nick Martinez Quietly Dominating

One of the best under-the-radar signings of the offseason belongs to the Rays.

Veteran right-hander Nick Martinez has been outstanding, posting a 2.43 ERA, the seventh-lowest mark in the majors, while carving up hitters with pinpoint command and an elite ability to change speeds rather than overpower opponents.

Martinez, who turns 36 in August, has never been selected to an All-Star Game, but that could finally change this season. Given his performance and Tampa Bay’s success, he has built a compelling case to represent the Rays at the Midsummer Classic.

Congrats to the Knicks

I wanted to give a shoutout and a huge congratulations to former WooSox broadcaster and now Knicks radio play-by-play voice Tyler Murray on being part of New York’s championship season.

Working in sports media wasn’t on my bingo card, but one of the best parts of the journey has been meeting genuinely great people. Tyler is absolutely one of them. It’s wild to think that just two years ago, he and I were sitting in Chad Tracy’s office at Polar Park talking baseball, listening to the legendary Bill Ballou ask why there aren’t any left-handed throwing third basemen. Now Tyler is getting a championship ring with the Knicks. Pretty incredible journey. Congrats, Tyler, you’ve earned it.