Mazz: The Red Sox farm system is overrated
You want a scary reality? The Red Sox farm system is overrated. Now let us explain why.
But before we even get to that, let’s all acknowledge that the Red Sox have launched their campaign for damage control, beginning with owner Tom Werner recently recanting his assertion that the Red Sox intended to go “full throttle” before an offseason that has turned out to be a dud. Since that time, general manager Craig Breslow has told the Globe’s Peter Abraham that any growth by the Red Sox will come from within. If this all sounds like a complete reversal of what the Sox were promising at the start of the offseason, it is. Incredibly, that is hardly the most damning or worrisome part surrounding an organization that has finished last three times in four years and currently has a projected win total of 80.5 by various odds makers.
So what is the part that should concern you more?
The Red Sox far system isn’t as good as you think it is.
Yesterday, I asked the following question on X, the forum formerly knows as Twitter: does anybody out there rank the minor-league systems based only on pitching? And if so, where do the Red Sox rank? I was merely hoping for someone to tell me that an outlet like Baseball America had produced rankings that separated pitching prospects from positional prospects throughout the game.
Instead, I got this reply from Zack Scott, a former Red Sox executive – originally under Theo Epstein – who went on to become the interim general manager of the New York Mets:
Now, if that doesn’t concern you, here’s why it should:
With regard to the single most valuable commodity in the sport – pitching – the Red Sox rank 29th among the 30 major league team in minor league talent. That’s twenty- … effing … -ninth. Obviously, that is just one person’s opinion. So while you may want to celebrate shortstop Marcelo Mayer, outfielder Roman Anthony and catcher Kyle Teel – and you should – you must also admit that the Red Sox don’t have the horses to to make a deal for someone like Chicago White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease because they don’t have even a single pitching prospect (unless you count Brayan Bello, whom the Sox won’t trade) that could inspire the White Sox to move Cease.
Think about it. When the Red Sox acquired Pedro Martinez in December 1997 when Martinez had just one year before free agency, they parted with two pitching prospects – Carl Pavano and Tony Armas Jr. In the Josh Becket deal, the Sox paired right-hander Anibal Sanchez with Hanley Ramirez to execute the trade. In those kinds of trades, the team selling the established pitcher almost always wants a prospect (or two) to replace the one they’re giving away. For every tree a team cuts down, they want to plant two.

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – JULY 08: Marcelo Mayer #10 of the Boston Red Sox fields a ground ball during the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at T-Mobile Park on July 08, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
So, as much as you may want to blame Werner for lying consider this: alternative. the Red Sox may not have wanted to spend, but they thought they might be able to make a trade. And they couldn’t. And if the Sox don’t want to spend big money and can’t make big trades … well … getting out of last place could be a far longer project than anyone cares to admit.
At this end of the day, the absence of pitching in the Boston system is the real reason Chaim Bloom is gone. And the reason Craig Breslow is now here.