Red Sox take OF Braden Montgomery 12th overall in MLB Draft

The first major event of MLB All-Star week is the MLB Draft, which began on Sunday night. This draft represents the start of an era in some ways for the Boston Red Sox - it's the team's first under first-year chief baseball officer Craig Breslow.

Breslow and the Red Sox were on the clock with the 12th overall pick in the first round. They used that selection on Braden Montgomery, a 21-year-old outfielder out of Texas A&M.

Montgomery, who transferred to Texas A&M from Stanford last year, played in 61 games for the Aggies in 2024 as a true junior. The switch hitter slashed .322/.454/.733 with 27 home runs and 85 RBIs on his way to being named First Team All-SEC.

Last summer, Montgomery played for the YD Red Sox of the Cape Cod Baseball League. In 20 games he hit .340 while driving in 12 runs.

MLB.com's pre-draft rankings listed Montgomery as the eighth-ranked player in this draft class. His highest-rated traits are his arm (70 on the 20-80 scale) and power (60).

However, Montgomery did suffer an ankle injury in one of Texas A&M's playoff games which caused him to miss the rest of the season. At the draft (where he was wearing a walking boot) he said in an interview that he's "maybe a little bit ahead of schedule" in his rehab.

This is the first time the Red Sox have drafted an outfielder in the first round since 2015, when the team took Andrew Benintendi 7th overall out of Arkansas. Montgomery is the second ever Red Sox first-round draft pick from Texas A&M, after Casey Fossum (48th overall in 1999).

Braden Montgomery is the first of 10 draft picks the Red Sox will make in the coming days. They'll be back on the clock later Sunday night with their second-round pick, which is 50th overall. Then Rounds 3-10 will take place on Monday, followed by Rounds 11-20 on Tuesday.

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It’s time for the latest Mazz’s Tiers! With the MLB trade deadline so close and with the Boston Red Sox apparently still undecided on what they will be doing at the trade deadline, Mazz decided it was time to rank some of the recent deadline acquisitions in the 2000's that the Red Sox have had! 

But before the tiers, here’s a look at some names that could appear on the list....

Jon Lester was a two-time World Series Champion with the Boston  Red Sox. Lester was a member of the Red Sox from 2006-2014 and won World Championships in 2007 and 2013. He was traded to the Oakland Athletics in July of 2014. Lester would then move on to the Chicago Cubs where he would win his third World Series ring in 2016. 

Prior to the 2018 MLB trade deadline the Red Sox acquired Nathan Eovaldi from the Tampa Bay Rays. Eovaldi would help the Red Sox win the 2018 World Series and then go on to spend another four seasons as a member of the club. He would leave the Red Sox in free agency to join the Texas Rangers and win a World Series in 2023. 

In 2008 the Boston Red Sox traded Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three team trade. The big piece that came in return to the Red Sox in the trade was outfielder Jason Bay. Bay would spend the remainder of 2008 and the entirety of the 2009 season with Boston. 

The Red Sox acquired Eric Gagne to be the setup man for closer Jonathan Papelbon in 2007. However, the addition of Gagne turned out to be an underwhelming one, as he would post a 6.75 ERA to close out the 2007 season. He wasn’t much better in the playoffs, pitching just 4.1 innings while giving up 3 earned runs in four appearances.

2004 - Doug Mientkiewicz and Orlando Cabrera acquired in a four team trade that sent Nomar Garciaparra to the Chicago Cubs

2004 - Dave Roberts acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers for a minor leaguer 

2018 - Steve Pearce acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays for Santiago Espinal

2018 - Nathan Eovaldi acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays for Jalen Beeks

2021 - Kyle Schwarber acquired from the Washington Nationals for a minor leaguer 

2009 - Victor Martinez acquired from the Detroit Tigers for Justin Masterson 

2013 - Jake Peavy acquired in a three team trade. Jose Iglesias was traded to the Detroit Tigers in the deal

2008 - Manny Ramirez traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three team trade. Jason Bay was acquired by the Red Sox from the Pittsburgh Pirates

2007 - Eric Gagne acquired from Texas Rangers for Kason Gabbard 

2014 - Jon Lester traded to Oakland Athletics for Yoenis Cespedes 

2014 - John Lackey traded to St. Louis Cardinals for Allen Craig and Joe Kelly