The Red Sox, as recounted by Chris Cotillo of MassLive, “made four trades, added three minor league pitchers to the roster and cut two notable contributors by designating them for assignment.”
The flurry of activity was motivated by the fact that any minor league player who meets service time requirements — five years for players first signed at age 18 or younger, four years for those signed at age 19 or older — will be available in the Dec. 10 Rule 5 Draft for any other team to claim.
The Red Sox chose to protect pitchers Shane Drohan, David Sandlin and Tyler Uberstine from the upcoming draft by adding them to the 40-man roster, but there was one surprising prospect who was left off the roster, meaning that there is a good chance that after the Rule 5 Draft, he will no longer be part of the Red Sox organization — even though when the Red Sox signed him in 2021, they paid him a $1.5 million bonus.
The sum paid to the then-16-year-old Dominican Republic native Miguel Bleis was the largest signing bonus shelled out to any international prospect in the team’s 2021 class. At the time, an MLB.com scouting report called Bleis, an outfielder, “one of the biggest and strongest prospects on the international market.”
“The teenager has impressed evaluators with his ability to drive the ball to the gaps and hit home runs with frequency in showcases and games,” the MLB.com evaluation said. “Bleis has a plan once he steps into the batter’s box with a feel for the strike zone and it shows.”
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But four years later, Bleis — now 21 years old — has struggled to find any consistency at the plate. He compiled a .735 OPS at Single-A Greenville this season, but when he was promoted to Double-A Portland on Aug. 2, he struggled mightily, managing just 23 hits in 110 at-bats, and only one home run, for a .554 OPS the rest of the way.
Nonetheless, Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com called the move to expose Bleis to the Rule 5 Draft, Boston’s “toughest Rule 5 call.”
“Bleis is a center fielder with some of the best all-around tools in the system (plus raw power, speed and arm strength) but little consistent production in full-season ball,” Mayo and Callis noted.
Bleis is currently ranked as the No. 15 prospect in the Red Sox system by MLB Pipeline, and No. 18 by SoxProspects.com. Both evaluators consider 2027 to be the young outfielder’s arrival date at the major league level.
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