Red Sox Continue Tradition, Make Offseason Plans For Prospects

The Boston Red Sox still have a few games to play on their regular-season schedule, but offseason plans already are being put into place.

The 2023 Arizona Fall League rosters were announced Friday, with the Red Sox’s representatives being revealed for the first time. The eight men chosen to represent Boston are middle infielder Brainer Bonaci, catcher Nathan Hickey, outfielder Corey Rosier and pitchers Bryan Mata, Felix Cepeda, Wyatt Olds, Zach Penrod, and Christopher Troye.

Bonaci (No. 11), Hickey (No. 15) and Mata (No. 23) are all top-30 prospects in the Red Sox’s system, according to MLB.com.

Boston’s minor-leaguers will play for the Glendale Desert Dogs, joining prospects from the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox’s farm systems.

The Red Sox have used the AFL to get extra reps for minor-league players before, most notably electing to send Triston Casas after he participated in the Tokyo Olympics. Mata is in a similar spot this year, missing the majority of the season with an injury before making a couple of appearances before the end of Triple-A Worcester’s season.

The Red Sox have had great success sending prospects to the AFL, with Casas, Connor Wong, Josh Winckowski, Tanner Houck, Bobby Dalbec and Wilyer Abreu all parlaying their experience into a Major League Baseball debuts the next year.