Red Sox, Nationals Swap Pitching Prospects In Surprising Trade

After staying relatively quiet during the Winter Meetings last week, the Boston Red Sox kicked off this week with another pitching trade on Monday.

As first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Monday night, the Red Sox are sending top pitching prospect Luis Perales to the Washington Nationals in exchange for pitching prospect Jake Bennett. Both clubs have confirmed the deal.

Perales, 22, is a hard-throwing right-hander with impressive stuff. He was Boston’s No. 7 overall prospect at the time of the deal, according to MLB Pipeline.

Perales could reach the Major Leagues as soon as next year despite missing much of the last two seasons with Tommy John surgery. He returned to make three appearances for Double-A and Triple-A combined last season before pitching in the Arizona Fall League, where he was named an All-Star despite going 0-2 with a 10.32 ERA in six starts.

In return, the Red Sox get the Nationals’ No. 11 prospect in Bennett. The 25-year-old lefty also recently underwent Tommy John surgery but returned strong in 2025, going 2-5 with a 2.27 ERA in 75 1/3 innings across three levels.

This is the first trade between Boston’s chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and one of his former lieutenants, Paul Toboni, who worked for the Red Sox for 10 years before becoming Washington’s president of baseball operations a few months ago.

Accordingly, Toboni was already familiar with Perales, which may have helped facilitate a trade with his former boss, as one-for-one trades involving just prospects are relatively rare.