Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow had his most active day of the offseason on Tuesday, at least based on what the team accomplished. By the time the deadline for adjusting the 40 man roster arrived at 6 p.m. ET, he had gone far beyond routine roster tweaks. As Chris Cotillo of MassLive summed it up, the Red Sox “made four trades, added three minor league pitchers to the roster and cut two notable contributors by designating them for assignment.” This burst of moves was driven by the fact that minor league players who meet the required service time thresholds become eligible for selection in the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 10. Any player first signed at age 18 or younger becomes eligible after five years, while those signed at age 19 or older become eligible after four.
To avoid losing certain arms, the Red Sox added pitchers Shane Drohan, David Sandlin, and Tyler Uberstine to the 40 man roster, protecting them from the upcoming draft. But one decision raised eyebrows. Boston chose not to protect a notable prospect, a choice that makes it likely he could be taken by another team in the Rule 5 process. This is particularly striking because when the Red Sox signed Miguel Bleis in 2021, they gave him a $1.5 million bonus. That figure was the largest bonus awarded to any international signing in their 2021 class. Bleis, a native of the Dominican Republic who was 16 at the time, was described by MLB.com as “one of the biggest and strongest prospects on the international market.”
According to that MLB.com scouting report, “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 report also observed, “Bleis has a plan once he steps into the batter’s box with a feel for the strike zone and it shows.”
Four years later, though, Bleis, now 21, has yet to produce steady results offensively. He posted a .735 OPS with Single A Greenville this season, but after earning a promotion to Double A Portland on Aug. 2, his performance dipped sharply. He collected only 23 hits in 110 at bats and hit just one home run, finishing with a .554 OPS for the remainder of the season.
Even so, MLB.com reporters Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis characterized Boston’s decision to expose Bleis to the Rule 5 Draft as the organization’s “toughest Rule 5 call.” They wrote that “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.” Bleis currently ranks as the number 15 prospect in the Red Sox system according to MLB Pipeline, while SoxProspects.com places him at number 18. Both outlets project 2027 as the year he is most likely to reach the major leagues.