The Washington Nationals sent Jake Bennett to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for right handed pitcher Luis Perales
The Washington Nationals pulled off its second trade of the month on Monday, this time involving a pair of minor leaguers.
The Red Sox sent right handed pitcher Luis Perales to Washington in exchange for pitcher Jake Bennett. Both prospects have yet to make their MLB debut, but remain on the 40-man roster.
Bennett was ranked the 11th-best prospect in the Nationals’ farm system while Perales checked in as the Red Sox’ seventh-best prospect in their farm system.
This also marks the first trade with Boston since Paul Toboni, who left the Red Sox organization, joined the organization as the new president of baseball operations for the Washington Nationals.
Perales, initially signed for under $100,000 out of Venezuela in July of 2019, joined the Red Sox 40-man roster ahead of the 2024 season to avoid him from hitting the Rule 5 draft. He underwent Tommy John surgery in June 2024, making just three appearances at the end of the season in the minor leagues where he tallied 23 strikeouts and allowed 15 earned runs over 13 ⅔ combined innings.
Bennett, a former second-round pick in 2022, battled back from Tommy John surgery in Sept. 2023 before he posted a 2.27 ERA in 18 starts and 19 appearances in the minor leagues.
Perales MLB.com scouting report: “Perales put himself on the prospect map when his fastball reached 95 mph in the Dominican Republic's Tricky League a month later. Because of the pandemic, minor injuries and getting handled with care, he worked just 127 1/3 innings in his first four years a pro. He dominated early last season, striking out 39 percent of the batters he faced while reaching Double-A in June at age 21, but he blew out his elbow in his second start there and had Tommy John surgery later that month. Perales makes up for a lack of physicality with lightning-quick arm speed that generates four-seam fastballs that sit at 95-98 mph and touch 99 with a flat approach angle and huge carry up in the strike zone. He made progress with his secondary pitches last season, particularly with an upper-80s splitter that features devastating tumble when it's on. He uses both a sweeping low-80s slider and a tighter upper-80s cutter, with the latter pitch improving significantly in 2024. While Perales is athletic and gets down the mound well to create extension, he's also small for a starter and throws with some effort. He looked more like a pitcher than a thrower last year, cutting his walk rate to 8 percent (down from 13 percent in his first three pro seasons) and using his secondary offerings more often rather than just dominating with his fastball. The Red Sox still are convinced that he can become a frontline starter, though he'll miss the 2025 season and other clubs think it's more likely he'll become a closer.”