BOSTON — Jeter Downs was ranked as the No. 1 Red Sox prospect per MLB pipeline shortly after his move to the 2020 trade that sent perennial All-Star Mookie Betts to the Dodgers.
The Red Sox certainly bought into Downs’ high status, which is why they completed the controversial trade after Los Angeles added the shortstop to the package. However, Downs hasn’t come close to delivering on his promise in three years in the Boston farm system.
“That was a tough question,” said Chaim Bloom, the Red Sox’s chief baseball officer. “The fact that he was in a position where we considered and chose him just speaks to some of the struggles we had to put him on the right path, I think.
“I still think there’s a lot of physical ability there, but we haven’t been able to unleash it consistently. Certainly he’s still young and there’s no reason to write him off, but he’s obviously had some issues.”
What Downs struggles with the most is hitting. He hit .190 at Triple-A Worcester in 2021, and his average rose to just .197 at the same partner last season.
The 24-year-old made his MLB debut in 2022 when the Red Sox were decimated by injuries, and he had the memorable moment producing his first career hit — a game-defining RBI single — in the bottom ninth against the Yanks. A few minutes later he scored the walk-off run.
In 14 games, Downs, a midfielder, hit just .154 for Boston with a homer and four RBIs.
“I’m glad he got to step up to the big leagues with us, glad he got to spend a moment with us here at Fenway and help us win a big game,” Bloom said. “It was a lot of fun for a lot of people, but obviously we couldn’t lead him to this success with Jeter as consistently as anyone would wish.”
Bloom was asked if the DFA was harder to swallow as he was one of the three parts who came over for Betts, joining Alex Verdugo and Connor Wong who are still at the club.
“I don’t think it changes the decision because ultimately we have a responsibility to every player in this organization to get the right decision from everyone when we make decisions for the organization,” Bloom said. “There’s no doubt he was a big part of a really significant trade and it hurts that we didn’t get him to the level we expected, but at the end of the day we want to please all of our players and the organization.”