Red Sox outfield prospect Juan Chacon has been settling back into things this spring after suffering a season-ending wrist injury late last June.
As a minor-league call-up, Chacon has appeared in two spring training games for Boston thus far. Last Friday, he scored a run after reaching on an error in the sixth inning of a 7-2 victory over Northeastern. This past Sunday, he came off the bench and went 2-for-2 with a triple and run scored as part of a split-squad win over the Twins at JetBlue Park.
For Chacon, this has represented his first in-game action of any kind in quite a while. At this time last year, the then-20-year-old was ranked by SoxProspects.com as the No. 52 prospect in Boston’s farm system. After getting into two Grapefruit League games, he broke camp with Low-A Salem last April.
Out of the gate, Chacon held his own with Boston’s Carolina League affiliate. Through June 10, the right-handed hitter found himself batting .286/.414/.388 with five doubles, five triples, 12 RBIs, 19 runs scored, 19 stolen bases, 30 walks, and 40 strikeouts over his first 44 games (181 plate appearances) of the season. For whatever reason, Chacon hit a speed bump of sorts after that and came into play on June 29 in the midst of a 6-for-51 (.118) slump.
To lead off the first inning of Salem’s contest against the Fredericksburg Nationals that night, Chacon fouled off a pitch and was in visible discomfort after completing his swing. He could be seen favoring his left wrist and was ultimately taken out of the game after leaving the field with a trainer.
On July 2, Chacon was placed on Salem’s 7-day injured list. Eleven days later, he underwent surgery in Boston to repair a hamate bone fracture in his left wrist. He flew down to Fort Myers to begin his rehab shortly thereafter but was transferred to the 60-day injured list on July 27 and spent the rest of the season there.
All told, Chacon slashed .241/.353/.332 (102 wRC+) with six doubles, six triples, 18 runs driven in, 22 runs scored, 20 stolen bases, 31 walks, and 52 strikeouts in 57 games (235 plate appearances) for Salem last year. His 20 stolen bases ranked second on the team behind only Ahbrahm Liendo’s 30.
On the other side of the ball, Chacon saw playing time at all three outfield positions in 2023. The 6-foot-1, 171-pounder logged 36 innings in center field, 163 2/3 innings in left field, and 190 innings in right field. He recorded two outfield assists (which both came in right) and committed a total of just three errors in 75 total defensive chances.
Chacon, who turned 21 in December, originally signed with the Red Sox for $900,000 as an international free agent coming out of Venezuela in July 2019. He had to wait until 2021 to make his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League because of the COVID-19 pandemic and has since drawn mixed reviews from evaluators. His speed appears to be his carrying tool but the lack of power in his game is quite apparent as well.
Now healthy heading into the 2024 campaign, Chacon is not currently regarded by SoxProspects.com — or any other outlet, for that matter — as one of the top prospects in Boston’s farm system. He is, however, expected to start his age 21-season at High-A Greenville, where he could benefit from playing in the hitter-friendly South Atlantic League.
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