Dodgers, Red Sox Might Be Nearing Trade Centered On Ex-No. 1 Prospect

The Boston Red Sox may not have made a splash at the trade deadline just yet, but they've got irons in the fire.

It's already been an active year for the Red Sox in the trades department, so we should expect nothing different in the next six days. No major moves after acquiring Garrett Crochet and Alex Bregman in the winter and dumping Rafael Devers in June would be astonishing.

The most heavily discussed needs for the Red Sox have been starting pitching, bullpen, and first base. But perhaps catcher is creeping up that list, with Carlos Narváez taking on his heaviest workload ever as a rookie and Connor Wong providing nothing offensively as the backup.

To that end, one insider reports that they've been looking into a trade for a former number-one Los Angeles Dodgers prospect.

On Friday, Sean McAdam of MassLive wrote that the Red Sox have a strong interest in catcher Dalton Rushing, who is blocked by All-Star Will Smith in Los Angeles, and that the Dodgers have been heavily scouting High-A Boston prospects.

"One source said the Los Angeles Dodgers have had a scout doing extensive work on the Red Sox’ High A affiliate in Greenville, with an eye on shortstop Franklin Arias and lefty starter Brandon Clarke," McAdam wrote. "Intriguingly, the Dodgers recently sent a second scouting supervisor to double up the organization’s coverage at Greenville, which could be a sign of advancing talks between the teams.

"According to one source with some knowledge of the matter, the Red Sox’ interest is centered around L.A. catcher Dalton Rushing. Rushing, a second-round pick by the Dodgers in 2022, was considered by many to be the Dodgers’ top minor league prospect at the start of the season. He was promoted to the majors in mid-May, with the Dodgers designating popular veteran catcher Austin Barnes to make room for him."

The 24-year-old Rushing was MLB Pipeline's preseason number 30 prospect in all of baseball, and he ended the year as Los Angeles' number-one prospect prior to the acquisition of Roki Sasaki. The former second-round pick put up an .896 OPS in Double-A and Triple-A last year and a .938 mark in Triple-A this year before his call-up.

Though Rushing is slashing only .216/.280/.297 in limited playing time, there's certainly reason to believe he can produce more with added playing time. And as a left-handed batter, he might get some run at first base in Boston, especially if Abraham Toro's struggles continue.

Arias and Clarke are both highly-regarded prospects, but it's best to wait until a deal happens (or doesn't) before analyzing the return too heavily.