Red Sox add lefty in swap of pitching prospects with Nats

BOSTON -- Prospect-for-prospect swaps aren’t the most common type of transaction in baseball. But sometimes they make sense.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow found a match he liked with his former assistant Paul Toboni on Monday, and that led to Boston acquiring Nationals left-hander Jake Bennett in exchange for righty Luis Perales.

Few people know the Red Sox’s farm system as well as Toboni, who left his position as assistant general manager with Boston in October to become president of baseball operations for the Nats.

Toboni spent almost a decade working in amateur scouting and player development with the Red Sox from 2015-23 before being named Boston's assistant general manager ahead of the 2024 season.

Couple Toboni’s familiarity with Perales with Breslow’s high regard for Bennett, and it was a deal that probably didn’t require much convincing from either side.

"We believe we are getting a Major League-caliber starting pitcher,” Breslow said in a text message on Monday. “The combination of whiff and strikes is unique, and we started to see the performance catch up in the AFL."

Pitching for Scottsdale in the Arizona Fall League, Bennett made five appearances (four starts) while logging 20 innings in which he walked five and struck out 25 to go with a 4.50 ERA.

Bennett was ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Nats’ No. 11 prospect; Perales was No. 7 for Boston. In their new organizations, they slotted at No. 7 and No. 5, respectively.

Under Breslow, the Red Sox have stockpiled pitchers with big, physical frames. Bennett, at 6-foot-6, 234 pounds, fits that mold.

The Red Sox are fully into contention mode and view Bennett, 25, as someone who can impact the Major League team faster than Perales, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2024 and spent most of this past season rehabbing, though he did make three late-season appearances in the Minors.

Perales, 22, also made six appearances in the Arizona Fall League, where his rust showed. He had a 10.32 ERA over 11 1/3 innings.

Bennett was a second-round Draft pick by the Nationals in 2022. He, too, was coming off Tommy John surgery in 2025, although he had considerably more time to settle in, having undergone the procedure back in September 2023. He made 19 appearances (18 starts) across three levels this year, pitching to a combined 2.27 ERA. Bennett, like Perales, has minimal high-Minors experience; he made his Double-A debut in July 2025.

That said, the Red Sox have specialized in pitching development since Breslow took charge of Boston’s baseball operations staff following the ’23 season.

It wouldn’t be surprising if Bennett swiftly adjusted to the upper levels of the Minors, as Payton Tolle and Connelly Early did for the Red Sox in ‘25.