Four Prospects Red Sox Traded To Angels For Luis García Revealed

The Red Sox closed out the 2024 trade deadline by dealing four more prospects to the Angels for veteran reliever Luis Garcia on Tuesday night.

In exchange for Garcia, who will be eligible for free agency at the end of the season, Boston sent a quartet of minor-leaguers in outfielder Matthew Lugo, first baseman Niko Kavadas, and right-handers Ryan Zeferjahn and Yeferson Vargas to Los Angeles, per a club announcement.

Lugo, 23, was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 23 prospect in Boston’s farm system. The right-handed hitter batted .250/.340/.452 with 10 doubles, five home runs, 19 RBIs, 21 runs scored, seven stolen bases, 12 walks, and 38 strikeouts in 35 games (141 plate appearances) for Triple-A Worcester this season after being promoted from Double-A Portland in early June.

A native of Puerto Rico, Lugo was selected by the Red Sox in the second round of the 2019 amateur draft out of Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy. The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder rose originally through the ranks as an infielder but has since transitioned to becoming a full-time outfielder. Between Portland and Worcester this season, he started 55 games in left field, 15 in right field, and one in center field.

Kavadas, 25, was taken by the Red Sox in the 11th round of the 2021 amateur draft out of Notre Dame. The left-handed hitting slugger had spent all of 2023 with Worcester, batting .281/.424/.551 with 20 doubles, 17 homers, 63 RBIs, 57 runs scored, 58 walks, and 112 strikeouts over 83 games (335 plate appearances). That includes a .300/.447/.595 slash line against right-handed pitching and a less favorable .233/.360/.438 slash line against lefties.

In addition to the rough platoon splits, Kavadas has struggled against breaking pitches and is limited in what he can do defensively. With the WooSox this season, for instance, the 6-foot-1, 235-pounder made 53 of his 81 starts at first base and the other 28 at DH. As such, he profiles as a potential three-true-outcomes bench bat at the next level.

Zeferjahn, 26, was selected in the third round of the 2019 amateur draft out of Kanas. The hard-throwing righty originally came up as a starter but has since moved to the bullpen. He allowed just two unearned runs with 22 strikeouts to three walks in his first seven relief appearances (13 2/3 innings) of the season for Portland before earning a promotion to Worcester in early May.

With the WooSox, however, Zeferjahn struggled to a 5.47 ERA (5.37 FIP) with 31 strikeouts to 17 walks over 19 outings (24 2/3 innings). The 6-foot-5, 209-pound hurler has sat between 96-98 mph and topped out at 100 mph with his fastball this season. He also features an 88-92 mph slider and 84-87 mph curveball, as noted in his SoxProspects.com scouting report.

Vargas, who turns 20 this weekend, signed with the Red Sox for $10,000 as an international free agent coming out of the Dominican Republic in December 2022. After making his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League last year, the San Pedro de Macoris native opened this season in the Florida Complex League. He forged a 3.13 ERA and 4.58 FIP with 29 strikeouts to 13 walks in 10 appearances (three starts) spanning 31 2/3 innings for Boston’s FCL affiliate before making the jump to Low-A Salem a few days ago.

In his full-season debut against the Carolina Mudcats last Friday, Vargas struck out five and walked two while allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits over four innings. The 6-foot, 177-pound righty threw 62 pitches (39 strikes) and elicited 10 swings-and-misses, per Baseball Savant. Earlier this month, FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen wrote that Vargas averaged 95-96 mph and touched 98 mph with his fastball during a June outing. He also mixed in an 81-84 mph curveball.

As is the case with Nick Yorke (who was traded to the Pirates for Quinn Priester) and Eddinson Paulino (one of three minor-leaguers dealt to the Blue Jays for Danny Jansen), Lugo, Kavadas, and Zeferjahn can all become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this winter if they are not added to their respective clubs’ 40-man rosters.

Vargas, on the other hand, joins the likes of Ovis Portes and Gilberto Batista as young pitching prospects Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and Co. traded away to address other areas of need. Portes was dealt to the Reds for reliever Lucas Sims while Batista was part of the package that went to the Blue Jays for Jansen.