Craig Breslow's Comments Show Red Sox Landed Sleeper in Brewers Trade

We've barely covered the "third piece" of this deal

Milwaukee Brewers infielder Anthony Seigler played with a bat during spring training workouts on February 17, 2025, at American Family Fields of Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona. | Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Most of the headlines about the Boston Red Sox's trade with the Milwaukee Brewers last week centered on infielder Caleb Durbin coming to Boston. But a reminder: There were six players involved.

Everyone involved in the trade on both sides was on the 40-man roster, so the Red Sox picked up three players who are theoretically in competition for the opening day squad in Cincinnati. But infielder/catcher Anthony Seigler, who most considered the third piece of the deal from Boston's perspective, is likely ticketed for Triple-A.

If we've learned anything from the last few years of Red Sox baseball, it's that the players who start the year in Triple-A might wind up playing unexpectedly huge roles. So it's worth taking a minute to get to know Seigler, and why the Red Sox wanted him in the deal to begin with.

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What Red Sox chief baseball officer said about Seigler

Aug 2, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Anthony Seigler (18) attempts a throw to first base against the Washington Nationals during the eighth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images | Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

It's instructive to return to chief baseball officer Craig Breslow's quote about Seigler. Some might see him as a throw-in, but to Breslow, this was a former first-round pick who just took major strides toward proving he belongs in the big leagues.

“As a left-handed bat, can hit right-handed pitching and is coming off a really good season in Triple A,”Breslow said at the time of the trade, per Christopher Smith of MassLive. “I think he maybe hasn’t gotten an extended look in the big leagues and a chance to show just how talented he is.

"But if you look at the pedigree and you look at the season that he just had, it’s pretty easy to get excited about him.”

Seigler is seven years and 451 games into his minor-league career, but that doesn't mean he's a hopeless case. Every minor-leaguer's development was interrupted by the pandemic in 2020, and Seigler also had to transition from being a primary catcher to an infielder.

Last season, Seigler posted eight home runs and a very impressive .414 on-base percentage in his 72 Triple-A games.

As an added bonus, it was the New York Yankees who selected Seigler in the first round of the 2018 draft, and we've seen the Red Sox succeed on many occasions at getting the most out of former Yankees farmhands. Garrett Whitlock and Carlos Narváez are probably the two best examples.