Inside The Red Sox

Pair Of Red Sox Prospects Reportedly Poached By Same Japanese Team

Boston is getting poached left and right by the same team
Scott Neville|
Pair Of Red Sox Prospects Reportedly Poached By Same Japanese Team
Pair Of Red Sox Prospects Reportedly Poached By Same Japanese Team

In this story:

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are in the process of losing some organizational depth due to an aggressive overseas team that appears to have spent plenty of time scouting the WooSox.

The Hanshin Tigers, a member of the Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball League, are expected to sign outfielder Johan Mieses and right-hander Brian Keller according to the Yakyu Cosmopolitan, a source that translates NPB news into English.

Mieses hit .271 with 27 extra-base hits including 15 home runs, 35 RBIs and a .923 OPS in just 60 games for Triple-A Worcester last season. At 27 years old, the slugger was not exactly a top prospect for the Red Sox, but has been an intriguing depth piece, showcasing his raw power and solid bat-to-ball skills since joining the organization ahead of the 2020 season.

Keller, 28, is quite the diamond in the rough. He's not exactly a highly-touted prospect but has posted two strong seasons in a row. The former 39th-round pick in the 2016 Major League Baseball draft went 6-5 with a 3.27 ERA, 126-to-53 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a .200 batting average against in 113 innings for the WooSox last season. He posted a 2.77 ERA in the season prior for the Yankees Triple-A affiliate.

Of the two players, Keller appears to be the bigger loss.

The same source noted that the Tigers also are interested in right-hander Phillips Valdez, another former member of the Red Sox organization.

Valdez is the most notable name of the trio, as he appeared in 65 games for Boston over the course of the last three seasons, posting a lackluster 4.67 ERA but showed flashes of brilliance. 

None of these potential losses will cripple the Red Sox organization, but they all have proven to be solid players that would have enhanced the depth of the team had they stayed for the 2023 season. Instead, they will all reunite in the NPB.

More MLB: Red Sox Made 'Several Offers' In Free Agency, Expect To Break News Soon

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published
Scott Neville
SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer.  His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu

Share on XFollow scottneville46
Home/Boston Red Sox News