Red Sox's Jake Bennett Trade Looks Smarter Every Day

It just doesn't get any better than a diamond in the rough

Jul 8, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Jake Bennett (64) delivers a pitch against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The best move the Boston Red Sox made all winter has to be trading for first baseman Willson Contreras... or does it?

Contreras was the best player the Red Sox had in the first half, no doubt. But since June 10, their best player has been rookie starting pitcher Jake Bennett, who looked like a nice depth option entering spring training and now is pitching like he deserves the ball in a playoff game.

With another Herculean effort on Friday in Game 1 of the Red Sox's doubleheader against the Tampa Bay Rays, Bennett lowered his season ERA to a paltry 2.35. He left the game with the Sox up 9-0, virtually guaranteeing him his fourth win in as many starts. And the more you get into the splits since that return from Triple-A, the more you realize just how much of a steal Bennett may have been.

What Bennett has done since return from Triple-A

Jul 3, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Jake Bennett (64) throws against the Los Angeles Angels during the seventh inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Bennett's outing against Tampa Bay was just his seventh since his recall from the Worcester Red Sox. In that time frame, he's tossed 37 1/3 innings and given up only nine earned runs, good for an ERA of 2.16. His first outing after being recalled was a clunker in Tampa Bay, so if you take out that performance, his ERA is a ridiculous 1.39.

According to Fangraphs, Bennett was the sixth-most valuable pitcher in MLB between June 10 and Thursday at 1.4 WAR. That number will immediately jump after his six scoreless innings, perhaps even challenging Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies for first in that same time frame at 1.8 WAR.

He's not doing this with overpowering stuff, either. He's only struck out 38 batters in 53 2/3 innings this season. But it seems sustainable, because he's keeping hitters way off balance, expected batting averages are low on all of his pitch types, and he's giving up one of the lowest rates of pulled fly balls among all pitchers in the sport.

This was a steal, plain and simple. Whether chief baseball officer Craig Breslow knew there was untapped potential with Bennett, thought Luis Perales was still too raw, or both, he did a phenomenal job on the deal in December with the Washington Nationals.