Contreras to Red Sox

[sdaltons]

https://x.com/jeffpassan/status/2002902 ... 71573?s=46

[cardinalsfever44]

Very interesting. My initial thinking is Tristan Casas plus more? I really have no idea.

[pitchingandefense]

https://x.com/jeffpassan/status/2002902 ... 71573?s=46

Good for Contreras. He will do well at Fenway in that division.

[vegascardsfan5890]

Bloom must really want his Red Sox prospects back haha

[Web7]

Probably just a salary dump

[cardinalsfever44]

Hunter Dobbins is the main piece coming back our way.

[ecleme22]

Probably just a salary dump

Calm down, cun1

[Rosie's Rule]

Friend of mine says the Cards got “pitching” in return- ??

[vegascardsfan5890]

Hunter Dobbins and more pitching arms Per Passan

I guess the goal is to have 40 minor league arms and no hitters?

[ggnoobs]

Hunter Dobbins is the main piece coming back our way.

Yes, Jeff Passan just confirmed this. And minor league arms.

[cardinalsfever44]

Hunter Dobbins Scouting Report:

Physical Description: Medium, athletic frame. Minimal projection remaining.

Mechanics: Throws from a three-quarters arm slot. Drop-and-drive delivery with effort. Starts on the first base side of the rubber. Medium-high leg kick. Hides the ball well behind. Pronounced arm hook, then whips his arm forward. Comes across his body. Lands on line to the plate, but falls off hard toward first base. Release point can get inconsistent. Presents a funky look for hitters.

Fastball: 95-98 mph. Tops out at 99 mph. Average life. Control is ahead of command at this point, but both are at least average already. Needs to do a better job consistently getting ahead of hitters with his fastball. Is much more comfortable pitching to his glove side than arm side. Fastball velocity and quality decrease as the game goes on. Velocity has increased since early in his career and hit the upper 90s in 2024. Potential plus pitch.

Splinker (Splitter/Sinker): 90-93 mph. New pitch to his arsenal in 2024 that developed from his splitter. At its best, shows late dive down and out of the zone. Looks like a sinking fastball at times with a little more vertical drop. Still a work in progress, but flashed bat-missing potential late in the year. High-variance offering, but flashes above-average potential already.

Slider: 87-91 mph. Evolved from a low-80s, longer slider and a cutter in the high-80s into a single pitch, a hard cut-slider, in 2024. Will vary length, but primarily shows short, 10-to-4 shape. Confident with pitch and able to land in the zone. Will flash bat-missing ability. Potential solid-average pitch.

Sweeper: 80-82 mph. Newish pitch in 2024 with long, horizontal break. Mostly used as a chase pitch, but has shown the ability to land in the zone as well. Showed improvement with it as 2024 went on. Potential average pitch.

Curveball: 77-79 mph. Long, 12-to-6 break with depth. Used primarily to steal a strike early in the count or to put away hitters late. Can be effective when used in sequence. Potential fringe-average pitch.
Splitter: 85-88 mph. Newish pitch in 2023 that evolved from his changeup, which itself had developed from a split-change. Some will show late dive and bat-missing ability down and out of the zone. Shows potential as a chase pitch, but still working on consistently landing it in the zone. Potential average pitch, but has seemed to go away from it as he has developed a splinker.

Career Notes: Reportedly is a scratch golfer. All-State in high school. Tore ACL playing football in high school. Pitched as a reliever in the College World Series as a freshman in 2019. Midweek starter as a sophomore in pandemic-shortened season. Injured his UCL during a preseason scrimmage in 2021 and missed the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in March. Participated in the Fall Performance Program in 2021 as a rehabber. Returned in June 2022. Was set to participate in the 2022 Fall Performance Program that was canceled due to Hurricane Ian. Was named to 2024 Spring Breakout roster. Was added to the 40-man roster in November 2024 to protect him from selection in the Rule 5 Draft. Participated in the Red Sox Rookie Development Program in January 2025. Pitched in 2025 Spring Breakout game. Impressed in his first opportunities at the MLB level as a spot starter in 2025 despite limited Triple-A experience, earning a rotation spot. 2025 season ended early after tearing his ACL covering first base in a start on July 11.

Summation: Potential back-end starter or multi-inning reliever. Ceiling of a mid-rotation starter. At his best, will show plus-to-better velocity and several secondary pitches that can all get hitters out. Wide-ranging arsenal with pitches that move in all directions and confidence that he can throw any of them for strikes. Still working to find a go-to, major league-quality out pitch, but addition of splinker could give him that pitch, as it shows bat-missing potential although he has only been throwing it for a short period of time. Effortful delivery brings injury and consistency concerns, and needs to improve his fastball command. Fastball can get hittable later in games and velocity tends to tick down. Needs to show he can consistently get left-handed hitters out to profile as a starter, but has developed into one of the more intriguing arms in the system.

Links
Red Sox select Hunter Dobbins with eighth-round pick (7.12.2021)
Spring Training Video (3.13.25)

[Web7]

I mean we already didn’t have any RH bats and now we lose our best one? Lol

[Midrange Jay]

Got to get that payroll back below $30 million, with the May signing.

[Ozziesfan41]

I mean we already didn’t have any RH bats and now we lose our best one? Lol

Yea offseason is over the cardinals will have no other right handed bats on the team lol

[vegascardsfan5890]

I mean we already didn’t have any RH bats and now we lose our best one? Lol

If it helps any, Donovan and Noot will probably be traded next so we won't have any left handed bats either

[Midrange Jay]

Hunter Dobbins is the main piece coming back our way.

Swing man coming off an ACL tear. A solid return for our best hitter.