Odd Man Out

Something had to give to make room for J.D. Martinez on the Red Sox 40-man roster.  Unfortunately, what gave was Bryce Brentz.  He was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash.  Brentz was one of my favorite minor league players.  He had been in the Red Sox farm system since 2010, mainly at AAA Pawtucket since the end of  2012.  He got two cracks at the big leagues, but didn't stick.  All three of the current Red Sox starting outfielders are younger than he is, and all three started in the minors after he did and passed him up.

After an incredible performance with the U.S. national team in 2009, Brentz was drafted in the first round by the Boston Red Sox in 2010.  He played the whole season for the Low A Lowell Spinners.  His stats were unspectacular.

In 2011, Brentz starting moving up the charts.  He played about the first two-thirds of the season for the A-level Greenville Drive, then got promoted to the High A Salem Red Sox.  He combined for 30 home runs, 94 runs batted in, and had a .306/.365/.574 slash line.  Although he didn't crack the Top 20 Red Sox Prospects list, he was footnoted as a "prospect of note."

In 2012, Brentz was on the move again.  He played most of the season at AA with the Portland Sea Dogs.  At the end of the season, he was promoted to AAA Pawtucket.  He combined for 17 home runs, 76 runs batted in, and had a .290/.349/.465 slash line.  He was ranked the Red Sox #9 top prospect.

In 2013, Brentz played most of the season at AAA Pawtucket.  He hit 19 home runs, but his other stats were down slightly; 64 RBIs, .262/.313/.487.  He was ranked the Red Sox #7 top prospect.  This is the year fellow outfielder Jackie Bradley, Jr. passed him.  Teammates for most of the season, JBJ was called up to Boston and Brentz was not.

In 2014, Brentz played almost the whole season in AAA Pawtucket again.  He did get a September call-up to Boston and got into seven games.  He stats were down across the board; twelve home runs, 53 RBIs, .227/.326/.430.  His Red Sox top prospect ranking fell to #16.  This was the year Mookie Betts passed him.  Fellow outfielders for the first half of the season, Betts was called up to Boston in late June and Brentz was not.

In 2015, Brentz's number declined yet again, and he spent the whole season in AAA Pawtucket.  His slash line was .232/.308/.382 with eight home runs and 26 RBIs.  That year Brentz became too old to be ranked as a prospect any more.

In 2016, Brentz spent time at three different levels; twelve games with AA Portland, 54 games with AAA Pawtucket, and 25 games in the bigs with Boston.  It was his longest big league stint.  This is the year Andrew Benintendi passed him.  Benintendi leapt directly from AA to Boston, overlapping Brentz's time on the major league roster for eight days.  That's when Brentz was moved back down to Pawtucket and Benintendi stayed.

In 2017, Brentz got his mojo back.  He played all year in Pawtucket.  He cranked 31 home runs, had 85 RBIs, and his slash line improved to .271/.334/.529.  Plus, he won the AAA home run derby.

Goodbye, Bryce Brentz.  I hope you get major league opportunities with the Pirates that you weren't going to get in Boston.  Best of luck!