Who are the ripe Red Sox crops on the farm teams might look to obtain at the trade deadline?

The Red Sox’ swap of Connelly Early for Curtis Mead underscored the unusual nature of this year’s trade deadline.

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With so many teams close to contention — after Sunday’s games, 22 of 30 teams were within 3½ games of a playoff spot — the likelihood of two playoff hopefuls swapping big leaguers to address differing needs, such as a starter like Early for a power hitter like Mead, is increased.

Still, there are enough teams in wait-til-next-year mode that traditional big leaguer-for-prospect deals can be consummated. If the Sox look that route, who might other teams pursue from their system?

Based on feedback from evaluators, the Sox farm is thinner than it has been recently. There had been excitement among rival evaluators for prospects who ranked in the 11-30 range, but this year that’s been scaled back considerably.

That broader view may have contributed to trading a big-league arm like Early to address roster needs. And it’s certainly possible the Sox will go to such a well again; Marcelo Mayer or Jarren Duran could be on the move.

That said, there are still players in the system who can be in play without further dredging the big league roster.

Franklin Arias, promoted last week to Triple-A Worcester, is among the best handful of prospects in the game. He’s the best defensive shortstop in the Sox organization, has elite bat-to-ball skills, and this year has shown surprising power to suggest All-Star potential.

That’s a combination a team almost never trades at the deadline … unless it acquires a current All-Star-caliber player who would come with several years of team control.

The Sox were willing to discuss Arias last year in deals for Twin hurler Joe Ryan or Arizona slugger Ketel Marte. His value has gone up since those conversations, but if the Sox want one of the potential jewels of the trade market such as Angels shortstop Zach Neto, Arias would be a necessary price.

That said, as Baseball America recently documented, there’s been just one top-five prospect deadline deal since 2017 — when the Padres dealt Leo De Vries (currently No. 2 in all of baseball) to the Athletics for fireballing closer Mason Miller last year.

Righthander Anthony Eyanson stands as the Sox’ top pitching prospect. The 2025 third-rounder has made huge gains this year thanks to strength and velocity upticks, and arm slot adjustments that have created an unusual vertical attack that has given hitters fits (1.13 ERA in 63⅔ innings).

Both his velocity and prospect stock have tapered a bit as the season has progressed, though. Will he be a pitcher who holds mid-90s and touches the upper-90s, or one who eventually settles around 93 m.p.h. and touches 95? How teams answer that question would influence his value.

Still, Eyanson looks like a future big league starter. The velocity question — as well as the development of a reliable east-west weapon — likely will determine whether his future is in the back or front half of a rotation. If last year is a guide, that’s a player good enough to anchor a trade for a long-term, controllable late-innings arm, or a back-end starter with multiple years of control.

It’s worth noting that teams in recent years have rarely made deadline deals involving pitching prospects as highly regarded as Eyanson, ranked the No. 33 prospect in baseball by Baseball America. Plus, with Early now gone, is the Sox’ appetite to deal their top pitching prospect diminished?

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The Sox have an array of minor league pitchers that should keep them in position to continue pursuing upgrades.

Though he’ll be out until well into 2027 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, righthander Juan Valera showed one of the most explosive arms in baseball before his UCL tear. Righthander Kyson Witherspoon (5.01 ERA, 24 percent strikeout rate) has had an up-and-down year in High-A Greenville, but has shown flashes of the ability that made him a 2025 first-rounder.

Despite even worse numbers in Greenville, Marcus Phillips (6.89 ERA, 24 percent strikeout rate) has shown the lively stuff and funky arm slot to suggest a potential late-innings arm. Double-A Portland righthander John Holobetz recently touched 98 m.p.h. and has a 28 percent strikeout rate for the Sea Dogs.

And righthander Sadbiel Delzine, recently promoted from the Florida Complex League to Single-A Salem, has the sort of massive frame and huge arm on which teams can dream. The 18-year-old flirted with 100 m.p.h. earlier this year, while also showing the ability to wipe out lower-levels hitters with his curveball.

There’s enough in that group to offer as second or third pieces in a major deal, or to anchor a deal for a complementary piece.

One potential limitation for the Sox in trade talks is that, behind Arias, there aren’t many standout positional prospects in their system — particularly in the upper levels.

First baseman/outfielder Justin Gonzales has continued to show immense power in Greenville, but there are questions about his athleticism and future position. Outfielder Enddy Azocar has had a strong year in Single-A Salem and Greenville, and has one of the more complete toolkits in the system. He’d likely be a prominent target, but there are enough questions about his hit tool (especially against righties) and approach to cap his value.

Catcher Franklin Primera, after a ridiculous complex league performance (.427/.549/.718), has had a strong transition to Salem (.283/.403/.417), but it’s very hard to project the future value of a backstop in the lower levels. Middle infielder Henry Godbout, who could emerge as an everyday big league second baseman, suffered a broken left hand in Greenville.

The Sox also have a collection of high-risk/high-reward players who just completed the Florida Complex League season, headlined by Dorian Soto and Harold Rivas.

There’s potential impact in that group, but they are all at such an early career stage that their value might be muted.

Typically, the Red Sox use Rule 5 eligible guys as trade chips. In 2024 for instance, the club traded Ryan Zeferjahn, Matthew Lugo, and Niko Kavadas to the Angels for reliever Luis Garcia.

This year, catcher Johanfran Garcia, righthander Blake Wehunt, and infielders Mikey Romero and Brooks Brannon are names the Sox might ordinarily view as use-’em-or-lose-’em chips at the table.

This winter, with an offseason work stoppage likely, there’s a significant chance the Rule 5 draft will be canceled, like during the 2021-22 offseason. If that’s the case, then teams will retain control of those eligible players for an extra year — so the incentive to deal them might be diminished.

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