The Philadelphia Phillies have acquired the young minor league infielder, C.J. Chatham, of the Boston Red Sox in exchange for a player who will be named later, according to the announcements of both teams. Renowned MLB.com journalist Jonathan Mayo reported that Chatham was likely heading to Philadelphia just before the announcement.
Connor James Chatham (real name), 26 years old and 1.93 meters tall, was the Red Sox second-round pick in the 2016 Draft, during Dave Dombrowski’s time as the team’s president of baseball operations. It appears that Dombrowski, who now heads the Phillies’ baseball operations department, continues to believe strongly in Chatham’s abilities.
Chatham, who weighs 200 pounds, has yet to make his major league debut, but spent the 2020 season at Boston’s alternative training site, where he continued to build on a solid 2019 performance in the minor leagues. In 467 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A that year, Chatham hit .298 / .333 / .408 while posting time in both middle infield positions – shortstop and second base.
Both Baseball America and MLB.com ranked Chatham 14th among Boston outfield prospects last summer. BA lists him as at least a bench piece in the majors and maybe even an acceptable regular at second base.
Chatham has fanned just 18.2 percent of his minor league plate appearances and has a contact-oriented approach at the plate due to a lack of power, according to those scouting reports.
He’s a versatile defender who could handle anywhere in the infield, and Chatham still has a couple of minor league options remaining, giving the Phillies flexible depth for seasons to come.
From Boston’s point of view, a place on the roster was needed to make Venezuelan left-handed pitcher Martín Pérez’s new one-year contract with the team official. The Sox have yet to announce Perez’s signing, but that will happen once he passes a physical.
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