After acquiring relievers Jose Alvarado from the Tampa Bay Rays and Sam Coonrod from the San Francisco Giants, Dave Dombrowski has already made his third trade as Philadelphia Phillies president of baseball operations.
Just hours after the official signing of reliever Archie Bradley, the Phillies acquired infielder C.J. Chatham from the Boston Red Sox — Dombrowski’s former organization in which he led to a World Series championship in 2018.
In return for the 26-year-old, the Phillies will send the Red Sox a player to be named later or cash considerations, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. In a corresponding move, the Phillies have designated right-handed reliever Victor Arano for assignment.
Thank you to the @RedSox for everything. Class organization and enjoyed every second being with them. But extremely excited to start my journey with the @Phillies! #gophils
— Connor Chatham (@CjChatham) January 18, 2021
C.J. Chatham has nearly hit .300 so far in his minor-league career.
MLB.com ranked Chatham as the 14th-best Red Sox prospect. “A career .298 hitter in his first four pro seasons, Chatham has an extremely contact-oriented approach,” they write. “He sprays line drives to all fields with a flat right-handed swing, rarely driving the ball in the air and putting the bat on the ball so easily that he doesn’t walk much.”
“Most of his offensive value will come from his batting average.”
C.J. Chatham has reached as high as the Triple-A level in the Red Sox system.
The Red Sox drafted the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, native in the second round of the 2016 draft out of Florida Atlantic University. He was the highest pick in school history and signed for $1.1 million.
Chatham has yet to appear in the majors, although he did reach the Triple-A level in 2019, where he slashed .302/.330/.430 with five doubles, two home runs, 10 RBI, four walks, and 21 strikeouts spanning 20 games and 91 plate appearances. His overall 2019 slash line, between Double-A and Triple-A, was .298/.333/.408 across 110 games and 467 plate appearances.
Monday’s trade is the second between the Phillies and Red Sox in recent months, following the August swap that sent Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree to Philadelphia for Nick Pivetta and Connor Seabold.
Chatham may not have power numbers, but he does provide versatility — having played shortstop, second base, third base, and left field. With a similar profile as Scott Kingery, one would have to wonder what the short and long-term outlook is for both players. Dombrowski led the Red Sox when they drafted Chatham in the second round, so he must see something in him.