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The Red Sox had to make room for David Price on the 40-man roster last week, and that meant designating minor-league third baseman Garin Cecchini for assignment. While his 2015 was rough and destroyed his prospect status, he's still just 25 years old and not that far off from his promising days, so it's no surprise to see someone step up to trade for him. The Brewers are that team, reports Alex Speier, with the Sox receiving cash considerations in return.
Cecchini was selected in the fourth round of the 2010 draft by the Red Sox, and, as a prospect, peaked as the number 23 prospect in baseball on Keith Law's midseason top-25. Other outlets were more conservative, but he was still seen as a top-100 prospect who bordered on being in the top-50. It all made sense at the time he was using his patience to bat a combined .322/.443/.471 across two levels in 2013, but Triple-A became a problem for him.
The third baseman struggled offensively in the first half of 2014 while with Pawtucket, and while he picked things up and hit .312/.399/.480 from August 1 onward, everything came crashing down again in 2015 with a line of .213/.286/.296.
Cecchini's patience devolved into a passive approach, and opposing pitchers took advantage. The walks vanished, the strikeouts looking increased, and he was unable to make quality contact with any consistency. The ability is still there -- he's an adjustment away, perhaps -- but whether he manages to pay off on any of his potential is unknown. The Sox no longer had the room on their roster to find out, but the Brewers are in a different place.
Don't be surprised if Cecchini ends up with a big-league career, but it will take him finding that balance between patience and aggression -- that's the only way he'll be able to take advantage of the strikes he sees, and be able to get back to drawing walks when pitchers realize they can't just sit him down. Not everyone who deals with this struggle adjusts in a way that saves their career, but maybe Cecchini will be one of the players who does.