Guardians see former prospect on the move in surprising Red Sox-Brewers trade 

Earlier today the Boston Red Sox continued their offseason revamping by acquiring third baseman Caleb Durbin from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for a package of three players headlined by pitcher Kyle Harrison. 

But Boston’s return didn’t end with Durbin, as they reportedly also received catching prospect Anthony Seigler and infielder Andruw Monasterio, who spent two seasons toiling in the minors with the Guardians before turning into a quality MLB-caliber player with the Brewers. 

Brewers trade former Guardians farmhand Andruw Monasterio to Red Sox 

While there’s going to be plenty of ink spilled about how the trade is another example of how much of a mistake the Red Sox made by trading Rafael Devers (Harrison was a part of Boston’s return for Devers), Boston’s front office made a shrewd move to pick up Durbin and Monasterio. 

Monasterio initially joined Cleveland’s system ahead of the 2019 when he was part of Cleveland’s return for Yan Gomes from the Washington Nationals alongside Jefry Rodríguez and Daniel Johnson. 

He ended up appearing in 70 games at Double-A in his first year with Cleveland and posted .217/.279/.253 slashline. Not exactly All-Star level production. 

While he ended up putting together a much better season in 2021 (.287 batting average, 61 RBI), the Guardians still let him go as a minor league free agent. He ended up signing with the Brewers as a minor league free agent, and eventually made his big league debut a season later and hit .259 in 92 games. 

He made the Brewers’ Opening Day roster in 2024  but only played in 59 games. He was better last season (.270 batting average in 68 games) and now will be tasked with continuing his career on the East Coast. 

Monasterio presents a bit of an interesting test case for player evaluation in that he’s a utility player who isn’t very fast (57th percentile in sprint speed) and is a bit of an average defender, though he can play all over the diamond. 

When he’s at his best, he’s putting the ball in play using his above-average contact skills and lining balls into the gap. 

Durbin is a clear everyday option at third while Marcelo Mayer should handle the lion’s share of time at second, so the Red Sox won’t need him to cover everyday innings. Instead, he’ll get to bounce around the infield in the same vein as what the Guardians do with Gabriel Arias and Brayan Rocchio. 

While Monasterio finding his footing in Milwaukee didn’t sting as much as some other Guardians farmhands who got away, he’s now going to get more chances to post a revenge game against the Guardians by virtue of being in the American League.