Fans aren't talking enough about the other prospect in the Pirates-Red Sox trade

The big December trade between the Pirates and Red Sox was headlined by top prospect Jhostynxon Garcia. There's a lot to like there; he could give the Pirates a long-term power answer in the outfield, which this organization has lacked. But what's gone under the radar is the other prospect in this deal, who actually has some solid upside.

The Pirates also received 18-year-old pitcher Jesus Travieso in this deal, a right-hander signed out of Venezuela. He is unranked by every network as an undersized pitcher, coming in at 5-11, but he can still can touch 100 mph. His fastball usually sits around 93-96 mph, but the ability to pump it up to triple digits at this age shows he has room to grow. He also adds a plus slider and a changeup to his arsenal. Both offspeed pitches generated whiff rates over 40% in 2025.

Despite being a smaller pitcher, he has some solidly impactful pitches to work with. He put up strong numbers in rookie ball and Low-A last season. Across both levels, Travieso delivered 64.2 innings and posted a 3.06 ERA with a 12.53 K/9. His strikeout stuff has been really impressive, but that comes with some control issues.

Travieso's control was all over the place, however, as his BB/9 reached 5.01. He's still generating a ton of swings and misses already, but he's going to need to take the next step in his command to truly emerge as a notable prospect.

Pirates acquired very underrated pitching prospect in Jesus Travieso as part of Red Sox trade.

The Pirates have done really well with arms like him recently. He is very comparable to Jared Jones. Their size and pitch quality are very similar. When Jones was drafted out of high school, he was known for an electric fastball/slider combo. Add in a solid changeup, and that is where Travieso is at right now.

Getting high-upside depth like Travieso really helps the Pirates' quest to acquire talent this offseason. It seems likely that they could try to make another Spencer Horwitz type of trade, and dealing from their pitching surplus makes a lot of sense.

Down the road, the Pirates could look back at this being a real trade steal. Travieso is a legit prospect with a ton of upside that could really take off in this pitching lab. Pretty soon, he may even crack the top 30 prospect list, but he's definitely got a lot more to prove in A-Ball first.