I did a write-up of this game already a few days back with the Alex Verdugo card. I bought this Jeter Downs card as well the same day, but it took a lot longer to get to me. Downs made his Major League debut in 2022. He did not start this game, but came in late to replace J.D. Martinez as a pinch runner in the bottom of the eighth. He scored the tying run that eventually pushed the game into extra innings. He then had his first at-bat in the game in the tenth with two runners on base. Downs singled to right, driving in Jarren Duran. Downs later scored the winning run on the Verdugo hit.
Jeter Downs was the major prospect Boston acquired in the Mookie Betts trade. Unfortunately, his development seemed to stall in a major way during the COVID season. Where he was once a five-tool talent, suddenly he seemed unable to hit. In 2021, he hit .190/.272/.333 in the minors in 99 games. He did hit 14 home runs and stole 18 bases. He had a similar year in 2022, hitting .197/.316/.412 with 16 home runs. During his time in the majors, he hit .154/.171/.256, but did hit his first home run off Red Sox punching bag Gerrit Cole.
Something just seemed to have fundamentally changed in Downs that he was no longer seen as a top prospect. Boston ended up DFAing him a month or so ago when they needed to make room for new acquisitions. He was picked up by the Washington Nationals, a team with no real expectations, so he could end up playing quite a bit this year. Time will tell whether this will end being a move that comes back to haunt Boston like David Eckstein did. It was certainly a bit short-sighted because now the Red Sox are in a position where their starting second-baseman will miss the first several months of the season and they already lost Xander Bogaerts. Downs could have helped a little if they could get him on track.
Ugh.. I had such high hopes for Jeter. I'm guessing the baseball gods intervened. Had his name been, say, Jeff.. he might have been successful in Boston?
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