Phillies acquire prospect Chatham from Red Sox

Dave Dombrowski joined the Phillies front office in December, and one month later, the new president of baseball operations has pulled off a deal with his former organization.

The Phillies acquired middle infielder C.J. Chatham from the Red Sox for a player to be named later or cash, both clubs announced Monday. Chatham was ranked Boston's No. 14 prospect by MLB.com at the time of the deal. Philadelphia designated reliever Vìctor Arano for assignment to make room for Chatham on the 40-man roster.

The deal is also a roster-trimming one of sorts on the other side. Boston is expected to re-sign Martín Pérez to a one-year deal but needed to clear a 40-man spot of its own to make room for the left-handed starter.

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

Chatham was a 2016 second-rounder, climbed as high as Triple-A in the Red Sox system and spent this past season playing at the club's alternate site in Pawtucket. He is a career .298 hitter over 266 games in the Minor Leagues and last posted a .298/.333/.408 line with five homers over 110 contests between Pawtucket and Double-A Portland in 2019. The 26-year-old has seen the bulk of his playing time at shortstop but also started 12 Minor League games at second base, as he got closer to Xander Bogaerts' long shadow at the six.

A right-handed batter, Chatham has the potential to be an average to slightly above-average hitter in the Majors, albeit one with little power. He should be a capable defender at either middle-infield spot.

The entire package makes him likely a utility infielder in his new organization at a time when the Phillies do not have a ton of depth on the dirt. As things stand, Chatham is likely to compete with Rule 5 selection Kyle Holder for a spot on the Major League bench this spring.

Arano made 73 appearances for the Phillies since debuting in 2017. He posted a 2.65 ERA and 1.14 WHIP to go with 80 strikeouts over 74 2/3 innings in that span, but managed to appear in only three games last season after dealing with shoulder issues in the spring.