There's no denying the fact that the Boston Red Sox have one of the most intriguing overall prospects in baseball right now.

That is, of course, infielder Franklin Arias. The 20-year-old took his game to another level in 2026 and the baseball world noticed. Right now, MLB Pipeline has Arias ranked as the No. 2 overall prospect in baseball, just behind Jesus Baez of the Milwaukee Brewers. Before the 2026 season, Arias was viewed as a very good prospect, but there were some questions. For example, power. He entered the 2026 season with his career high in homers being just nine, set in 2024. But he took his game to another level.

In 2026, Arias hit 25 home runs, drove in 91 runs and slashed .323/.400/.557 in Double-A and Triple-A in 117 total games. Despite his rise, he didn't get a big league shot in 2026. Why is that the case? The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey pointed to the potential upcoming lockout as one of the reasons.

"The Red Sox opted not to promote Arias at the end of the regular season, in part because if they added him to the 40-man roster, Arias would not have been able to work out at Red Sox facilities in Fort Myers, Fla. this offseason or participate in minor-league spring training workouts or games, all crucial pieces for his continued development," McCaffrey wrote.

Boston Made The Right Call

This is an intriguing concept. Arias has all of the talent in the world and is just 20 years old. There's value to the idea of developing more and more down in Triple-A. He started off a bit slowly when he was promoted to Triple-A, but then got hot, to say the least. In 42 games, Arias slashed .331/.388/.506 with an .894 OPS, six home runs, 39 RBIs, 11 doubles and 28 runs scored. He quickly showed why he's among the game's top prospects, just one step below the big leagues.

Arias made his Triple-A debut on July 25. He had success when Boston had a legit hole in the infield. Trevor Story didn't return from injury until Aug. 30. Even after that, the Red Sox could've used another bat. Nick Sogard manned second base and was great. Arias could've helped there with him, or as a designated hitter. But Boston opted to keep him down in Triple-A to continue to develop.

McCaffrey's point about the upcoming lockout makes a lot of sense, if the potential lockout is long. Arias is just 20 years old. He has just four professional seasons under his belt. Now isn't the time to lose development time, especially when he is so close to the big leagues. Right now, the 2027 season is completely up in the air. There's a real chance games are impacted and some have even speculated that the campaign wouldn't be played. If Arias were to be on the 40-man roster, he wouldn't be able to work out at Boston's facilities or play in minor-league spring training workouts or games. If an entire year is lost, that would be critical to Arias' development.

It would've been great to see Arias down the stretch, but the Red Sox made the right call.