Over the last year or so, the Boston Red Sox’s future had been built upon the possibility of bringing up their top three prospects, Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kyle Teel, together and watching them take the league by storm.

However, plans change, and some needs become more pressing which is why the Red Sox flipped Teel earlier this month in a trade that netted them left-handed starter Garrett Crochet.

Speaking with MassLive’s Sean McAdam, Mayer and Anthony, who are expected to debut in the majors sometime in 2025, shared their reaction to the news.

“Obviously shocking, to say the least,” Anthony said. “You don’t really ever expect something like that to happen when you think of things like that. I didn’t know if it was real. It was just a weird feeling, really, kind of an unsettling feeling. But at the end of the day, it does happen because it’s a business. So it was shocking, no doubt. Talking to Kyle after (the deal), it was weird, talking to him the first time and realizing he’s not with us anymore. It was kind of a weird feeling.

“I still don’t think it’s really hit me. I think it will be more something when we get to spring training and we don’t feel his energy in the room anymore. But yeah, it was definitely sad. I’ve grown pretty close with him and his family. Anytime you come through an organization like we did, it’s always sad news.”

“I was pretty shocked,” Mayer said. “Seeing it on Twitter, we kind of knew (a trade) was a possibility. We didn’t know who (was going to be involved from the Red Sox). Selfishly speaking, I’m sad that Kyle’s gone. I’m super excited for him, and the other guys in the trade. He’s going to have a great opportunity to do great things in the organization. But he’ll definitely be missed here.

“We talked about how much fun we’d had together and how we’re going to miss each other — kind of that stuff. Obviously, this game’s a business, so you never know when you’re going to play with somebody for the last time.”

Anthony and Mayer are still projected to have roles in the Red Sox organization in the near future, and if they both pan out, Boston will have an incredible core of young players to build around for the foreseeable future.

It’s unfortunate that they won’t be able to experience success in a Red Sox jersey with Teel, but they are still just steps away from realizing their goal of becoming major leaguers. And, now their rotation should be bolstered by a potential Cy Young candidate in Crochet.