CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — As they do nearly every winter, the Boston Red Sox gathered a group of prospects deemed to be close to the major leagues for their annual rookie development program.

On Thursday, they were introduced to the media at the Boston College indoor athletic facility. Only this time the group looked light. The camp normally invites 10 to 11 players. Thursday featured only eight, and not a lot of big names.

No Yoan Moncada. No Mauricio Dubon. No Michael Kopech.

All traded last month.

Moncada and Kopech were sent to the White Sox in the Chris Sale deal, and Dubon was dispatched to the Brewers in the trade for reliever Tyler Thornburg.

“Obviously we held those guys in really high regard,” said Ben Crockett, the Red Sox director of player development who is charged with building up the farm system – which the team president, Dave Dombrowski, thinned with trades of those three and others.

“When you have the opportunity to acquire a frontline starter, an All-Star caliber elite player, you have to give up some pretty good talent,” Crockett said. “Ultimately we’re all here for the same reason, and that’s to win a championship in Boston.”

Dombrowski did not clean out the farm. Two of Boston’s top prospects were among the eight attending this week’s camp – third baseman Rafael Devers and first baseman Sam Travis.

Not surprisingly, one of the first questions directed toward Devers was if he was worried he would be traded.

Devers smiled. He had thought about it.

“I wasn’t worried. If they were to send me somewhere, it’s the same baseball,” Devers said through an interpreter. “At the end of the day I’d have to put in the work wherever I got traded to.”

After his answer was translated from Spanish, Devers added one more thought: “But I really would like to play here in Boston and I hope they give me the opportunity to go up.”

Smart answer for Devers, who turned only 20 three months ago. A native of the Dominican Republic, Devers batted .282/.778 OPS with 11 home runs for advanced Class A Salem last year. Devers, who received an invitation to major league spring training, is expected to begin 2017 with the Portland Sea Dogs.

Travis, 23, played in Portland in 2015. After a strong spring training last year, he went to Triple-A Pawtucket with speculation he was close to a major league call-up. But an injury on May 29 resulted in major knee surgery.

Travis participated in drills Thursday with a brace on his knee, but said that’s only a precaution. Travis and Crockett both said he would be able to go full speed in spring training.

Devers and Travis were the only everyday players in camp. The others were relievers – left-handers Robby Scott, Luis Ysla and Edgar Olmos, and right-handers Kyle Martin, Chandler Shepherd and Ben Taylor.

All but Olmos, a recently signed minor league free agent, played in Portland.

Scott, 26, is the only one with major league experience, getting a September call-up last year (no runs in six innings).

Ysla, acquired in a 2015 trade with the Giants, had an up-and-down season in Portland (4.07 ERA/1.46 WHIP). But he’s a lefty with a high 90’s fastball, so the Red Sox protected him by placing him on the 40-man roster.

Martin, 26, was also put on the 40-man roster this past fall. He pitched in Portland in 2015 and emerged in Pawtucket last year (3.37 ERA/1.18 WHIP, 78 strikeouts in 66 innings).

Shepherd, 24, began last year in Portland and moved on to Pawtucket. Taylor, 24, began in Salem, then reached Portland. Both received invitations to major league spring training camp.

The Red Sox spring training camp begins Feb. 14 in Fort Myers, Florida.

Kevin Thomas can be reached at 791-6411 or:

kthomas@pressherald.com

Twitter: @ClearTheBases