Red Sox 2025 Trade Deadline Thread

[moonslav59]

25 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

Woulda, coulda, shoulda.  The fault lies with Casas and Devers far more than with Breslow.  

We coulda...

Brez shoulda...

I woulda...

Yes. You are right.

[Bellhorn04]

I was very disappointed about the deadline moves too, but I think I understand what happened.  Breslow didn't want to trade anyone from the current team.  I can't fault him for that.  And I suspect he was also very reluctant to trade pitching prospects.  So that left him with a pool of position prospects that maybe wasn't as strong as Sox fans might think.

If Bailey's lab magic works on May, that could really make things look better.  And then you also have the great performance from Criswell last night. 

[a700hitter]

12 hours ago, Maxbialystock said:

You need a course in anatomy because thinking with your balls is a losing proposition.

The Sox already sold Devers to the Giants.  How did that go?

As for buying, I would have loved to have seen Breslow get a terrific starter.  So would the rest of the known universe want their CBO's to do the same thing.  And guess how many teams want to fork over a great starter?

Tonight the Sox played their 4th Division leader in about two weeks, and their record against them now stands at 5-5.  So just maybe this team is good enough with the guys they kept plus the 2 guys they acquired.  

 

I wouldn’t call the Devers trade selling.  We got nothing of value in return.  We didn’t build the farm system with that move.  It was simply a salary dump.

[notin]

54 minutes ago, a700hitter said:

I wouldn’t call the Devers trade selling.  We got nothing of value in return.  We didn’t build the farm system with that move.  It was simply a salary dump.

… and apparently an attitude dump..

[notin]

1 hour ago, Bellhorn04 said:

I was very disappointed about the deadline moves too, but I think I understand what happened.  Breslow didn't want to trade anyone from the current team.  I can't fault him for that.  And I suspect he was also very reluctant to trade pitching prospects.  So that left him with a pool of position prospects that maybe wasn't as strong as Sox fans might think.

If Bailey's lab magic works on May, that could really make things look better.  And then you also have the great performance from Criswell last night. 

Thats really weird because trading a player off the active roster and trading a pitching prospect are two things Breslow has already done this year.

Msybe because he already checked them off his To Do List…

[Randy Red Sox]

2 hours ago, a700hitter said:

I wouldn’t call the Devers trade selling.  We got nothing of value in return.  We didn’t build the farm system with that move.  It was simply a salary dump.

Many on here refuse to admit that. The so-callede top pitching we got in Kyle Harrison is not faring well in AAA. An era north of 4.50 and a whip of 1.79 along with 39 hits allowed in 31 innings. Like you say this was all about a salary dump.

[Bellhorn04]

1 hour ago, notin said:

Thats really weird because trading a player off the active roster and trading a pitching prospect are two things Breslow has already done this year.

Msybe because he already checked them off his To Do List…

A lot of people seemed to love the Priester trade at the time.  

[Bellhorn04]

1 minute ago, Randy Red Sox said:

Many on here refuse to admit that. The so-callede top pitching we got in Kyle Harrison is not faring well in AAA. An era north of 4.50 and a whip of 1.79 along with 39 hits allowed in 31 innings. Like you say this was all about a salary dump.

It was absolutely a salary dump.  And I would argue that dumping $250 million owing to a DH might be a pretty good thing in itself.  

[Randy Red Sox]

1 hour ago, notin said:

… and apparently an attitude dump..

can't disagree too much with that although the Sox did help to contribute to it. In the end I think we got less talent back than even in the Mookie deal.

[Bellhorn04]

6 minutes ago, Randy Red Sox said:

can't disagree too much with that although the Sox did help to contribute to it. In the end I think we got less talent back than even in the Mookie deal.

In the Devers trade the Sox shed approx. 235 in payroll when you factor in Hicks's contract.

In the Mookie trade the Sox shed approx. 72 million-27 Mookie and 45 Price.

[Randy Red Sox]

2 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

In the Devers trade the Sox shed approx. 235 in payroll when you factor in Hicks's contract.

In the Mookie trade the Sox shed approx. 72 million-27 Mookie and 45 Price.

salaries are much higher today than they were when we traded Mookie and the Devers contract was for longer but I get your point. Still it was little more than a salary dump -plain and simple.

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

I was very disappointed about the deadline moves too, but I think I understand what happened.  Breslow didn't want to trade anyone from the current team.  I can't fault him for that.  And I suspect he was also very reluctant to trade pitching prospects.  So that left him with a pool of position prospects that maybe wasn't as strong as Sox fans might think.

If Bailey's lab magic works on May, that could really make things look better.  And then you also have the great performance from Criswell last night. 

I think he can be "faulted" for being reluctant to trade an OF'er, when we have 4+ of them, but it is "understandable. (I think one gets traded, this winter, so it might not be based on "reluctance." I may have been based on the idea that Rafaela may be needed at 2B more than any of us want that to be.

I agree on not trading top pitching prospects for a rental anything, but trading one or more for a controlled pitcher would change that dynamis, to me.

I know it's easy to speak in theory, but I think we could have added someone like Mullins, Paez, Monegro or Wehunt to get a slightly better pitcher(s) than Matz and May. I would not have added Early or Valera for a better rental. Sandlin, maybe. Not Tolle or Perales, for sure.

I also wonder what adding Garcia or Romero might have netted us. I doubt adding Castro, Cespedes or even Blies would have given us a big uptick, but who knows.

[Bellhorn04]

2 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

I think he can be "faulted" for being reluctant to trade an OF'er, when we have 4+ of them, but it is "understandable. (I think one gets traded, this winter, so it might not be based on "reluctance." I may have been based on the idea that Rafaela may be needed at 2B more than any of us want that to be.

I agree on not trading top pitching prospects for a rental anything, but trading one or more for a controlled pitcher would change that dynamis, to me.

I know it's easy to speak in theory, but I think we could have added someone like Mullins, Paez, Monegro or Wehunt to get a slightly better pitcher(s) than Matz and May. I would not have added Early or Valera for a better rental. Sandlin, maybe. Not Tolle or Perales, for sure.

I also wonder what adding Garcia or Romero might have netted us. I doubt adding Castro, Cespedes or even Blies would have given us a big uptick, but who knows.

The thing is, Breslow and his team have vastly more knowledge of all these players than any of us. 

Rosenthal claims that the Red Sox have some sort of "efficiency models" that they rely heavily on.  From his perspective that's a problem because they're not aggressive enough.

I'm just happy the team is playing as well as it is right now.  They're worth watching again.  Anthony alone is worth tuning in for.  

  

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, a700hitter said:

I wouldn’t call the Devers trade selling.  We got nothing of value in return.  We didn’t build the farm system with that move.  It was simply a salary dump.

We seemingly got more for Devers than we did in any other vet trade since maybe Betts, but the again Jeter Downs sucked. Okay, Vaz for Abreu was better.

We got Wink & Franchy for Beni.

We got DHam & JBJ for Renfroe.

We got Fitts and Weissert for Dugo. (Is that better than Harrison, Hicks, Tibbs and J Bello?)

We got Grissom for Sale (not a prospect)

I see the trade as largely a salary and attitude dump.

I do think they feel we will end up with a couple plus players, perhaps Harrison and Bello. Hicks was a flyer and partial salary offset. Tibbs is already gone for a rental.

 

[moonslav59]

Just now, Bellhorn04 said:

The thing is, Breslow and his team have vastly more knowledge of all these players than any of us. 

Rosenthal claims that the Red Sox have some sort of "efficiency models" that they rely heavily on.  From his perspective that's a problem because they're not aggressive enough.

I'm just happy the team is playing as well as it is right now.  They're worth watching again.  Anthony alone is worth tuning in for.  

  

Agree. I am very happy with Brez, despite the Sale and Priester trades and a disappointing deadline day.

I like our team and really like our future outlook. IMO, Brez did nothing to hurt our future at the deadline, so that part is fine.

I think he'll get bold, this winter with signings and a big trade or two.

[harmony]

7 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

I know it's easy to speak in theory, but I think we could have added someone like Mullins, Paez, Monegro or Wehunt to get a slightly better pitcher(s) than Matz and May. I would not have added Early or Valera for a better rental. Sandlin, maybe. Not Tolle or Perales, for sure.

I also wonder what adding Garcia or Romero might have netted us. I doubt adding Castro, Cespedes or even Blies would have given us a big uptick, but who knows.

For all we know, the Red Sox may have offered all of those players, including Jhostynoxn Garcia and Payton Tolle.

[Bellhorn04]

As far as trading Duran or Abreu is concerned, I get why some thinking it was a good idea.  But they're both contributing wins to the 2025 team.  If you traded one of them at the deadline and the one you kept gets hurt or slumps while the one you traded plays great, then Breslow looks stupid and Talksox is calling for his head.

[Duran Is The Man]

37 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

It was absolutely a salary dump.  And I would argue that dumping $250 million owing to a DH might be a pretty good thing in itself.  

it was more like a $214M salary dump as they took on Jordan Hicks and his $36M salary dump.

[moonslav59]

Just now, harmony said:

For all we know, the Red Sox may have offered all of those players, including Jhostynoxn Garcia and Payton Tolle.

True, but ultimately Brez would not raise the offers or accept less than what was offered for anyone else.

I gotta believe we could have gotten better than May & Matz by adding 1-2 Mullins, Paez, Wehunt, Monegro, Blies, Cespedes or Castro.

For a rental, I can understand not adding Jh Garcia, Romero, Early or Sandlin.

I agree. We will likely never know many of the specifics offers made to us and turned down.

[notin]

3 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

As far as trading Duran or Abreu is concerned, I get why some thinking it was a good idea.  But they're both contributing wins to the 2025 team.  If you traded one of them at the deadline and the one you kept gets hurt or slumps while the one you traded plays great, then Breslow looks stupid and Talksox is calling for his head.

Or Talksox would be calling for Password

[moonslav59]

Just now, Duran Is The Man said:

it was more like a $214M salary dump as they took on Jordan Hicks and his $36M salary dump.

Yup, more than 25M a year x 8.

[moonslav59]

3 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

As far as trading Duran or Abreu is concerned, I get why some thinking it was a good idea.  But they're both contributing wins to the 2025 team.  If you traded one of them at the deadline and the one you kept gets hurt or slumps while the one you traded plays great, then Breslow looks stupid and Talksox is calling for his head.

You gotta see some merit in this idea:

We can only play 3 OF'ers at a time, and unless Rafaela plays 2B or someone DHs, one of our 4 OF'er sits, every game and offers zero value, except as a PH.

The theory is this:

Our 4th OF'er gets downgraded from 1 of the 4 to Garcia or Yoshida/Ref. The 3rd OF'er gets "downgraded" from Duran or Abreu to Anthony.

The worst SP'er (Buehler, Fitts, Criswell) gets upgraded to _____ (Ryan? Keller?)

Does the upgrade at pitching outweigh the possible downgrade at OF3 and OF4?

You may disagree with the idea, but I think you have to see merit in the idea. It doesn't always work out as planned, of course. Rafaela at 2B might save our season, if Mayer does not return. I felt the same about Grissom being an large enough upgrade at 2B to offset the risky Sale in our rotation, and we all saw how that one worked out.

[Duran Is The Man]

12 minutes ago, notin said:

Or Talksox would be calling for Password

i wonder if he can play first base. 

[Maxbialystock]

3 hours ago, a700hitter said:

I wouldn’t call the Devers trade selling.  We got nothing of value in return.  We didn’t build the farm system with that move.  It was simply a salary dump.

Wrong word, no doubt, but at least the Giants are overpaying him, not us.  Agree also the savings have yet to be invested, but would argue July is the wrong month for good investments.  

[Maxbialystock]

29 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

You gotta see some merit in this idea:

We can only play 3 OF'ers at a time, and unless Rafaela plays 2B or someone DHs, one of our 4 OF'er sits, every game and offers zero value, except as a PH.

The theory is this:

Our 4th OF'er gets downgraded from 1 of the 4 to Garcia or Yoshida/Ref. The 3rd OF'er gets "downgraded" from Duran or Abreu to Anthony.

The worst SP'er (Buehler, Fitts, Criswell) gets upgraded to _____ (Ryan? Keller?)

Does the upgrade at pitching outweigh the possible downgrade at OF3 and OF4?

You may disagree with the idea, but I think you have to see merit in the idea. It doesn't always work out as planned, of course. Rafaela at 2B might save our season, if Mayer does not return. I felt the same about Grissom being an large enough upgrade at 2B to offset the risky Sale in our rotation, and we all saw how that one worked out.

I don't see upgrade/downgrade.  I see righty bats going against lefty starters--see today's lineup--and lefty bats--see last night's lineup--against righty starters.  

I also see Anthony DH'ing now and then because Yoshida and Ref ain't that great.  

The only price paid is Rafaela at 2b instead of CF, where he is a freaking game saver.  Duran is fine in CF, but nowhere near Rafaela.  The odd man out is usually Abreu against lefty starters.  

[moonslav59]

29 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

I don't see upgrade/downgrade.  I see righty bats going against lefty starters--see today's lineup--and lefty bats--see last night's lineup--against righty starters.  

I also see Anthony DH'ing now and then because Yoshida and Ref ain't that great.  

The only price paid is Rafaela at 2b instead of CF, where he is a freaking game saver.  Duran is fine in CF, but nowhere near Rafaela.  The odd man out is usually Abreu against lefty starters.  

I wish we'd see an upgrade over Toro at 1B vs RHPs (70% of our games.) 1B is a hitter position. Sub .600 needs an upgrade.

Call up Campbell! 

[moonslav59]

I think it's time to move the game thread back to the #1 slot.

[harmony]

A headline at The Athletic: The Astros — bold, decisive, interesting — are the team the Red Sox used to be

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6531333/2025/08/01/red-sox-houston-astros-trade-deadline/

Subscription required.

A snippet:

Quote

 

That’s one way Houston differs from Boston — when a Red Sox player leaves, it’s often with knives in his back. In the old days, though, the Red Sox would shrug it off, replace a Pedro Martínez with a Josh Beckett and win another World Series.

These are not the old days. These are the boring days — not the players or the games, but the organizational ethos. The Red Sox seem to believe they can build a winner without taking risks, a trait they exhibit every offseason and trade deadline.

 

 

[moonslav59]

DD was certainly decisive: Theo, too.

[Larry Cook]

I think bres-slow had a decent trade deadline 

We kept the team culture together and added a couple fringe pieces 

we are set up perfectly to score 2 great starters and a couple strong relievers this offseason