Alex Mayes

Boston Red Sox Weekly Snapshot Record Last Week: 4-2 Runs Scored Last Week: 49 Runs Surrendered Last Week: 25 Standings 3rd in AL East 6.5 GB First Place 2nd in AL Wild Card 1.5 GB First Place Transactions 08/03/26: Boston Red Sox traded 2B Marcelo Mayer to San Francisco Giants for LHP Erik Miller and CF Carlos Gutierrez. 08/03/26: Baltimore Orioles traded C Adley Rutschman, C Jake Rogers and cash to Boston Red Sox for RHP Kyson Witherspoon, CF Enddy Azocar, C Carlos Narváez, RHP Anthony Eyanson and Player To Be Named Later. 08/03/26: Atlanta Braves traded RF Eli White to Boston Red Sox for RHP Tyler Uberstine. 08/03/26: Boston Red Sox placed C Adley Rutschman on the 10-day injured list. Left wrist inflammation. 08/04/26: Boston Red Sox optioned DH Romy Gonzalez to Worcester Red Sox. 08/04/26: Boston Red Sox designated RHP Ryan Watson for assignment. 08/04/26: Boston Red Sox activated LHP Erik Miller. 08/04/26: Boston Red Sox activated C Jake Rogers. 08/04/26: Boston Red Sox activated RF Eli White. 08/05/26: Boston Red Sox signed free agent RHP Cam Padgett to a minor league contract. 08/06/26: Boston Red Sox released LHP Joe La Sorsa. 08/07/26: Los Angeles Angels claimed RHP Ryan Watson off waivers from Boston Red Sox. 08/07/26: Boston Red Sox selected the contract of LHP Raymond Burgos from Worcester Red Sox. 08/07/26: Boston Red Sox optioned RHP Greg Weissert to Worcester Red Sox. 08/07/26: Boston Red Sox signed free agent RHP John Brebbia to a minor league contract. 08/08/26: Boston Red Sox sent C Adley Rutschman on a rehab assignment to Worcester Red Sox. 08/09/26: Boston Red Sox selected the contract of RHP Seth Martinez from Worcester Red Sox. 08/09/26: Boston Red Sox optioned LHP Raymond Burgos to Worcester Red Sox. Scores Game 112: BOS 14, CWS 2 Game 113: BOS 4, CWS 0 Game 114: BOS 12, CWS 11 Game 115: BOS 13, SAC 1 Game 116: BOS 3, SAC 7 Game 117: BOS 3, SAC 4 Series Breakdown/Highlights White Sox Series: The Red Sox completed the season sweep of the AL Central-leading White Sox to kick start the week. In game one, Patrick Sandoval tossed five innings of two-run baseball. He allowed six hits while walking four and striking out five. Greg Weissert, newly acquired Erik Miller, and Brayan Bello all held down the bullpen side of the game, combining for three strikeouts over the final four innings. On offense, Caleb Durbin was the star after smoking a grand slam over the Green Monster. Jarren Duran also clobbered a homer while Wilyer Abreu, Willson Contreras, Ceddanne Rafaela, Masataka Yoshida, and Andruw Monasterio all drove in runs as well in the lopsided victory. Game two was another shut out by the Red Sox, led by Sonny Gray tossing six strong innings. He allowed three hits, two walks, and struck out eight on the night. Tyron Guerrero, Jovani Moran, and Garrett Whitlock continued the bullpen dominance we’ve come to expect from this crew and shut the game down over the final three innings. They combined for six strikeouts over those three innings, only allowing one combined hit. Offensively, this was the game that Contreras left sick, but even without him, the team was able to continue to play solid baseball. Abreu, Contreras before he exited, Durbin, and Monasterio all drove in runs in the win. Game three was worth the watch if you stayed up through the final out. The Red Sox never led the game until they secured the victory in the bottom of the 13th inning. The lone long ball for the Sox came off the bat of Connor Wong to help spur the comeback early in the game, but the real story came in the final five innings. The Red Sox allowed the South Siders to stay in the game from the ninth through the 12th inning, but they matched run for run until finally Bello was able to stop the White Sox from scoring in the top of the 13th, which allowed Durbin to walk off the series sweep. From the pitching side, we saw a lackluster start from Ranger Suarez. He only tossed three innings and allowed three earned runs while striking out three. From there, Chad Tracy turned to a bullpen and burned through arms. Weissert, Justin Slaten, Guerrero, Miller, Moran, Chapman, Whitlock, and Bello all pitched in this game and that likely set up for what ultimately was a disappointing A’s series over the weekend. Athletics Series: Both A’s series this season have been funky. The Red Sox came into the series as the hottest team in baseball while the A’s were the coldest. Unfortunately for the Sox, the A’s would get the best of them. In game one, we witnessed absolute dominance from Payton Tolle on the mound. He tossed six innings while striking out 14 and only allowed one earned run. He was followed up by recent call up Raymond Burgos, who tossed three innings of clean baseball while striking out two. I don’t have the space to go into detail about Tolle’s dominance in this game, but go watch the highlights. His three-fastball mix was its usual gas-powered rocket, but his curveball was absolutely deadly and the A’s had no answer for it. It just shows us how high the young southpaw’s ceiling actually is. On offense, Duran knocked another homer while Rafaela, Abreu, Durbin, Yoshida, Jake Rogers, and Monasterio all drove in runs as well. Game two saw Contreras return to the lineup, but he was obviously still getting back to himself after being sick for the better part of the week. Monasterio and Durbin were responsible for the Sox’s lone RBIs of the game, but the team never really felt out of it at any point. They had a chance to mount an incredible comeback in the bottom of the ninth with White at the plate, but they were unable to come through. On the pitching side, Jake Bennett wasn’t sharp, as the rookie is navigating in uncharted waters in terms of workload. He allowed five hits, four earned runs, three walks, and five strikeouts over 5.1 innings. After him, Slaten and Burgos couldn’t contain the A’s, allowing three combined earned runs. Unfortunately, game three saw Whitlock and Chapman let the series win slip away in the late innings. Miller worked as the opener in a scheduled bullpen game as Tracy looks to operate with a pseudo-six man rotation through 16 games in 16 days. He was dominant, striking out two in his lone inning of work. Bello followed him, tossing four innings of one-run baseball. We then had Guerrero, Moran, Whitlock, and Chapman all get a turn out of the 'pen. Offensively, the team was quiet with just Abreu and White contributing RBIs on the day. The Sox once again had a chance to at least tie the game in the bottom of the ninth, but Rafaela lined out hard to left field to end the game. Website Highlights Was Adley Rutschman Worth the Enormous Cost Red Sox Paid at Trade Deadline? by Nick John The Curious Case of Eli White: Why Exactly is He in Boston? by Ryan Salvaggio Adley Rutschman Puts Red Sox in Driver’s Seat in the American League, but Concerns Remain by Alex Mayes Looking Ahead 08/10/26: Red Sox (Sonny Gray) @ Blue Jays (Jameson Taillon): 7:07 PM EDT 08/11/26: Red Sox (Patrick Sandoval) @ Blue Jays (Dyan Cease): 7:07 PM EDT 08/12/26: Red Sox (Ranger Suarez) @ Blue Jays (Jose Soriano): 7:07 PM EDT 08/13/26: Red Sox (Payton Tolle) @ Blue Jays (Max Scherzer:) 3:07 PM EDT 08/14/26: Red Sox @ Pirates: 6:40 PM EDT 08/15/26: Red Sox @ Pirates: 7:15 PM EDT 08/16/26: Red Sox @ Pirates: 1:35 PM EDT View full article

We are recording the next episode of the Talk Sox Podcast on Monday, August 10th! Get your questions in here for both myself and @Maddie Landis! We’ll put the cutoff for questions at 5 pm CST on the 10th.

July was a month of extreme highs for the Boston Red Sox, something that very few of us would have predicted when the month started. On July 4, the team was 10 games below .500 and seemed like they had completely lost the plot. They looked uninspired after dropping an easily winnable series against the Rockies in Denver. Then, something changed. The team had an awful time getting back to Boston for a four-game series against the Yankees and it really seemed like something clicked on that return flight. They rattled off the best record in baseball over the month, including tying a franchise-high winning streak of 15 games. While the entire lineup contributed each game, there were three players who stood head and shoulders above the rest. Ranking Red Sox's Best Hitters In July #3. Caleb Durbin Arguably, there is no other member of the Boston Red Sox whose season mirrors the overall team. Durbin was awful for the first two months of his career and then magically, after dislocating his finger on a headfirst slide into first during the Rockies series, became a completely different hitter during the following Yankees series. In July, Durbin slashed .284/.382/.420 with a .360 wOBA, 128 wRC+, and a 0.9 fWAR. He slugged three home runs, scored 18 times, drove in nine runs, and swiped three bags. Those numbers, outside of his slash line, don’t scream top-three hitter, but if you watched the games then you saw the injection of energy that Durbin provided in July. He’s quickly become a fan favorite and it really seems like this offensive turnaround is something to buy into. That, combined with his Gold Glove-caliber defense, means that the hot corner has been settled for the foreseeable future in Boston. #2: Ceddanne Rafaela I’ll go ahead and tell you that less than a week into the month of August, you should expect to see this name at the top of the list at the end of this month. Rafaela has been on an absolute tear this summer and it seems to have been spurred by him finally making his first All-Star team. For the month of July, he slashed .303/.321/.523 with a .362 wOBA, a 129 wRC+, and a 1.2 fWAWR. To go along with that staggering line, he clobbered five home runs, scored 17 runs, drove in 19 runs, and swiped five bags. Rafaela is playing the best baseball of his career and has thrived as both the number two and number five hole hitter all summer. He’s still not drawing a ton of walks, working just a 2.7% walk rate in July, but he’s getting on base with the bat at such a clip that walks really don’t matter in his current offensive approach. He’s re-introduced a bit of his swing and miss back into his at-bats lately, but that problem hasn't been as egregious this season. While he’s coming through in clutch moments and hitting the ball hard, he hasn’t shied away from the small ball approach that the team has been using as of late either. He’s arguably the best center fielder in baseball and now that his bat is catching up to his defensive standing, he’s going to make the extension he signed continue to look like an absolute bargain. #1: Willson Contreras I’ve grown fond of calling Contreras the lifeblood of this team, and I’m going to continue to do so. He is the presence every contending squad needs. It’s obvious his teammates love him by how often you see guys like Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, and even Roman Anthony around him. For July, he slashed .323/..488/.629 with a .475 wOBA, 208 wRC+, and a 1.1 fWAR. To go along with that, he hit five home runs, scored 14 times, drove in 14 runs, and even swiped a bag. He did all of that while being suspended for four games in the middle of the month to boot. While Durbin’s ascent to offensive workhorse has mirrored what the team has been doing, Contreras has been better than advertised since day one. He is the absolute perfect fit at first base for this team and even said he wants to remain in Boston for the rest of his career. If he keeps hitting like this, I think it's safe to say we all want the same. View full article

The Boston Red Sox have acquired catcher Adley Rutschman from the AL East division rival Baltimore Orioles. In a blockbuster move that indicates that Craig Breslow and Fenway Sports Group are serious about winning this season. It’s difficult to trade for a catcher in the middle of the season and have them mesh with your pitching staff, but out of all the available catchers on the market, Rutschman is far more familiar with the Red Sox’s rotation and bullpen than any other option the team could have brought in. While there’s a lot to love about Rutschman’s profile, there are a few questions as well. Let’s dive into it. The Good About Rutschman As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, Adley Rutschman is the most all-around catcher available on the trade market. I assumed that the price to bring him to Boston would be more than Breslow wanted to pay, but I’m glad to say I was wrong. In that piece, I explored what Red Sox fans would love about Rutschman, and all of that information still rings true. Offensively, he’s slashing .251/.331/.433 with a .333 wOBA, 115 wRC+, and a 2.3 fWAR. He has eight home runs and 47 RBIs during his injury-shortened 2026 season. He’s a switch hitter that features power from both sides of the plate, but he does tap into it a bit more from the left-handed side, with five home runs and a .462% slug from the left versus three home runs and a .385% slug from the right. His home spray chart doesn’t scream immediate success at Fenway Park, but his offensive profile offers a lot to be excited about. While it’s unlikely Rutschman will live up to the hype he carried when he was breaking into the league, he’s still an incredible talent and has put up numbers at Fenway during his career. He’s slashed .275/.344/.400 and a .326 wOBA when the O’s came to town. If we combine that with his Savant page, we see a hitter who, when healthy, is going to absolutely rake from both sides of the plate. He has an incredible strikeout percentage, draws a ton of walks, and gets on base at a clip that is rare for most catchers. In addition to that, his Pull AIR% is top ten in the league at 19.3%, and that should only go up as he gets more comfortable hitting at Fenway Park. Once he’s in the lineup, he’s going to provide a positive spark whenever he hits. What likely made Breslow incredibly comfortable with trading for Rutschman, though, is his ability behind the dish. He grades out at the top of the league in almost every catching category, except pop time. He’s the best in the league at catching runners when they attempt to steal bases, his framing is top-notch, and his blocking ability is underrated. It’s going to take him a bit of time to get comfortable with the pitching staff, but he’s a top-of-the-league catcher, so he’s going to adapt to a new pitching staff very quickly. The Not-So-Bad But Concerning About Rutschman Adley has an injury history that should give people a bit of a pause for concern. Just this season, he’s been on the injured list with a hamstring injury, a concussion, and he’s currently about to start a rehab assignment for an injury to his left wrist. Historically, he has had a back injury in 2024, a head injury in 2025, two oblique injuries in 2025, an abdomen injury in 2025, and an ankle injury in 2025. He doesn’t have the ‘injury prone’ label, but there is a reason why the medical review was rumored to be the thing that was holding up the deal for a couple of hours. He’s likely a week or two out from his Red Sox debut, but that also worked out pretty well last time the team acquired an injured, middle of the order type bat in 2021 in Kyle Schwarber. That being said, there’s not much to dislike about this move. So that begs the question, why would the Red Sox feel the need to pay such a high premium to acquire him? It’s a fairly simple explanation: elite, franchise cornerstone catchers don’t grow on trees. Rutschman is a potentially franchise-altering addition, playing for an organization that didn't seem to fully buy into his talent and abilities. Putting him in Boston, a team that is on the hottest streak in the league, and letting him eat at Fenway is going to be a huge boon to his numbers as he settles in. The addition of Adley Rutschman proves that this team is in win-now mode and wants to compete for a World Series title this season. It’s fair to wonder if the team hadn’t swept the Dodgers, if they would have made this move, but we should all be glad they did. Now, the only order of business left is for them to start talking extensions with their newly acquired catcher. View full article

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Boston Red Sox Weekly Snapshot Record Last Week: 6-1 Runs Scored Last Week: 36 Runs Surrendered Last Week: 22 Standings 3rd in AL East 5.5 GB First Place 2nd in AL Wild Card 3 GB First Place Transactions 07/27/26: Boston Red Sox optioned SS Tsung-Che Cheng to Worcester Red Sox. 07/27/26: Boston Red Sox activated 3B Curtis Mead. 07/29/26: Boston Red Sox recalled 3B Nick Sogard from Worcester Red Sox. 07/29/26: Boston Red Sox placed 3B Curtis Mead on the 10-day injured list retroactive to July 28, 2026. Left wrist fracture. 08/01/26: Boston Red Sox traded LHP Jojo Ingrassia to Detroit Tigers. Scores Game 105: BOS 4, SAC 2 Game 106: BOS 3, SAC 4 Game 107: BOS 4, SAC 2 Game 108: BOS 5, SAC 4 Game 109: BOS 9, LAD 4 Game 110: BOS 3, LAD 2 Game 111: BOS 8, LAD 4 Series Breakdown/Highlights A’s Series: It’s safe to say this series could also be called the ‘Red Sox Couldn’t See Until the Sixth Inning’ series. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team go from completely cold through the first half of each game of a four-game series to catching fire to close them out like this. In game one, Payton Tolle continued his post-All Star-Break run of good but not great starts. He tossed 5.1 innings, giving up three earned runs while walking one and striking out seven. His start to the season was so electric that it’s maybe easy to get disappointed in these types of outings for him, but he’s blowing past his career high in innings and navigating that while helping lead the team to, hopefully, a playoff appearance come October. This version of Tolle isn’t what we saw earlier but it’s more than serviceable and gives us hope that he can take the next step to becoming the ace he seems primed to be. Behind Tolle, Justin Slaten, Jovani Moran, Garrett Whitlock, and Aroldis Chapman finished out the game. On the offensive side, Ceddanne Rafaela provided all of the firepower with a ‘Sacramento Grand Slam’ that just barely cleared the wall in left field. He was so sure it was a fly out, slamming his bat in frustration before he was able to celebrate as he rounded first base. In game two, Jake Bennett followed Tolle’s lead by having a good, but not great, start in Sac-Town. He tossed 6.1 innings of three-run baseball while walking two and striking out four. Behind him, Ryan Watson and Moran worked to keep the Sox in it but Watson allowed another earned run so the rally in the ninth inning would come up short. To further echo the Tolle comp, there’s little reason to worry as Bennett figures out the life of a major-league starter. On offense, Connor Wong contributed two RBIs on one home run and Wilyer Abreu drove a run in as well. Game three saw the Sox get back to their winning ways behind Patrick Sandoval on the mound. He tossed five innings of two-run, seven-strikeout baseball. Chad Tracy seemed to pull all the right levers in the bullpen for this one with Tyron Guerrero, Slaten, Whitlock, Chapman, and Greg Weissert all coming in in relief. Newcomer Jahmai Jones contributed one RBI on a home run and Nick Sogard added another as well. In extras, Andruw Monasterio clobbered a two-run home run that put the Sox in front for good. Game four was more of the same. Sonny Gray started off the game very shaky, but settled in through seven innings. He allowed four earned runs on seven hits while striking out five. Weissert and Chapman came in and worked clean to close out the game, even if Chapman did get lucky on a Lawrence Butler double (that looked like a home run and should have been a triple if Butler was legging it out of the box). On the offensive side, this was the game that people kept talking about but mainly because of an interaction between Jarren Duran, Willson Contreras, and third base coach Chad Epperson that the team has mostly swept under the rug. Rafaela and Monasterio both provided RBIs but the big swings of the game belonged to Abreu and Contreras on back-to-back home runs that put the Red Sox in the lead for good. Dodgers Series: The Red Sox were hoping to ride the wave of wins from Sacramento but knew they were in for a tall task as they prepared for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the best team in baseball. In game one, the Dodgers decided to run with a bullpen game while the Red Sox had southpaw Ranger Suarez on the bump. Suarez operated on a pitch count like he has in every start since coming off the injured list last month. He tossed 4.2 innings of three-run, two-strikeout baseball before being replaced by Moran, who didn’t look stellar. Bullpen superstar Brayan Bello entered into the game after that and shined, again. He tossed four scoreless innings en route to the win. What his performance out of the bullpen did, more than anything else, was save a taxed bullpen a night of work. On offense, Rafaela continued his hot streak with a home run and two RBIs. Also driving in runs were Masataka Yoshida, Carlos Narvaez, Duran, and Monasterio. Game two was penciled in to be must-see TV with Tolle on the bump for the Sox and superstar Yoshinobu Yamamoto standing opposite him. Tolle looked like the bright LA spotlight didn’t impact him at all as he threw six innings and allowed just two runs against a lineup that was ready to redeem themselves from the night before. Slaten, Guerrero, and Chapman all shut the door for the Sox win to take the series. On the offensive side of the baseball, Rafaela was the story once again. He took Yamamoto deep twice, and almost three times, off two splitters. Going into the game, Yamamoto had given up only one home run on his splitter all season and Rafaela got him for two in back-to-back at-bats. The other run came after a Monasterio double, a Duran bunt that was perfectly placed, and a Connor Wong double play that plated Monasterio for the final run. Game three saw Bennett get the ball for the Sox on Sunday Night Baseball. While the defense let him down early, he settled in nicely. He went 5.2 innings and gave up three earned runs. Like Tolle, he didn’t seem to be too bothered by the pressure of pitching against the best team in baseball on a national stage. Slaten worked his way out of an inherited jam to close out the sixth inning cleanly. Guerrero allowed a run in his one inning of work but Moran, Weissert, and Whitlock all worked clean to close the game and secure the sweep. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but Rafaela homered. Along with that, Abreu, Duran, and Yoshida all sent the ball over the wall as well. On top of that, Duran laid down another excellent sacrifice bunt to move Durbin and Monasterio up a base each, which allowed Durbin to score on a wild pitch while Anthony Seigler was pinch hitting. The Red Sox came into L.A. looking to keep rolling and did so in incredible fashion. If this team can add a legitimate bat at the deadline, the league will be put on notice. Website Highlights Three Veteran Starters Red Sox Should Target to Fill Innings Gap at Trade Deadline by Nick John Sending Out an SOS to Craig Breslow to Fulfill Red Sox’s Newest Trade Deadline Need by Ryan Salvaggio How is it Possible that Red Sox’s Medical Staff Can’t Accurately Diagnose Its Own Players? by Maddie Landis CJ Abrams Gives Red Sox Every Reason to Go Back to Nationals Trade Well by Alex Mayes Looking Ahead 08/03/26: Off Day, Trade Deadline 6 PM EDT 08/04/26: White Sox @ Red Sox: 7:10 PM EDT 08/05/26: White Sox @ Red Sox 7:10 PM EDT 08/06/26: White Sox @ Red Sox: 7:10 PM EDT 08/07/26: A’s @ Red Sox: 7:10 PM EDT 08/08/26: A’s @ Red Sox: 4:10 PM EDT 08/09/26: A’s @ Red Sox: 1:35 PM EDT View full article

We'll be live on our YouTube channel, YouTube.com/@talksox from around 6:30 pm EST until we run out of things to talk about, haha. If you can't make that, we typically make a post in the forums portion of the site asking for listener questions that we answer during our usual recording sessions every Sunday or Monday night. Always feel free to submit questions and comments there and we'll talk through them on each episode. Happy early birthday!

Hello for this week! In case you didn't catch it on the most recent episode of the podcast @Maddie Landis and I are going to do a livestream on Monday, 8/3 instead of a recorded podcast. It will be focused on the trade deadline moves/non-moves so instead of questions on here, jump into the comments during the livestream and we'll answer them while we're live! We'll go live around 6:30 pm EST on Monday, 8/3. The feed will be live on our YouTube channel so we hope to see you there!

Also forgot to say, welcome to Talk Sox! I'm looking forward to chatting with you through the comments on articles! If you're a podcast listener, I co-host the Talk Sox Podcast and we'd love for you to get involved with our livestream next Monday after the trade deadline!

Absolutely. Any fan who stoops to that level should be banned from all MLB stadiums for life. I’m probably the one who has been most vocal about my desire to move Duran on here for the better part of two years, but it’s solely because I thought they should sell high before the inevitable downward turn happened. Now that his value is in the toilet, he’s likely not going anywhere. It’s going to take a lot for him to even be a league average player and I just don’t think Boston is where he can do it.

Most fans have nothing but kind things to say about his strength in advocating for mental health and him being so open about his struggles, myself included. He’s saved countless lives and should be applauded for that. But holding him accountable and being critical of his on-field performance is fair game for anyone.

How is holding him accountable for his garbage season myopic?

The Boston Red Sox have already made a blockbuster deal in advance of the trade deadline, acquiring Curtis Mead late on Saturday, July 25. Mead addresses the right-handed pop that the Red Sox have been looking for since the offseason, but there is still room on the roster to add even more power at the plate as the team looks to make a push for the AL East title through the end of the season. Which brings us to yet another Washington Nationals infielder: All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams. According to Section 10’s Jared Carrabis, just because the Red Sox have already acquired Mead it doesn’t mean that the team wouldn’t still pursue Abrams in a second deal with the Nationals. On the surface, this seems almost counterintuitive. Why wouldn’t the team just make one large deal for both players instead of doing two smaller transactions? That’s a question that only Craig Breslow and Paul Toboni could answer, but if there is still a path to land the type of talent that Abrams brings, then Breslow needs to do everything he can to get it done. Offensively, Abrams slots in as another left-handed hitter in a lineup that features quite a few lefties already, but his offensive firepower makes up for the redundancy. He’s slashing .295/.368/.570 with a .397 wOBA, 152 wRC+, and 3.9 fWAR. He’s slugged 27 home runs so far to go along with 19 stolen bases. There's really nothing you can do at the plate that the 25-year-old isn't doing well. Abrams isn’t an opposite-field type hitter, and for a left-handed slugger that could potentially be bad news at Fenway Park where deep right field is essentially a second center field. But this isn't a real concern with this particular player; overlay his home spray chart over Fenway, and he doesn’t lose a single home run blast to right field. He might lose one to center, but he ends up gaining four in left field, and possibly one additional one in right thanks to the Pesky Pole. Adding that kind of offense to this team would instantly catapult them into pennant contention in a weak American League. Before we drink too much of his Kool-Aid, though, there are two major roadblocks we have to acknowledge. First, he’s as close to a defensive liability as you can get. Abrams currently ranks in the first percentile in Outs Above Average with a mystifying -12. For reference, Marcelo Mayer posted a flat 0 OAA at short and Trevor Story was a -3 OAA before his injury. We’ve lambasted the latter's defensive woes fairly regularly, so inserting someone who is quadruply worse at short than Story may be a tough sell. There's nowhere else on the roster to really slot him at the moment (unless second base is open in the wake of Mead's wrist injury), and moving Abrams off short would open up a gaping hole up the middle. That, specifically, brings us to the second downside. Any deal that brings Abrams to Boston almost certainly involves top prospect, and likely future shortstop, Franklin Arias headed to Washington. With enough reps, it’s entirely likely that Mayer could take over short full time in the absence of Arias, but his offensive approach is going to need a lot of work once he’s healthy. It’s unlikely that Abrams would move positions this year, so Mayer would have the runway to get back into big-league shape, but the lockout is going to make things a bit more difficult for everyone next offseason. Both Mikey Romero and Kristian Campbell are sitting in Worcester and could be in the conversation next year, but neither is an ideal option either. For an Abrams trade to work, there has to be a plan for when he no longer can play shortstop as soon as 2027 (most scouts see his future at first base or a corner outfield spot, which are also logjammed at the moment). Abrams offers tantalizing offensive potential as a member of the Boston Red Sox. He’s young, under control through 2028, and would likely be a candidate for an extension fairly quickly after the new CBA is agreed upon to begin the 2027 season. There are major question marks surrounding his defensive abilities and the price required to get him from Washington to Boston, but this is the kind of hitter you double-dip for. View full article

Boston Red Sox Weekly Snapshot Record Last Week: 4-2 Runs Scored Last Week: 25 Runs Surrendered Last Week: 24 Standings 3rd in AL East 6.5 GB First Place 2nd in AL Wild Card Transactions 07/21/26: Boston Red Sox recalled RHP Zack Kelly from Worcester Red Sox. 07/21/26: Boston Red Sox placed RHP Zack Kelly on the 60-day injured list. Right elbow inflammation. 07/22/26: Boston Red Sox recalled LHP Alec Gamboa from Worcester Red Sox. 07/23/26: Boston Red Sox optioned LHP Eduardo Rivera to Worcester Red Sox. 07/26/26: Boston Red Sox traded LHP Connelly Early to Washington Nationals for 3B Curtis Mead. 07/26/26: Boston Red Sox optioned LHP Alec Gamboa to Worcester Red Sox. 07/26/26: Boston Red Sox traded LHP Connelly Early to Washington Nationals for 3B Curtis Mead. 07/26/26: Boston Red Sox activated LHP Ranger Suarez from the 15-day injured list. Scores Game 99: BOS 6, BAL 5 Game 100: BOS 6, BAL 3 Game 101: BOS 1, BAL 5 Game 102: BOS 6, TOR 5 Game 103: BOS 0, TOR 6 Game 104: BOS 6, TOR 1 Series Breakdown/Highlights Orioles Series: The Red Sox looked to keep rolling at home, and see if they could break their single-season win streak record against the division rival O’s to open the week. Things started off well in game one, with Willson Contreras, Caleb Durbin, Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, and Ceddanne Rafaela all contributing RBIs in the win. Durbin’s came on some eighth inning heroics after the O’s tied the game in the 7th inning. On the pitching side, Payton Tolle was fine for the most part, but he fell apart in the sixth inning. He tossed 5.2 innings, allowing four earned runs, walked one, and struck out nine. Tyron Guerrero threw 1.1 innings, allowing one earned run, and struck out three. Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman both worked scoreless innings to close out the game. Game two was rescheduled for a Wednesday doubleheader. Duran was the offensive star of the game with his three RBIs. Rafaela contributed one RBI on a solo home run while Caleb Durbin drove in two. Rookie Jake Bennett tossed 5.2 innings of three-run baseball, walking none and striking out four. He wasn’t his typical dominant self, but he had more than enough to put the team in a position to win the game. Out of the bullpen Justin Slaten, Whitlock, and Chapman all worked clean appearances. This win was the 15th straight, tying the team’s longest streak in the history of the franchise. Game three was packed, the highest attendance at Fenway Park since 2017 according to the broadcast. Unfortunately for the Red Sox, the O’s Kyle Bradish was in fine form on Wednesday night. For the Red Sox, opener Eduardo Rivera only tossed 0.2 innings while giving up four earned runs and that’s all she wrote. Brayan Bello came out of the pen to throw 5.1 innings, walking one and striking out five. He’s added some velocity to his pitch mix since being called back up and it makes you start to wonder if he’s going to be in the conversation for the starting rotation with Connelly Early now shipped out to Washington. Behind Bello, Ryan Watson and Alec Gamboa finished the game out in quiet fashion. Offensively, there was nothing to really get excited about. The lone RBI belonged to Masataka Yoshida. Everyone then turned their attention to the weekend series against the Blue Jays to see how the team would rebound after their first loss in quite some time. Blue Jays Series: In game one, Anthony Seigler was the star of the show in the Friday Fenway Greens. The rookie went four-for-five on the night, including a home run to open the contest. Rafaela contributed another home run and two RBIs on the night, while Andruw Monasterio and Romy Gonzalez also drove in one run each. Patrick Sandoval was shaky in the start, but worked his way out of a couple of jams early on. He ended up going 4.2 innings while striking out three and allowing no earned runs. Guerrero, Greg Weissert, Whitlock, and Chapman all came out of the pen in this one. Weissert reverted to his old self in this appearance, allowing three earned runs to let the Blue Jays back into the game, but the offense bailed him out again. Game two was nothing to write home about. Dylan Cease looked every bit of the Cy Young contender that he has been all season. He had his no-hitter broken up by Monasterio, but that was all the offense the Red Sox could muster. Shockingly, Sonny Gray was incredibly shaky. He allowed five earned runs over five innings, while only striking out three. Gamboa covered the final four innings, indicating that he would likely be the person sent down when Ranger Suarez was activated before game three. In game three, Suarez worked a quick game but was fantastic in his four innings. He struck out four and allowed no earned runs. Weissert, Guerrero, Slaten, and Ryan Watson finished out the game with only Watson allowing an earned run on the day. Offensively, newcomer Jahmai Jones shone off the bench with a two-RBI double, Duran contributed two RBIs himself, and Wilyer Abreu and Rafaela both knocked in a run to help give the team the win. It was a great way to respond after the loss in game two and sent the team on the West Coast trip with growing confidence. Website Highlights Red Sox and Nationals Trade Connelly Early and Curtis Mead in 1-for-1 Swap by Nick John 3 Players Most Responsible for Red Sox’s Historic WInning Streak by Cory Sparks Wilyer Abreu has Entered the Goldilocks Zone at the Plate by Maddie Landis Red Sox Trade Deadline Targets: Ryan Jeffers is the Upgrade Behind the Plate We’ve Been Waiting For by Alex Mayes Looking Ahead 07/27/26: Red Sox (Payton Tolle) @ Athletics (Jack Perkins): 9:40 PM EDT 07/28/26: Red Sox (Jake Bennett) @ Athletics (Gage Jump): 9:40 PM EDT 07/29/26: Red Sox (Patrick Sandoval) @ Athletics (Jacob Lopez): 9:40 PM EDT 07/30/26: Red Sox (Sonny Gray) @ Athletics (TBD): 9:40 PM EDT 07/31/26: Red Sox @ Dodgers: 10:10 PM EDT 08/01/26: Red Sox @ Dodgers: 9:10 PM EDT 08/02/26: Red Sox @ Dodgers: 7:20 PM EDT Sunday Night Baseball View full article

A quick programming note, there was a last-minute scheduling conflict that came up yesterday so recording has been pushed to today, 7/27. We'll kick the deadline to today at 5 pm CST if there are any other questions.

The Boston Red Sox made a rare one-for-one trade with the Washington Nationals this weekend, swapping left-handed pitcher Connelly Early for infielder Curtis Mead. Our own @Nick JohnJohn provided great, quick coverage the night the trade went down, but now we need to get to know the newest infielder that will likely be calling Boston home through at least the 2030 season. Mead has come on in a big, big way for the Nationals this season after bouncing around a couple of different organizations. He signed as an international free agent with the Phillies in 2018, was subsequently traded to the Rays for Christopher Sanchez in 2019, was then included as part of a package deal to the White Sox for Adrian Houser in 2025, and finally was traded to the Nationals in March of this year for Boston Smith. It wouldn’t quite be fair to label him a journeyman, but his path to Boston has been a bit contrived. Thankfully for him, and hopefully for the Boston faithful, he seems to have found his footing with the Nats. Mead is currently slashing .254/.352/.500 with a .369 wOBA, a 134 wRC+, and a 1.5 fWAR. He’s slugged 17 home runs, has 48 RBIs, and six stolen bases. Impressively, his walk rate sits at 11.9%, good for the 82nd percentile. He doesn’t strike out a ton either, coming in at 19%, good for the 65th percentile. He doesn’t make the hardest of contact (his average exit velocity is only 88 mph) but he barrels balls at a 10.9% clip, which is in the 69th percentile. What likely made Craig Breslow comfortable with this trade is that Mead has the offensive profile that should absolutely mash at Fenway Park. Much like other Breslow trade targets, Mead has an enormous Pull-AIR% of 22.5%. This puts him in the top ten percent of the league in the stat and makes it obvious that the plan was always to add an additional righty who will take aim at the Green Monster. If we look at his home spray chart, it paints an impressive picture. While it’s not a perfect comparison to how he will do at Fenway, it gives us a pretty big indication that his profile is going to thrive calling Boston home for the next handful of years. The biggest knock against Mead is his defensive profile. He’s primarily a third baseman but has logged games at first, second, and DH this season as well. As we all know, Caleb Durbin has been playing Gold Glove caliber defense at third this season. He said that he would be open to moving to second base if the team acquired another third baseman, but the step down from Durbin to Mead is fairly significant. It’s hard to envision that Breslow would sacrifice one of the major pieces of his ‘pitching and defense’ model just to get Mead at the hot corner. For reference, Mead is currently posting a -9 Outs Above Average and a 77.1 mph arm strength. Those are good for the first and 41st percentiles, respectfully. For reference, Durbin grades out in the 86th percentile for OAA with three and the 28th for arm strength at 81.2 mph. Since it would be such a massive downgrade at third base, the plan is for Mead to play second base. This likely forces rookie Anthony Seigler to a bench role, but that’s realistically where he should be playing for this team when they are operating at full capacity. This trade could be one of few that may be considered a win for both teams. The Red Sox were able to trade from a place of strength with Early and acquired a hitter that profiles well at Fenway Park. The Nats need rotation help and have bats to spare. There's a huge risk in dealing Connelly Early, someone who was rumored to be involved in bigger trade packages, straight up for a hitter with a journeyman track record. But this is also the kind of trade designed to help Boston win now and in the future, which could prove prescient if Mead translates his profile to Fenway Park as we're hoping. View full article

Earlier this week, I profiled why Minnesota Twins backstop Ryan Jeffers is a prime trade target for the Boston Red Sox. He checks a lot of the boxes that the team needs behind the plate and on offense, but there are questions about the cost to acquire him and if the Twins would even be willing to part with him. He’s also an unrestricted free agent after next season, so Craig Breslow would have to heavily weigh the cost versus the possibility of extending Jeffers before he has a chance to reach free agency. Since that article was written though, the trade market for catchers has become arguably the hottest stove in MLB. ESPN’s Jeff Passan has listed three additional catchers as matches for the Red Sox. While Jeffers was at the top of my trade target list, I’d likely bump him down to number two or three on my tier rankings now that Shea Langeliers, Adley Rutschman, and Hunter Goodman’s names have surfaced. Instead of profiling each player with their own piece, I wanted to give a one-stop-shop location for the three names that are going to fly up fan’s trade boards in the next week and a half. #3: Hunter Goodman, Colorado Rockies We talked quite a bit about Goodman on the most recent episode of the Talk Sox Podcast and for good reason: he’s currently projected to perform better this season than he did during his breakout in 2025. He’s currently slashing .257/.326/.565 with a .375 wOBA, 124 wRC+, and a 2.4 fWAR. To go along with that, he’s already matched his 2025 home run total of 31 in just 94 games into this season. Typically, you have to take any hitter on the Rockies with a grain of salt, but not Goodman. In fact, his road splits are better than his home numbers. On the road, he’s slashing .282/.345/.619 with 18 home runs, a 32 K%, and an 8 BB%. At home, he’s slashing .231/.306/.509 with 13 home runs, a 32.6 K%, and an 8.8 BB%. Much like nearly every hitter connected to the Red Sox while Craig Breslow has been at the helm, Goodman has a staggering 30.6 Pull-Air% that would likely drive his home run totals to the moon if he were taking aim at the Green Monster for the remainder of this season. He’s also not an unrestricted free agent until 2030. With that much control, it’s understandable that Colorado is waiting to be blown away by an offer for Goodman. That’s the biggest knock against him right now; it’s going to take multiple top-10 prospects plus some MLB-caliber talent to pry the catcher out of the Mile High City. Along with that, there are a couple areas of his game that should give teams, but especially the Red Sox, pause for concern. As noted in his splits above, his strikeout percentage is out of this world, and not in a good way. Currently, Goodman is in the 5th overall percentile for K% at 32.3%. His BB% is slightly better, 8.4%, putting him in the 43rd percentile. The sky-high strikeout percentage also explains the bottom-of-the-barrel chase percentage at 40.4% and the even worse whiff percentage at 35..4%. On the defensive side of the baseball, he’s bottom of the league as well. He currently is in the 58th percentile in blocks above average at +1, the 45th percentile in caught stealing above average at zero, the 27th percentile in framing at -2, and the 58th percentile in pop time at 1.94 seconds. It’s a massive step backwards on the defensive side of the baseball compared to Carlos Narváez, but the pop in his bat is tantalizing. If the hitting program believes they can tinker with him enough to fix his swing-and-miss issues, then it may be worth ponying up the prospect capital to land Goodman at the deadline since he’s under control for so long. #2: Adley Rutschman, Baltimore Orioles I like Rutschman a lot and typically hate seeing him at the plate in a series against the O’s. There are two big reasons I have him ranked number two here, though: He plays for a division rival, so a trade is going to be incredibly difficult to pull off, and he has an injury history that gives me a bit of pause for concern. He landed on the IL just before the most recent series against the Orioles with left wrist inflammation. That’s his third IL stint this year; he was placed on the IL in April with left ankle inflammation and again in June with a concussion. Due to the time spent on the injured list, his 2026 numbers aren’t spectacular. He’s slashing .251/.331/.433 with a .333 wOBA, 114 wRC+, and a 2.3 fWAR. That being said, he has all of the intangibles that the Red Sox are looking for if they decide to upgrade at the catching position. First, his Baseball Savant page gives us a look under the hood to a lot of the information that Craig Breslow is also likely looking at. He grades out in the 82nd percentile in xBA at .270, and his squared-up percentage is the 90th percentile at 32.3%. While all of that is impressive, Rutschman’s whiff, strikeout, and walk percentages are the offensive stats that Breslow is probably drooling over. His whiff percentage is sitting at 15.8%, good for the 92nd percentile, the strikeout percentage is in the 86th percentile at 14.1%, and his walk rate is 69th percentile at 10.6%. To go along with that, his Pull-Air percentage is at 19.3%, good for the top ten percent of hitters in the league. We all know Breslow loves to sign right-handed (or switch, in Rutschman’s case) hitters who can pull the ball in the air on a regular basis. Defensively, Rutschman goes stride for stride with Carlos Narvaez behind the dish. Rutschman is ranked in the 80th percentile in blocks above average, the 99th percentile in caught stealing above average, and the 97th percentile in framing. The lone knock defensively against him is his pop time comes in at 1.95 seconds, good for the 45th percentile. Rutschman is arguably the most all-around catcher potentially available on the trade market, but making a deal of this caliber within the division is going to be incredibly tough, and will likely command a massive overpay for the Orioles to even listen to an offer. Rutschman is a free agent in 2027, so he has an extra year of control over someone like Jeffers, but the price here may be too exorbitant to even consider. #1: Shea Langeliers, Athletics Langeliers is ranked number one because the Red Sox and A’s match up very well on a trade and his offensive profile is made to mash at Fenway Park. He’s battled injuries in his career, but not to the level of Rutschman above. With a capable backup in either Narvaez or Connor Wong, he can see some extended time at DH to help save his legs and hopefully prevent lower body injuries. He’s currently slashing .260/.330/.496 with a .355 wOBA, 125 wRC+, and a 2.7 fWAR. He’s slugged 23 home runs and has 51 RBIs. He also fits the ‘bat speed’ mold that Breslow and company have an affinity for, coming in at the 87th percentile with a 75.3 MPH average swing. His Pull-Air rate is at 21.7% but has been as high as 29.7% in his young career. He’s not a free agent until 2029 as well, so you can bet his price tag will be hefty as well. Like Goodman above though, Langeliers has some holes in his swing. He’s ranked in the 42nd percentile in BB% with an 8.3%, the 40th percentile in K% with a 23%, 36th percentile in chase% with a 31.9%, and the 30th percentile in whiff% with a 28.2%. You could almost copy the same statements that I wrote about Goodman here when it comes to these numbers. He’s going to strike out a lot, and he’s hardly going to walk, but the power is so tantalizing. Like Rutschman and Goodman, the odds of a mid-season trade for a star catcher like Langeliers are incredibly low. But if the front office is going to push their chips into the middle to acquire a bat at a position of need that can put the Red Sox on par with the American League's best, the A's backstop is the one to get. View full article