Nick John

The trade deadline has come and gone as the Red Sox only made two moves in an attempt to help improve their roster. Acquiring Steven Matz of the St. Louis Cardinals and Dustin May of the Los Angeles Dodgers, it seems they planned to beef up their pitching. And while it wasn’t the deadline many were hoping for, there may be a silver lining when it comes to Dustin May. May, a former top prospect of the Dodgers and a talented, yet oft-injured pitcher, was the only rotation help that arrived at the deadline. Just 27 years old, May hasn’t reached his prime just yet. but injuries have left him with limited time on the field as he missed most of 2021 from requiring Tommy John surgery and then pitched in six games in 2022 after rehabbing only to have his season end on September 24 due to lower back tightness. The 2023 campaign was more of the same, needing a Tommy John revision surgery in early July after being on the injured list since mid-May. He would only make nine starts that season and go on to miss the entire 2024 season due to injury rehab and then later needing surgery for an esophageal tear. The 2025 season has seen May at his healthiest since 2020, and he has pitched to mixed results. In 19 appearances, May has gone 6-7 with a 4.85 ERA in 104 innings pitched. In that span, he’s walked 43 batters for a 9.5% walk rate and has struck out 97 batters for a 21.5% strikeout rate. May has not been a big-time strikeout pitcher, with a strikeout per nine innings of 8.39 on the season. Despite that number looking rather pedestrian, it is actually considered to be above average. In fact, it would actually be the second-highest out of all Red Sox starters, just behind Garrett Crochet. Compared to the rest of the American League, it would also place him just behind Max Fried’s 8.40 mark. Looking at his walks per nine innings, May would immediately be the second-worst out of all starters on the staff with a 3.72. The only starter he would be better than would be Walker Buehler. However, despite having a high walk rate, opponents hitting .243 against him and a WHIP of 1.35, May has managed to strand runners at a 70.1% rate. This has been, in part, due to May’s ability to get ground balls while needed. On the season. May has gotten opposing batters to hit the ball on the ground 43.8% of the time, which is unfortunately a career-worst for the pitcher, but a promising floor for such an important metric. On the opposite end, he’s allowing fly balls at a career-high 37.8% rate and has given up 16 home runs on the season. In his previous five seasons pitching combined, he had only given up 19 home runs. One thing is for certain with May: he will need to get the ball more on the ground at Fenway than he did pitching with the Dodgers, especially as he’s allowing a hard-hit rate of 35% and an average exit velocity of 90.8 mph. Batters have hit him hard when they make contact. One positive to build off of for May is his four-seam fastball, as batters are hitting just .111/.168/.206 against it on the season. While Red Sox pitching coach Andrew Bailey seems to like movement more than straight gas, May might benefit from relying more on a four-seamer that averages around 95.5 mph. It has also been his second-best pitch in terms of generating whiffs, with opposing batters whiffing at a 26.2% rate against the offering, so an increase in its usage could result in more swings and misses in his game. One pitcher who has seen an improvement this season when relying more on his fastball is May’s new teammate Brayan Bello, who has looked like a different pitcher after honing in on his fastball usage. Plus, another similarity between the two is the two pitchers rely on similar pitches, as two of Bello's top three most-used pitches are his sinker and sweeper, just like May. The other three pitches in May’s arsenal this year are his cutter, sinker and sweeper (though FanGraphs has it listed as a slider). May dropped his curveball and changeup rates this season and altered his pitch usage. The sweeper is his main pitch now, being tossed 41.1% of the time, while his sinker has been his second-most used pitch at 36.1%. The four-seam fastball has been used 16.1%, and finally the cutter has been tossed just 6.7% of the time, a downgrade from the 14.8% usage it saw in 2023. That may be for the best, as his cutter has been his worst pitch this season, opponents hitting .520/.406/.840 against it. In the same vein, May has also seen trouble with his sinker, as opponents have a slash line of .285/.347/.589 to go along with 10 of May’s 16 home runs allowed being from the sinker. That's not to say either pitch is a lost cause, but if the Red Sox would like to streamline his effectiveness for the season's second half, they could encourage May to deploy a heavier fastball-sweeper mix. May is very much a rental starter, expected to fill in the back-end of the rotation from now until the end of the season in a better manner than Richard Fitts or Walker Buehler has done so far. Likely to slot in as the team’s number four pitcher, May will just be expected to go out there and provide five or six competitive innings as the team looks to make the playoffs. It isn’t a bad upgrade to the rotation, but when it’s the only upgrade, it can look bad. Had the Red Sox acquired a second starting pitcher to go along with him, fans may have looked at this move in a better light. And, if he can improve his sinker even slightly, there’s a chance the Red Sox might have got an exciting young pitcher they could attempt to re-sign for cheap. If it doesn’t work out, then they can let him walk in the offseason. Should the Red Sox tap into the potential and skill that had him renowned as a top prospect before injuries, this trade could age extremely well. If not... well, let's hope James Tibbs gets crowded out of a busy Dodgers' roster, too. View full article

The Red Sox continued their post-deadline trend of promoting prospects, as outfielder Miguel Bleis is on his way to Portland per Beyond The Monster’s Andrew Parker. Bleis, who is 21 years old, signed as an international free agent in January of 2021 and received the largest bonus that year. His potential was viewed so highly that, entering 2023, he was a Top-100 prospect on several prospect lists despite only playing in the Florida Complex League. Since signing, he has dealt with several injuries that cost him time in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. but the potential he showcases at times helps to explain what the Red Sox and scouts saw in him back in 2021. Bleis is currently ranked 12th on MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 Red Sox prospects (19th on TalkSox) and will look to showcase his potential in Portland while aiming to play in a career high number of games. So far in 77 games, Bleis is hitting .226/.314/.422 with 15 doubles, a triple, 13 home runs and 41 RBIs. The outfielder is incredibly talented yet very inconsistent. He will be Rule 5 Draft eligible this offseason, and so his time in Portland could also serve as a showcase for teams who might be interested in his skills. View full rumor

Following the trade deadline, the Red Sox are promoting one of their top prospects to Worcester. As reported by Beyond the Monster’s Andrew Parker, the Red Sox are promoting infielder Mikey Romero to Triple-A Worcester. Romero, a former first-round draft pick, is likely being promoted to fill the roster spot left by traded corner infielder Blaze Jordan. Romero, who was initially drafted as a shortstop has seen his time in the field split between third base, second base and shortstop. He has also spent time as the designated hitter. Known for his offensive potential, Romero appeared in 65 games for Portland, where he hit .250/.313/.436 with 17 doubles, four triples, eight home runs, and 39 RBIs. What may be most impressive for Romero is the fact that he’s on pace to play in the most games of his professional career, beating the 78 games played last season. Romero will likely see the majority of his playing time come at third base and shortstop as the team sees how he can handle the increased level of play. View full rumor

The Boston Red Sox acquired right-handed pitcher Dustin May from the Los Angeles Dodgers per Jeff Passan. After missing out on Merrill Kelly earlier in the day, the Red Sox managed to acquire May and add the young pitcher to their rotation. In 19 games this season, May has gone 6-7 with a 4.85 ERA in 104 innings pitched. May was a former top prospect with the Dodgers and will help provide innings after the Sox have seen injuries affect their pitching depth. May, who missed all of 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery and undergoing surgery for an esophageal tear, has been a mixed bag of performances. A free agent after the season, May is entirely a rental for the remainder of the season. This is a pure buy-low opportunity on someone the team may have wanted to sign over the offseason; better to get him in the system now and try to work on an extension than compete with 29 other teams in free agency. Despite his numbers looking rather pedestrian, batters are only hitting .111 against his four-seamer on the season, the second-lowest mark in the majors this season. The 27-year-old pitcher has a 21.5% strikeout rate thanks in part to that fastball, which has averaged 95 mph on the season. What may work out the best for May with the Red Sox is his 44.6% ground ball rate, thanks in part to the infield defense led by Alex Bregman, Trevor Story and (upon his return) Marcelo Mayer. Batters are currently hitting .243 against May on the season with an average exit velocity of 90.8 mph on balls put in play. He's giving up a career-high barrel rate at 8.6% and a career-high hard-hit rate of 43.6%. As first reported by Robert Murray of FanSided, the Red Sox sent outfield prospect James Tibbs III as the main piece back to the Dodgers. Tibbs was acquired back on Father's Day as part of the Rafael Devers trade with the San Francisco Giants. He was considered the "centerpiece" prospect at the time, but he was heavily blocked in the outfield by the major league roster and top prospect Jhostynxon Garcia. Joining him to the Dodgers will be 2024 fourth-round pick Zach Ehrhard as reported by MassLive's Christopher Smith. Ehrhard is another outfielder who has split the 2025 season between Greenville and Portland. Another player blocked in the outfield by the major league roster and Garcia, he will now have an opportunity to make it to the majors in a similarly-loaded Dodgers system. View full article

Outfield is locked for the next half decade with Anthony, Rafaela and Abrue. Not to mention who knows what happens with Duran. By the time you need to worry about the outfield again you'll have younger guys making their way through the system again.

The MLB trade deadline is today! The Red Sox appear to be in the middle of most rumors as they attempt to acquire talent that will help get them back into the playoffs for the first time since 2021. With a loaded farm system, they have plenty of pieces to move, but realistically, what might each of their top prospects be worth? We’ll be looking at three prospects who could be shipped out by the end of the trade deadline and what similar players were able to get back in a trade. For the sake of simplicity, I will being using the MLB Pipeline rankings when it comes to the prospects discussed. Jhostynxon Garcia, OF, Red Sox #2 Prospect Why He Should be Traded Garcia is a talented young outfielder who is blocked from playing in Boston. He’s a Top-100 prospect on MLB Pipeline and with the Red Sox outfield being set for presumably the next half-decade, there’s no reason to not make him available in the right trade. 2024 was a bit of a coming out party for Garcia as he played well at three different stops in the minor leagues, to the point he was added to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. 2025 has been more of the same, as he’s shown he’s capable of handling Triple-A pitching just fine. The only issue is there’s no room for him in Boston. It would only make sense to move someone of his caliber while his value is at its (likely) highest. As they say, “You have to give something to get something,” and well, Garcia might be the best piece they could give up in a trade, depending on who you ask. Recent Trade Comparison: Pete Crow-Armstrong for Javier Báez and Trevor Williams (2021) In no way am I saying Garcia is going to be the next Armstrong, but the two players are similar when it comes to their prospect rankings near the deadline. Armstrong was the Mets’ fifth-ranked prospect in 2021 and wasn’t even a Top-100 prospect at the time of the trade (though that was due to a serious injury). Garcia himself is a fringe Top-100 prospect (MLB Pipeline has him as one, but other prospect lists don’t). The Mets were able to turn their fifth-best prospect in 2021 into a two-time All-Star who, at the time, had 22 home runs, and a pitcher in Williams who gave them 32 1/3 innings of 3.06 ERA baseball between the bullpen and rotation. A power-hitting bat and a steady relief arm are two things the Red Sox currently need, and if Garcia could deliver them all by himself, it would be a fair trade. Mikey Romero, SS, Red Sox #8 Prospect Why He Should be Traded Romero was drafted back in 2022 and was viewed as one of the best hitters in that draft’s high school class, and he’s shown it when healthy. The problem is his health, as he’s missed time in every season of his professional career due to various injuries. This year, he’s currently on pace to play the most games in his career while also improving his walk rate. This is a situation where a player's talent is being held back by availability. If you can move him in a deal while his value is rather high (he’s in Boston’s top 10) and improve the major league roster, you must do it. There’s no guarantee his body will hold up. Add to it that the infield at the major league level is packed for the time being, and Romero may not see a chance to reach the majors here. Recent Trade Comparison: Nick Yorke traded for Quinn Priester (2024) We don’t need to look far to see a trade that could fit something similar for Romero. Nick Yorke was Boston’s sixth-ranked prospect last year but had no path to the majors. He had put up a decent season in 2024 up to the trade deadline and the Red Sox, not wanting to risk losing him in the Rule 5 Draft, decided to move him. In the deal, they got a former first-round pick back in Quinn Priester, someone who had previously been a Top-100 prospect but had struggled in the majors with Pittsburgh. The Red Sox acquired him with the thought of retooling his pitch selection and having him be starting pitching depth for the remainder of the 2024 season. The only difference here is that that Yorke had played more games than Romero, and he had a better offensive campaign up to the trade deadline last season. James Tibbs III, OF, Red Sox #5 Prospect Why He Should be Traded Tibbs, being one of the main returning pieces for Rafael Devers, makes it odd to think that the Sox only acquired him to trade him. Well, much like Garcia. he has no path to the majors in Boston. as he’s expected to be limited defensively to left field and possibly first base. Because of that, it would make sense for Boston to move him before he loses value. A first-round pick last season, he was viewed as having one of the best combinations of swing decisions and hard contact in the draft. Since coming to the Red Sox organization, he hasn’t been as good, putting up only a .609 OPS in 28 games. The Red Sox would be wise to move him in a deal, even if he's unlikely to be the centerpiece in a blockbuster. Tibbs is still full of potential, and it’s likely that another team would love to add him to their system and tap into that potential. Recent Trade Comparison: Greg Deichmann and Daniel Palencia traded for Andrew Chafin 2021 While the trade was a two-for-one, the main piece was Deichmann, who was the A’s ninth-ranked prospect in 2021 and was having a better offensive season than Tibbs has had with Portland so far. The A’s were able to get, at the time, a valuable left-handed pitcher who had been working as a set-up man in Chicago. Of course, Palencia was a fireballer who has turned into a star closer for the Cubs, highlighting the risk of trading prospects in deals like these. View full article

The platoon of Romy/Abe right now, plus the fact that they're teaching Campbell first who they just signed to that extension, plus Casas will be back some point next season. He was never going to play in Boston

The trade deadline is roughly 18 hours away, and the Red Sox have made their first trade in the wee hours of Thursday morning. In a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals, the Red Sox are finalizing a trade to acquire left-handed reliever Steven Matz. The deal is currently agreed to and is pending medical review to be finalized as first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan: The return for Matz is corner infielder Blaze Jordan as first reported by Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. Jordan, a former third-round pick in the 2020 draft, had made it to Triple-A Worcester this season after opening the year with Double-A Portland. Jordan was the Red Sox's 17th-ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline, though an adjustment was surely due after his strong campaign. In 87 games this season Jordan was hitting .304/.374/.494 with 22 doubles, a triple, 12 home runs and 61 RBIs. His promotion to Boston seemed unlikely, blocked at both first base and third base, and he was set to be Rule 5 Draft eligible for his second consecutive winter. Instead, the Red Sox get a left-handed reliever that has kept left-handed batters to a stat line of .179/.216/.226 in 89 plate appearances this season. Given Chaim Bloom's scheduled takeover of the Cardinals' front office this coming offseason, it's no surprise he targeted one of his former picks in Boston. Matz has made 172 starts in his MLB career, though he's thrived as a reliever over the last 12 months in St. Louis. Expect the Red Sox to keep him in the bullpen for the second half. More to come... View full article

It’s been an interesting season for Kristian Campbell, as the rookie broke camp with the Red Sox and opened the season on a hot streak that had fans picturing him as the Rookie of the Year just two weeks into the season. He even received a massive extension, signifying his place as a core piece of the future. It's been all downhill from there, as Campbell struggled mightily after April, hitting just .134/.184/.171 in the month of May. In June, Campbell was sent down to Triple-A Worcester to work on some things offensively and to get work at first base as he was one of the worst, if not the worst, defender in the major leagues while at second base with -14 defensive runs saved. Since going down to Worcester, Campbell has finally started to look like himself while learning a new position. In 28 games since his demotion, Campbell is hitting .267/.398/.438 with four doubles, a triple, four home runs and 14 RBIs. But when we take a deeper look into it, is Campbell improving on the issues he faced at the major leagues? One of his biggest issues was an inability to pull inside pitches, mostly hitting them to the opposite field for easy outs or striking out (not including that home run in Detroit that he just muscled out to right field). Before his demotion on June 20, Campbell had an exit velocity of 88.6 mph while only barreling up the ball at a 5.1% rate. To go with that, he was chasing pitches outside of the zone at a 23.4% rate (a rather good number as he was in the 76th percentile), but whiffing on 27.3% of pitches he swung at in general and striking out at a 27.4% rate. What really hurt him was that he was only pulling balls at a 28.7% rate, going to the opposite field at a 33.8% clip and back up the middle at 37.6% of the time. Those numbers have slightly changed in the time he’s been in Worcester. It hasn’t come easy, as Campbell began his return to Worcester going just 9-for-45 in his first nine games. However, in the span from July 19 to July 27, he has been on fire, seemingly getting back on track to being the hitter that made him a top prospect. In that nine game stretch, he hit .407/.484/.667 with a 13% walk rate and a 23% strikeout rate in 31 plate appearances. This included Campbell crushing a home run to left at 104.3 mph. Since his demotion, Campbell has actually improved upon pulling the ball with Worcester, now up to a 47.8% rate. That does come with the caveat that he's rarely hitting the ball up the middle (16.4%), while going to the opposite field 35.8% of the time. His timing remains a work in progress, hence why he's still hitting the ball on the ground so often. With Worcester, he's hitting groundballs 51.5% of the time and line drives at a 28.8% rate. Unfortunately, his fly balls have dropped to a paltry 19.7% clip. He still needs to work on getting the ball in the air and pulling it to left more, something that would allow him to take advantage of the Green Monster in Boston. It’s been a slow improvement, but when learning a whole new position while working on your hitting mechanics, things are rarely going to be smooth. It's promising that his .171 ISO is a big jump over his number in Boston (.122), and his 127 wRC+ with Worcester paints a promising picture for the future. Could Campbell return to the team after the trade deadline if they fail to acquire a first baseman? Defensively, Campbell has only played 16 games at first base, but in that span, he’s yet to make an error in the 133 2/3 innings he’s played in the field. It’s a small group of data, but with the Red Sox needing first production as Abraham Toro has fallen off in July, the team may decide to give Campbell another opportunity in the majors, this time at the cold corner. Doing so would also allow them to save prospects and other resources to use in a trade to improve their rotation and/or bullpen. He’s young, this being his age-23 season, and is still learning. People need to remember he went through High-A, Double-A and Triple-A last season before making his major league debut on Opening Day this year. Campbell is smart and he’s showing he can make the adjustments when given time; it shouldn't be long before he’s back in Boston helping the team. View full article

The trade deadline is now 26 hours away, and the Red Sox are attempting to upgrade their roster. Their biggest need appears to be starting pitching, as the team has been linked to starters Mitch Keller and Dylan Cease. Now, Rob Bradford of WEEI reports that the Red Sox have shown interest in pitchers Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Along with that, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR reports that the Red Sox have been monitoring Sandy Alcantara of the Miami Marlins. All three starters are likely to be moved before the deadline and have the potential to upgrade the Red Sox rotation based on past pedigree. What do you think? Should the Red Sox pursue any of these three? Is there a different starter they should go after? Leave your thoughts in the comments down below. View full rumor

The Boston Red Sox made a few promotions Sunday night as pitchers Connelly Early and David Sandlin are being promoted to Triple-A Worcester per Beyond The Monster’s Andrew Parker. The duo is seen as two of Boston’s top pitching prospects, with Early being ranked as the Sox’s sixth-best prospect and Sandlin the 12th on MLB Pipeline. Both starters opened the season with Double-A Portland, and it was viewed as a matter of time until they were called up to Worcester. Early, drafted in the fifth round of the 2023 draft, has made incredible strides this season after ending 2024 with Portland. In 15 games this season, 12 starts, Early has gone 7-2 with a 2.51 ERA in 71 2/3 innings. In that span, he struck out 96 batters and only walked 29 for a strikeout per walk rate of 3.31. So far this season, Early has a strikeout rate of 32.3% and a walk rate of 9.8%, while limiting opposing hitters to a .198 batting average. Sandlin was acquired by the Kansas City Royals in February 2024, just as spring training was beginning for John Schreiber. Much like Early, Sandlin has also shown great improvement this season as he’s managed to go deeper into outings and limit his walks. In 17 games this season, 13 starts, Sandlin has gone 5-4 with a 3.61 ERA in 82 1/3 innings pitched (a career high). He’s also struck out 86 batters while walking just 27. While his strikeout rate is down this season, Sandlin has instead focused on allowing batters to put the ball in play when a strikeout isn’t necessary. His strikeout rate has dropped to 25.4% from 33.2% last season, and his walk rate is 8.0%. Opponents are also hitting just .226 against the right-hander while his FIP is at a career low of 3.29. The two will likely continue to pitch in both the rotation and as long men out of the bullpen through the remainder of the season. If they continue to impress in Worcester, there’s a chance one or both could be called up to Boston as reinforcements. What do you think about the promotions? Too soon? Should they have been earlier in the season? Do either of them make it to Boston this year? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View full rumor

When you think of the Red Sox and Yankees, it's usually about their historic rivalry, but it could be slightly different due in part to the trade deadline. Per Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Yankees are interested in David Hamilton. Hamilton would be an interesting trade to the Yankees. While just 27 years old, he has had a rough offensive season. Hitting just .179/.229/.276 with three doubles, three home runs, and 12 RBIs in 133 plate appearances. His most promising skill is his speed. So far in 176 career games, he's stolen 50 bases while being caught just eight times. This season, Hamilton has seen a drop-off in performance and was recently demoted to Triple-A Worcester before being recalled due to Marcelo Mayer's wrist injury. With the ability to play both second base and shortstop, along with his speed, making him a valuable late-game pinch runner, the Red Sox may be hesitant to trade him to a division rival. Should the Red Sox entertain a phone call with their rivals? Should they refuse to trade him to New York? Leave your thoughts down below in the comments. View full rumor

Just as the Boston Red Sox were seemingly getting back to full health, they were struck by injury once more. This time the team will be without rookie Marcelo Mayer as he hits the 10-day injured list with a right wrist sprain. Mayer was forced to leave the Red Sox's latest game, being seen on camera pointing to his wrist. Mayer did say that it was only a sprain and not hamate or broken bone related. In 44 games, Mayer was hitting .228/.272/.402 with eight doubles, a triple, four home runs and 10 RBIs. Mayer's greatest production was defensively as he bounced between second base and third base and played excellent defense despite coming up through the system as a shortstop. The severity of the injury isn’t known but in response to the injury, David Hamilton was recalled from Worcester. Alex Cora also said that Ceddanne Rafaela will play more second base for the time being. The move to the middle infield for Rafaela will clear up the outfield logjam and will likely make the starting outfield be Roman Anthony in left field, Jarren Duran in center field and Wilyer Abreu in right field. Do you think this is just a minor injury and Mayer will be back quickly? Could it be a longer absence? Should Rafaela be in center field regardless? Leave your thoughts below in the comments. View full rumor

Payton TolleFranklin AriasLuis PeralesJhostynxon GarciaJames Tibbs IIIBrandon ClarkeKyson WitherspoonConnelly EarlyJuan ValeraMikey RomeroDorian SotoDavid SandlinAnthony EyansonMiguel BleisJustin GonzalesJedixson PaezYoeilin CespedesMarcus PhillipsBlaze JordanHenry Godbout

Payton TolleFranklin AriasLuis PeralesJhostynxon GarciaJames Tibbs IIIBrandon ClarkeKyson WitherspoonConnelly EarlyJuan ValeraMikey RomeroDorian SotoDavid SandlinAnthony EyansonMiguel BleisJustin GonzalesJedixson PaezYoeilin CespedesMarcus PhillipsBlaze JordanHenry Godbout