Brandon Glick

That 15-game winning streak officially broke something in Craig Breslow. He's done trying to build slowly and methodically around a core group of prospects. Instead, he's certain it's time to go all-in. Following their blockbuster move for Adley Rutschman earlier in the day and a swap of Tyler Uberstine for Eli White, the Boston Red Sox have now traded former top prospect Marcelo Mayer to the San Francisco Giants, reuniting him with Rafael Devers. In exchange, they're getting reliever Erik Miller. This is an aggressive move by the front office, and not just because Miller is a 28-year-old reliever with a 2.76 ERA. Mayer was one of the fabled "Big 3" Red Sox prospects alongside Kristian Campbell and Roman Anthony, both of whom signed long-term extensions with the franchise. The former, unfortunately, is struggling in Triple-A this year and comes with a lot of buyer's remorse, while the latter has looked elite while healthy but is currently dealing with a long-term hand injury. Mayer is an excellent infield defender and was the supposed heir to Trevor Story's throne at shortstop. Unfortunately, he just didn't hit at the big-league level (.625 OPS, 69 wRC+) and, like Campbell, has regressed in 2026. He should earn a lot of playing time in San Francisco, where the rebuilding Giants can afford to let him figure things out in low-pressure games. As for Miller, he fills the left-handed set-up man quota Breslow has been desperate to meet. His peripherals are outstanding, as he ranks in the 90th percentile or above in strikeout rate, whiff rate, expected batting average allowed, average exit velocity allowed, hard-hit rate, and groundball rate. In other words, he does almost everything well on the mound, which makes it easy to buy into his 2.76 ERA despite terrible command. He's also under team control through 2029, meaning he could be the closer of the future once Aroldis Chapman finally decides to hang 'em up. Losing Mayer is a painful price to pay, but Miller is good enough to make that gamble pay off. The Sox are also receiving Carlos Gutierrez in the deal, per MassLive's Christopher Smith. The 21-year-old outfielder has a 124 wRC+ in High-A this season. View full article

That is my reaction as well, but such is the price of doing business within the division. There's an AL East tax being applied here, for sure.

Just wanted to share some updates on where this is at, as far as the staff can tell: The deal is, in principle, agreed upon. Names that have been frequently mentioned: Anthony Eyanson and Franklin Primera. The medicals are the hold up. Rutschman is currently on the IL with a wrist injury. IF the medicals fail, that does not mean the deal has to fall through. An alternative prospect package could be in play. This isn't stopping the Sox from talking to other teams about deals. Zach Neto's name has come up repeatedly since last night.

Update: The deal, as expected, is hung up in the medicals stage, per Chris Cotillo. Rutschman is dealing with a wrist injury (tell me where you've heard that one before) and missed time due to an ankle injury and concussion earlier this year. Update 2: The deal is done, per Jeff Passan. Still waiting on official terms of the deal. Update 3: As expected, the haul is MASSIVE. Carlos Narvaez, Anthony Eyanson, Kyson Witherspoon, and Enddy Azocar are all heading back to Baltimore. At least the Red Sox are also getting Jake Rogers. Original story as follows. Well folks, Craig Breslow has officially heard your complaints. After playing things far too passively at last year's trade deadline, he flipped Connelly Early for Curtis Mead in the summer's first blockbuster. And now, he's going even bigger, picking up Adley Rutschman from the Baltimore Orioles. After a year and a half in which he seemed greatly diminished by injuries, Rutschman is back on his game this year. He’d lost some bat speed; it’s back. He’d lost a bit of the edge he once provided on defense; it’s back. He’s a switch-hitting catcher with a strong track record who might have a gear we haven’t seen yet. It’s all too little and too late for the Orioles, though. They had a lousy 2025 and are headed in the same direction this year. They committed to a younger catcher, Samuel Basallo, both because of his huge power potential and because he was willing to sign a team-friendly extension; Rutschman wasn’t. Their surplus behind the plate turns into the Boston Red Sox's gain. There's no word on the return yet, but it'll be sizable, even before factoring in a division rival tax. There are significant fallout questions to address here. What happens to Carlos Narvaez now that a three-time All-Star is in the mix? Will the Red Sox try to enter extension conversations with Rutschman, who is 28 and under team control through 2027, before the lockout? What else is on tap for Breslow today? No matter what the answers to those questions are, what matters most is that the Red Sox have their catcher of the future. Rutschman still hasn't recaptured the magic of his first few seasons when he was worth a whopping 11.1 fWAR, but he's been excellent this year both at the plate (115 wRC+, .764 OPS) and behind it (+9 Fielding Run Value). He's also a switch-hitter who crushes southpaws (.783 OPS against left-handed pitching in his career), filling the quotient of a right-handed slugger the team has needed since Mead went down in his second at-bat with the team. Once the deal has been finalized and the prospect package is confirmed, we'll have plenty more to break down about this trade. View full article

MON TUE WED THU FRI TOT Tyron Guerrero 0 0 11 0 0 11 Ryan Watson 0 12 0 0 0 12 Justin Slaten 5 0 19 0 0 24 Jovani Morán 11 13 0 0 16 40 Greg Weissert 0 0 15 10 0 25 Garrett Whitlock 11 0 13 0 0 24 Brayan Bello 0 0 0 0 58 58 Aroldis Chapman 24 0 14 11 0 49

The Boston Red Sox wrapped up July at 21-4. Their .840 win percentage is the best in a month in franchise history (min. 15 games). In other words, good job fellas.

MON TUE WED THU FRI TOT Tyron Guerrero 19 0 0 0 13 32 Ryan Watson 0 0 14 0 0 14 Justin Slaten 0 0 19 0 0 19 Jovani Morán 0 0 23 0 0 23 Greg Weissert 0 0 0 0 20 20 Garrett Whitlock 11 0 12 0 12 35 Brayan Bello 0 0 85 0 0 85 Aroldis Chapman 22 0 13 0 23 58 Alec Gamboa 0 0 14 0 0 14

Cy Young implications in today's game?

SUN MON TUE WED THU TOT Tyron Guerrero 0 19 0 0 0 19 Ryan Watson 19 0 0 14 0 33 Justin Slaten 0 0 0 19 0 19 Jovani Morán 15 0 0 23 0 38 Greg Weissert 12 0 0 0 0 12 Garrett Whitlock 0 11 0 12 0 23 Brayan Bello 0 0 0 85 0 85 Aroldis Chapman 0 22 0 13 0 35 Alec Gamboa 0 0 0 14 0 14

T-minus 11 days until the trade deadline...

Against all odds, here we are: back to .500. The playoffs are no longer just a pipe dream.

MLB Gameday doesn't have a placard for the second matchup... FanGraphs currently lists Rivera as the starter for the Sox, but I wouldn't be surprised if Bello piggybacks.

Who's ready for some second half baseball?