Brandon Glick

I've been worried about the same thing, but I don't think that makes Naylor the better option for this Red Sox team. Plus, if the Diamondbacks really are going to sell at the deadline, you can bet someone else will trade for Naylor, voiding his chance of getting a QO.

You have no idea how much self restraint I had to exercise not to make Santana references in this piece. Thank you for this.

What a series to begin the second half. The hottest team in baseball at Wrigley Field to face the NL Central-leading Cubs.

When the Red Sox made the baffling decision to trade Rafael Devers in the middle of the season — in the midst of a hot streak, no less — one of the through lines the front office used in their attempt to explain the deal was Devers' immaturity. Indeed, it was well-chronicled this year, as Devers didn't play nicely after the team splurged on Alex Bregman in free agency, displacing the franchise star from his usual home at the hot corner. Then, after settling in to life as a full-time designated hitter, Craig Breslow and company asked Devers to cover for the injured Triston Casas at first base, which he was simply unwilling to do. Thus brought about the stunning deal that sent him out of Boston for good, leaving a big hole in the lineup at both DH and first base. With the team seemingly planning to run a set of platoons at those positions — Masataka Yoshida and Rob Refsnyder at DH, Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro at first — there's an obvious opening for a trade deadline acquisition to take over in the second half. Our @Alex Mayes wrote up a piece detailing a few of the available first base options on the market, all of whom are half-year rentals. I'd wager that the least exciting option of the bunch is actually the best target for the 2025 Red Sox. Carlos Santana is a 39-year-old former catcher playing in his 16th MLB season. He's been a mainstay in the league since 2010, when he first burst onto the scene as a hard-hitting backstop with the Cleveland Guardians. After a strong decade in Ohio, he entered the nomadic phase of his career, slowly transitioning to first base as his body couldn't handle the wear and tear of catching. He arrived in Minnesota in 2024 as a full-timer at the cold corner and promptly won the only Gold Glove of his career, and he's carried over some of that success in his triumphant return to Cleveland this season. It wasn't long ago that the Guardians looked like a postseason contender, but whereas the Red Sox launched themselves back into the fray with a ten-game winning streak prior to the All-Star break, Cleveland took itself out of it with a ten-game losing streak. Santana is playing on a one-year, $12 million contract and has been taking his career year-to-year recently. He wouldn't cost much in terms of prospect capital or financial commitment, making him a perfect fit for a team that may still toe the line between selling and buying at the trade deadline. Offensively, Santana isn't quite the voracious slugger he once was, but he's still plenty productive. Through 89 games (360 plate appearances this season), the veteran is slashing .232/.328/.360, good for a 98 wRC+. His ISO (.129) is down near career-low levels, but his walk (11.9%) and strikeout rates (18.6%) remain positively elite. It's also worth pointing out that his numbers are being dragged down by a disastrous June. In 23 games (90 plate appearances) last month, the 39-year-old slashed .169/.233/.253, good for a pitiful 38 wRC+. His strikeout rate ballooned to 25.6% while his walk rate (7.8%) fell off a cliff. Luckily, he's regained some footing in July, hitting .227/.320/.386 (102 wRC+) in the few weeks leading up to the All-Star break. His strikeout (14.0%) and walk rates (12.0%) have stabilized, and he's back to limiting the soft contact off his bat. It's not quite equivalent to when he produced a ridiculous 182 wRC+ in May, but a better-than-league-average bat still exists inside the switch hitter. Of course, offense isn't the only reason you'd be bringing someone so long in the tooth in. Santana has become a great defender at first base in recent years, and he's on pace for perhaps his best season with the glove yet. His seven Outs Above Average put him on pace to match the 14 OAA he gave Minnesota in 2024, and his seven Defensive Runs Saved nearly match the eight DRS from last year in half the innings. Compared to what Gonzalez (-1 OAA in 224 innings) and Toro (-3 OAA in nearly 325 innings) have given the Red Sox, Santana's defense alone would be worth the price of admission. Also, and this should be obvious from the preamble of this article, Santana is a natural-born leader. From his time as a catcher on a team that made the World Series in 2016 to his recent journeyman swing, he knows how to command the attention of the locker room. And, not that it would be wise to ask him to do so, you can bet the 39-year-old would change positions if it was in the best interest of the team. It's been nearly a decade since he made the World Series with the Guardians, and he hasn't gotten particularly close to returning since. Odds are, he'd do nearly anything on the diamond for the sake of winning. Staring up at a 12-game deficit in the AL Central while in a virtual tie for second with the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals, FanGraphs gives Cleveland a meager 10.3% chance of making the postseason (and an almost-nonexistent 0.7% chance of usurping the Tigers for the division crown). They may only be 4.5 games out of the third Wild Card spot, but they'd need to leap all of the Royals, Twins, Angels, Rangers, Rays, and Mariners to make the dance. It'd be difficult for them to trade Santana, long a fan favorite who willingly chose to return in what could be the swan song of his career, but it's the right decision given his rental status. The Red Sox would be wise to capitalize on the Guardians' unfortunate circumstances. Bringing in Carlos Santana wouldn't just lengthen the lineup and vastly improve the infield defense—it would give the clubhouse another leader. On a team with so many budding young stars, the importance of that can't be overstated. View full article

The Cubs and Red Sox have similar trade deadline needs in the rotation, but can the two franchises agree to a deal that pulls from both rosters' strengths? View full video

The 2025 MLB Draft will again feature just 20 rounds, but there has been a format change. After downsizing from a two-day, 40-round draft to a three-day, 20-round draft, Major League Baseball has now gone to a two-day, 20-round draft. The final 17 rounds (from Rounds 4-20) will happen later today, beginning at 11:30am EST. You can catch it live on MLB Network and MLB.com. The Destination: The Show crew would like to invite you to join us live as we cover the final rounds of the draft There hasn't been a 17-round draft day in a while, but rest assured — there used to be 20-round days, so Talk Sox will have the capacity to cover the duration. After selecting four players on Sunday during the first day of the draft, the Red Sox will make 17 picks on Monday: 118th overall (Round 4) 148th overall (Round 5) 178th overall (Round 6) Following Round 5, the Red Sox will pick 13th in every round for the remainder of the draft. Thus, their draft position is as follows: 178, 208, 238, 268, etc. The Red Sox will have the 13th-largest bonus pool ($12,409,300) in baseball. As a reminder from Baseball America: "In the MLB draft, each pick inside the first 10 rounds comes with assigned slot values. The sum of those slot values creates each team’s bonus pool. From rounds 11-20, players can sign for up to $150,000 without counting towards the bonus pool. Anything beyond that value does count towards the pool." It's also important to remember that teams can exceed their bonus pool allotment by up to five percent before incurring any future pick penalties. No team in bonus pool era has ever exceeded that additional five percent threshold. Once again, Talk Sox will feature the Red Sox Draft Tracker, which will be kept up-to-date not only during the draft but through the entire signing period. So keep coming back for updates! View full article

Let us know your draft thoughts/hopes for tonight and tomorrow!

The 2025 MLB Draft will again feature just 20 rounds, but there has been a format change. After downsizing from a two-day, 40-round draft to a three-day, 20-round draft, Major League Baseball has now gone to a two-day, 20-round draft. The first three rounds (which is a round longer than before) will happen later today, beginning at 6 p.m. You can catch it live on MLB Network and ESPN. The Destination: The Show crew would like to invite you to join us live as we cover the entirety of the first three rounds. The last 17 rounds will take place tomorrow beginning at 11:30 a.m. There hasn't been a 17-round draft day in a while, but rest assured — there used to be 20-round days, so Talk Sox will have the capacity to cover the duration. The Red Sox will make four selections on Day One. 15th overall (Round 1) 33rd overall (Round 1 – CBA Round A) - Acquired in trade involving Quinn Priester and Milwaukee Brewers 75th overall (Round 2 - Compensatory) - Padres forfeited pick to sign Nick Pivetta 87th overall (Round 3) The Red Sox will have the 13th-largest bonus pool ($12,409,300) in baseball. As a reminder from Baseball America: "In the MLB draft, each pick inside the first 10 rounds comes with assigned slot values. The sum of those slot values creates each team’s bonus pool. From rounds 11-20, players can sign for up to $150,000 without counting towards the bonus pool. Anything beyond that value does count towards the pool." It's also important to remember that teams can exceed their bonus pool allotment by up to five percent before incurring any future pick penalties. No team in bonus pool era has ever exceeded that additional five percent threshold. Once again, Talk Sox will feature the Red Sox Draft Tracker, which will be kept up-to-date not only during the draft but through the entire signing period. So keep coming back for updates! View full article

The Red Sox will send three representatives to Atlanta for the 2025 Midsummer Classic, though fans have a right to gripe about a few players who didn't get the call. View full video

First off, this was a good read and you did a great job listing the key points of this whole saga. Second, I do think framing was a huge part of the issue here. Devers definitely let the contract status and "face of the franchise" mantle go a bit to his head — I think he saw how beloved Big Papi was and assumed that would come automatically, rather than having to be earned — but the front office absolutely messed things up here. Breslow is known to be a poor communicator, and it really tanked the relationship fast. All that being said, I still think it was a bad trade. They got a pretty meager return for one of the ~10-15 best hitters in baseball. Sure, they got rid of his money, but this is the Boston Red Sox, and it wasn't a bad contract by any means. I think the front office really fumbled this whole thing.

If the Red Sox win tonight, they'll be a half-game back of 3rd place in the AL East and the 2nd Wild Card in the AL.

Two sweeps in a row?

Unfortunately, they've pulled me back in. I am ready to get hurt again by this team.

Above .500. Playing the Rockies. All-Star break coming up. Dare I say it? The Red Sox might be back.

July 4th in Washington D.C! Of course it's a morning game...

Over at our cousin site, Fish on First, managing editor Ely Sussman put together a list of players the Marlins might deal at the deadline. Is there anyone you want the Red Sox to pursue? Which players Marlins are most likely to sell at trade deadline - Marlins - Fish On First FISHONFIRST.COM Unlike last summer, the Marlins won't be tearing apart their entire roster to load up on prospects, but there are still opportunities for them to cash in on redundant players and sell...

Hopefully, the Red Sox win the first half of this faux double header to take pressure of this one. They could get back to .500 by the end of the night if things go their way.

Hey all, we're going to leave this game thread open for when play resumes, and will make a separate one for tonight's clash.