Brandon Glick

If there was ever a time to make a final stand in the AL East, it begins today.

My very good friend Derek — who is a die-hard Red Sox fan — is celebrating a milestone birthday today. If the Sox get swept by the Angels, he may never forgive them. I know that won't matter to the guys on the field, but it doesn't seem like anything else does right now, either.

Back to .500. Again. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.

The Red Sox could put some distance between themselves and one of the fringe AL Wild Card contenders this series. Might not sound that exciting, but it could prove to be important next month...

If the Red Sox trade for Castillo before 4pm today, they can prevent him from starting against them. Just sayin'.

Lost in everything — the Roman Anthony bomb, the Devers trade, etc — is that the pitching has been UNREAL recently. In this six-game win streak, the team has allowed eight runs total!

Numb. Apathetic. Worse. How else to describe how this feels? All after sweeping the Yankees.

Mookie Betts. Xander Bogaerts. Rafael Devers. The last three faces of the historic Boston Red Sox franchise, all World Series champions, are now playing out the remainder of their primes for the big dogs in the NL West. It's hard to talk about this with any semblance of emotional and analytical clarity, because the value that trio of superstars brought to Boston extended so far beyond the walls of Fenway. The Betts deal, which has been panned ad nauseam for the last half-decade, at least made an iota of sense if you squinted hard enough. An MVP winner in the final year of his deal, the Red Sox's competitive window with their current core had expired (supposedly), and thus, instead of paying him a record amount, the team flipped him for a bundle of prospects and MLB-ready pieces with upside. Even at the time, the return was thought to be weak — and it certainly hasn't aged well — but from a team-building perspective, the logic was understandable, even if the execution was so deeply flawed. This... this is harder to explain. Devers' contract doesn't expire until after the 2033 season, when the third baseman/designated hitter will be 36. He was the last remaining core pillar of that 2018 team, an in-his-prime slugger with superstar bonafides. In case 162-game averages of 33 home runs, 107 RBIs, and a 128 OPS+ aren't enough to make you swoon, he has a career .955 OPS in 26 postseason games, all played before he turned 25 years old. The San Francisco Giants, who have famously struggled for years to attract legitimate stars to their team, have now had one fall directly in their laps for a laughable acquisition cost. They benefit tremendously from a bizarre situation, one which only is made weirder by the fact that the Red Sox swept the rival New York Yankees mere hours before officially completing the deal. Against the Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays, the team has gone 7-2 over their last nine, a stretch that has them back over .500 and in spitting distance of a Wild Card spot. This deal raises so, so many questions, both now and in the future. What does this mean for Alex Bregman's future, now that the team has opened up third base and plenty of salary over the long haul? How did the Red Sox get such a light haul for one of the sport's most recognizable players? What will the locker room reaction be to losing the team's premier star? Is the front office safe if the team falters in the second half? However, no question is more important than this: what will Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Kristian Campbell, and every future star free agent think of the team's willingness to put its own ego over loyalty to its biggest stars? Even if Devers really did want out of Boston — which is rooted in the fractured relationship the front office has with him over the very public posturing during his position change to DH — this doesn't look good, no matter how the PR team will try to spin it. This is the Luka Dončić trade of baseball, and Craig Breslow is Nico Harrison. The 2025 season is now no longer the team's top priority, despite their recent flirtation with winning. The future is here, if only because the front office and ownership are forcing everyone to look forward. Grief — especially grief born of losing someone you've come to cherish — is never easy to handle, even in a large, communal setting. At least Red Sox fans can say they already know the feeling. View full article

Did someone say Father's Day sweep?

A three-game win streak. Six of the last eight. We have never been more back than we are right now. I am predicting a 44-run win tonight, since that will give the Sox a higher run differential than the Yankees.

The pitching matchup is in our favor. Home field advantage is in our favor. All I'm saying is every sweep starts off with a win.

The Midsummer Classic is a month away, and the Red Sox have a number of worthy candidates to represent Boston in the MLB All-Star Game. View full video

The best prospect in baseball has been called up by the Red Sox, and now the team must decide who will make room for him. View full video

This would be an excellent series win after the Yankees series (and leading into the next Yankees series). Would love to see Anthony build off that clutch double yesterday, too.

Was that a ridiculously heartbreaking game? Yes. Did I stay up all night to watch Roman Anthony get his first MLB hit, only for Refsnyder to pinch hit for him? Also yes. But today is a new day.

ROMAN ANTHONY TIME!!!!!

At long last, the time has finally arrived. We here at Talk Sox have been clamoring for this day for a while, and it's a relief to finally report that, yes, Roman Anthony is coming up to the big leagues to make his MLB debut. It's currently unclear if he'll be added to tonight's lineup against the Tampa Bay Rays, but expect him to make his debut this series at Fenway Park regardless. Anthony, the Red Sox's number one prospect and the No. 1 overall prospect in baseball according to MLB.com, is the best player that has proliferated through Boston's farm system in quite some time. He's got 50-grade tools across the board, with his hit and power traits being considered well-above average by most scouts and industry experts. This season with Triple-A Worcester, Anthony is batting .288/.423/.491 in 212 at-bats. He's hit ten home runs and struck out nearly as often as he's walked (56 strikeouts, 51 walks). His 146 wRC+ actually falls shy of his mark last year (147), and the 21-year-old (born May 13, 2004) has a career .879 OPS in over 1,100 MiLB at-bats. It appears he'll replace Wilyer Abreu, who has been struggling mightily in recent weeks following a hot start and is now headed to the injured list. Having played all three outfield positions throughout his time in the minors, Anthony should get plenty of run in Boston, though he'll primarily play right field so long as Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela are healthy and on the roster. Originally drafted in the second round (79th overall) of the 2022 MLB Draft, Anthony has steadily climbed the minor league ranks and has now emerged as arguably the most talented player across all of MiLB. With Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell already up — and Kyle Teel having been shipped off to the Chicago White Sox in the Garrett Crochet blockbuster — Anthony's debut will mark the final one for the team's vaunted "Big Three". Expectations will be sky-high for the all-galaxy prospect, but if there's anyone who can surpass them, it's Anthony. At 32-35, the Red Sox are barely hanging on to contention; perhaps Anthony's belated call-up will prove to be the spark plug that turns this ship around. UPDATE: Anthony is batting fifth tonight and will make his debut versus the Rays. Buckle up. Update II: The team is also selecting the contract of Brian Van Belle from Triple-A Worcester. He has a 2.29 ERA with 41 strikeouts and seven walks in 51 innings this year. In order to make room on the 40-man roster, Boston has designated Robert Stock for assignment (again). What do you think about the Red Sox's decision to call up Roman Anthony? What are you most excited for in his MLB debut? Sound off in the comments! View full article

Got the Rays and Yankees on tap this week. A couple more series wins could get the Red Sox back into the thick of things... WHO CARES???? ROMAN ANTHONY IS HERE!!!!

Yankees v Red Sox on Sunday Night Baseball? What more could you ask for? [Besides a winning season...}

If there was ever a series where a team could turn its season around...

At least after this series we get... the Yankees, Rays, and Yankees. Yay.