Ryan Salvaggio

As the dust settled and the final reports came in on what the Boston Red Sox were sending back to the Baltimore Orioles in the jaw-dropping Adley Rutschman trade, the belief seemed to be a consensus one, especially among those who closely follow the prospect side of the game: “Wow did the Red Sox overpay in the deal!” That belief was justifiable with Boston sending their numbers two, four, and five prospects (Anthony Eyanson, Kyson Witherspoon, and Enddy Azocar) along with big leaguer Carlos Narváez, and a Player To Be Named Later who ended up being Harold Rivas, the Sox's No. 13 prospect. They would of course follow that up later in the day by sending out a former number one prospect in Marcelo Mayer to acquire San Francisco Giants lefty reliever Erik Miller. While fans will debate if too much was given up to secure Rutschman, or if the plug was pulled too quickly on Mayer, one question that should without a doubt be on fans minds is this: Did Craig Breslow’s aggressive approach signify a shift in the club’s philosophy to prioritize known commodities rather than banking on prospect potential? If that answer is yes… well then it’s about damn time. If you’ve followed the Red Sox since they drafted Mayer fourth overall in 2021, making him the highest pick in franchise history, there’s a phrase ownership has been preaching that looked to be setting up the foundation of the franchise for years to come: ‘The Core Four.’ That phrase of course refers to Boston’s quartet of highly glamorized prospects including Mayer, Kyle Teel, Roman Anthony, and at first Nick Yorke, but later transitioned to Kristian Campbell after Yorke was dealt to Pittsburgh in 2024. These four prospects were looked at as nearly untouchable early on, so much so that any trade talks involving Mayer were seemingly shut down, Anthony was granted an eight-year, $130 million extension just 46 games into his big-league career, and the Driveline darling that was Campbell earned an even more egregious eight-year, $60 million extension just eight games in. I say "nearly untouchable" because unfortunately for Teel, he was the odd-man out when the Red Sox first bit the bullet on trading prospects; they shipped him along with Braden Montgomery, Chase Meidroth, and Wikelman Gonzalez to the White Sox for Garrett Crochet in the winter of 2024. At the time of the deal, Teel ranked fourth in Boston’s system and 25th in all of baseball (per MLB Pipeline). Montgomery ranked fifth and 54th. Meidroth and Gonzalez were 11th and 14th on the Red Sox's top 30. Surely, another trade that stung at the time for those who prospect watch, but the need of a true ace for the staff was glaring and the addition of Crochet more than filled that hole. Fast-forward two years post-trade and barring the injury to Crochet, it doesn’t seem like a deal that either team has lost sleep over. Crochet pitched to a runner-up finish in the 2025 Cy Young voting and dominated in Boston’s only Wild Card series win in the Bronx versus the Yankees. On the White Sox's side, Teel has been a little difficult to evaluate with just 97 games played in a season-plus. He missed 78 games at the start of this season with a hamstring injury and after just 19 games played, found his way back to the IL where he’s been since July 21 with an ankle sprain. All things considered, when he has been out there he has looked like a promising young player, owning a 110 OPS+, 114 wRC+ and a 21.3% caught stealing percentage. Montgomery, meanwhile, has been on the streakier side since his call-up, which featured a walk-off home run in his debut and not much else of note since with just a .230/.317/.372/.689 line. When it comes to Meidroth, he has been the definition of a solid, league-average player, owning a career .263 average, 4.1 WAR, 97 OPS+ and 100 wRC+ through 235 career games. And as for Gonzalez, while he shined in a relief role in 2025 with a 2.66 ERA, .178 average against, and 28.7 strikeout percentage in 16 appearances, elbow and lat injuries have not only cut into the last two seasons, but may have also been the cause of his surprise DFA by Chicago on August 8. No longer the ‘Core Four’, the focus seemed to shift to who some called the ‘Big Three’ of Mayer, Anthony, and Campbell as the trio that the organization would build around. Ushering in the next golden age of Red Sox baseball, harking back to the memories of other notable young players who became integral pieces of championship clubs like Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Xander Bogaerts. After the trade deadline, however, it may be safe to say that hope of leaning all in on the prospects was a mistake that needed correcting with a philosophy shift more toward known and established commodities. At the start, the returns on Campbell and Anthony looked great. Campbell began his 2025 rookie campaign as one of Boston’s best hitters through March/April slashing .301/.407/.495/.902 with a wRC+ of 150. As for Anthony, he was the spark the Sox rode for the 71 games he played last year, hitting .292 with eight homers, 32 RBI, and wRC+ and OPS+’s of 140. Then, things rapidly fell apart for Campbell, who after that first month plus saw his line drastically fall to .159/.243/.222/.218 with a wRC+ of 30 and strikeout and walk percentages of 28.6% and 7.1%. That earned him a demotion to Worcester, where he has since been buried with no clear shot at a path back to the majors. As for Anthony, injuries have derailed his strong start with 25 games missed last year due to an oblique strain and nearly another 100 and counting missed from a combination of back soreness and a wrist sprain, leading many to question his durability. In the case of Mayer, there never came that moment where things seemed to fully click, leading some to wonder if he’ll go down as one of, if not the, most-overhyped prospects in Red Sox history. In just 114 games, Mayer accumulated a 0.3 WAR, slashed .223/.278/.346/.625 with seven homers, 32 RBI, a 70 wRC+ and career strikeout and walk rates of 23.4% and 6.6%. Along with his offensive woes, his defensive prowess never really hit its projections either, with negative-3 Defensive Runs Saved and only plus-2 Outs Above Average during his time split across third, short, and second. Then of course, there are the much talked about maturity, work ethic, and durability concerns he faced, as he ended up missing 102 games (playoffs included) due to various injuries over the last two seasons—not to mention the number of minor-league stints he had cut short due to injuries as well. Obviously, Red Sox fans will never get the chance to see firsthand if the Eyanson, Witherspoon, Azocar trio lives up to their projected hype, or if they underperform like the last ‘Big Three.' But in a 2026 season where the Sox find themselves in the midst of an epic turnaround and push for a playoff spot, the decision to move their chips into the center of the table and go get a bonafide bat in Rutschman and lockdown southpaw in Miller, as opposed to the waiting-and-seeing approach with Mayer and the kids, has to be looked at as the right one. Like Crochet did before in filling the ace vacancy, Rutschman does the same in providing a bat to deepen the Red Sox’s relatively top-heavy lineup. His career 16.8 WAR, 115 OPS+ and wRC+ and 15.8 strikeout and 11.7 walk rates gives the lineup a professional approach at the plate night after night, and his 24.4% caught stealing rate and 38 DRS gives them an elite option behind the plate. Now I might just be crazy, but those numbers sound like they could be pretty beneficial to the here and now rather than waiting to see what Eyanson, Witherspoon or Azocar have to offer in the 2027 and 2028 ETAs that MLB Pipeline has proposed for them. When it all comes down to it, you’re most likely never going to get the entire fanbase to agree to a consensus on these trades, and that’s okay. It’s more than respectable to be one of the people who wants to build through the draft and produce homegrown talent to try and win that way. It’s also just as respectable to want the organization to not only evaluate the prospects they see as part of the future, but also those who aren’t and act accordingly. Identifying external pieces they believe can help win both now and in the future and jumping at the chance if/when they become available is a part of team-building as well. That is what Craig Breslow did when he acquired Rutschman and Miller. There's no guarantee that this gambit will pay off, but the team's championship hopes over the next few years improved because of it. That's a philosophy shift worth lauding. View full article

As the calendar turned to July and the Boston Red Sox boarded a plane heading west to Anaheim, fresh off a series loss at home to the Washington Nationals where they were outscored 18-3 in the final two games, it felt like everyone was ready to pull the plug. The Sox found themselves 11 games under .500, 14.5 games back in the AL East, and 6.5 games out of the third Wild Card spot needing to jump six teams to even sniff a postseason berth. The task seemed daunting and borderline impossible to say the least, but as the age-old saying goes; the rest is history. All Boston proceeded to do since was go on one of, if not the best, runs the club and MLB have ever seen; one that included a 15-game win streak, an .840 win percentage which was the best for a month in franchise history. They became the first team in MLB history to enter a calendar month 10+ games under .500 and leave it 7+ games over .500 via ESPN’s Sarah Langs. Likewise, they became the first team in MLB history to in one month win 20+ games, have a 15+ game winning streak, have 10+ comeback victories, sweep a 9+ game road trip, and have a .900+ road win percentage via OptaStats on X. For a more in-depth look at what has led to the Red Sox’s historic turnaround, let’s dive in to how the offense, rotation, and bullpen graded out for July. Grading Every Red Sox Player In July Offense For months, it’s been well documented that if the Red Sox were to make any noise this season, let alone turn this thing around, it was going to have to be the offense that, outside of Wilyer Abreu, Willson Contreras, and Ceddanne Rafaela, needed to start pulling its weight. July saw just that, as Boston’s offense finished within the top-10 league wide in AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, wRC+, BABIP, BB%, Runs, Home Runs, Hits, Doubles, WAR, and AVG with RISP w/2 Outs. In other words, it was by far the team's best performance of the season. Perhaps the most surprising, and arguably refreshing, of all of the top-10 finishing stats came from the change in approach at the plate. The Sox ended July first in all of baseball in Sac Bunts with 13, an astonishing note when you realize they had 11 for the entire season prior to. This new “Next Man Up” approach and mentality the team took on not only allowed for the likes of Willson Contreras (1.117 OPS, 208 wRC+, 5 HR, 14 RBI) and Ceddanne Rafaela (.303/.321/.523/.844, 5 HR, 19 RBI) to continue their stellar seasons, but also allowed for the emergence of heroes new and old. If you were to pick an offensive MVP for the month and had to exclude Contreras and Rafaela, the favorite has to be Andruw Monasterio, who has had some hiccups in the field filling in as the full-time shortstop after Tsung-Che Cheng was optioned back to Worcester. And yet, he continued to come up with clutch hit after clutch hit in July, slashing .338/.413/.631/.1.044 with 12 of his 22 hits going for extra bases while also driving in 11. Some love should be thrown Cheng’s way as well while highlighting standout performances, as he managed to accumulate a .740 OPS and 115 wRC+ in just nine games while also making a few game saving plays at short during Boston’s historic 15-game win streak. July also saw Caleb Durbin continue to put his early season struggles behind him as he has quickly become one of the Red Sox's most well-rounded players, finishing the month with an .802 OPS, three homers, and nine runs batted in while factoring in stellar defense at third. Masataka Yoshida once again has started to make his usual second half push after slashing .300/.364/.450/.814 with two home runs and nine runs batted in, providing some stability to the top of Boston’s lineup. And even newcomer Jahmai Jones, whose addition seemed to be heavily questioned when he was brought in from the Tigers, has provided an immediate spark, homering in his first at-bat as a Red Sox en route to a 1.467 OPS and 244 wRC+ to go along with two home runs and five RBI in just nine games. As we move into August, the hope is the offense can continue to succeed with this more small-ball approach. Losing Curtis Mead to a fractured wrist after just two at-bats certainly doesn't help, though Adley Rutschman should provide a huge jolt when healthy. Getting Wilyer Abreu (90 wRC+) and Jarren Duran (40 wRC+) back on track wouldn’t hurt either. In what was a stunning and unprecedented turnaround that nobody could have foreseen happening, Boston’s offense gets its best grade of the season thus far, a well-deserved A-. Position Players Name March / April May June July Wilyer Abreu A+ B C+ C Tsung-Che Cheng N/A N/A C A+ Willson Contreras A A+ B A+ Jarren Duran F A D- D+ Caleb Durbin D+ D A+ A- Nate Eaton N/A N/A C+ F Romy González N/A N/A C D Brett Harris N/A N/A N/A C Jahmai Jones N/A N/A N/A A+ Andruw Monasterio C D+ D A+ Carlos Narváez C- C- F D- Ceddanne Rafaela B A A- A+ Anthony Seigler N/A N/A A+ C Nick Sogard N/A B- N/A C Connor Wong B- B A C Masataka Yoshida B- C+ D A- Rotation If you were to tell me early this season the Red Sox were going to go on an epic win streak that helped save their season and turn them into one of the most dangerous teams in baseball, there's no doubt I would have guessed the rotation had done its best Superman impression. And yet, while this turn through the rotation wasn’t bad by any means, it wasn’t as dominant as we’ve seen in past stretches either, leading to somewhat of a mixed bag of results. Boston’s best starter by far for July may have been its least likeliest, as rookie Jake Bennett burst onto the scene to the tune of a 4-1 record, 2.20 ERA, and .208 average against over a team high 32.2 innings pitched. The same cannot be said about fellow rookie Payton Tolle however, as although his strikeout numbers were still impressive, leading the rotation with a 32.7 K% in 23.2 innings, a six-run blow up over three innings versus the Nationals, a four-run outing over 5.2 against the Orioles, and a shortened 3.2 innings outing against the Mets stemming from an innings limit left Tolle with an uncharacteristically high 4.94 ERA for the month. As for the veterans, Sox fans got their long-awaited look at Patrick Sandoval for the first time, who put up a respectable 3.32 ERA over four starts, but is clearly being eased back into things given his just 19 innings of work. Ranger Suarez was limited to just three starts and 11.1 innings due to a groin strain, finishing with a below-average 4.76 ERA but elite 1.33 FIP. Then there’s the 36-year old Sonny Gray who may be starting to show his age a bit. While his first three starts of July against the Angels, Mets and Rays were excellent, posting a 1.50 ERA while allowing just three earned runs and 14 hits over 18 innings, his final two against the Blue Jays and Athletics were anything but. In those starts, Gray posted a 6.75 ERA over 12 innings, allowing 17 hits and nine earned runs. Add in three rough appearances for Eduardo Rivera (9.45 ERA on 6.2 IP) and the numbers don’t look as great as they have prior on paper. It will be interesting to see how the Red Sox handle the rotation going forward with some clear signs of possible fatigue starting to set in. For now though, the rotation still grades out at a respectable B+. Pitchers Name March / April May June July Jake Bennett N/A C A A+ Sonny Gray C+ A+ A+ B+ Eduardo Rivera A+ N/A N/A F Patrick Sandoval N/A N/A N/A B Ranger Suarez B+ B- A+ B- Payton Tolle B A+ B+ B- Bullpen Much like the offense, I was hard-pressed to find anything the Red Sox bullpen really struggled with for July, leading to top-10 finishes league wide in every statistical category except for strikeouts, where they finished 11th. Of those standout categories were the ones the Sox's 'pen lead all of baseball in, including a 1.75 ERA, 2.94 FIP, 89.2 LOB%, 13 Saves, and 2.1 WAR. The story starts with the fact that the Red Sox have assembled a four-headed behemoth of Tyron Guerrero, Justin Slaten, Garrett Whitlock, and Aroldis Chapman that all spell certain doom for any team having to face them in the later innings. While Guerrero (0.87 ERA, .211 AVG, 5.0 BB%), Whitlock (0.73 ERA, .147 AVG, 0.0 BB%) and Chapman (0.75 ERA, .209 AVG, 34.7 K%) all picked up where their dominance left off in June, the biggest boost to the pen came in Slaten once again finding his nasty side, racking up a 1.08 ERA and .161 average against in 8.1 innings after posting marks of 9.00 and .415 in nine innings in June. July also not only saw the returns to form of Jovani Moran (2.38 ERA, .154 AVG, 11.1 IP) and Greg Weissert, who outside of one three-run blow up versus Toronto managed to have nine scoreless appearances out of his 11 for the month, but the return of Brayan Bello to the big-league club. This time fully working as a reliever, Bello picked up right where he left off in terms of confusing fans and overpowering hitters tossing 13.2 innings out of the 'pen to the results of a 1-0 record, 0.66 ERA and .191 average against in three appearances. While there may be some signs of possible fatigue or slippage in the rotation, the same cannot be said about Boston’s bullpen that only seems to be growing stronger as the season moves forward. With all parties quite literally firing on all cylinders, the Sox's pen earns its best grade of the season by far with a resounding A+. Pitchers Name March / April May June July Brayan Bello F B+ F A+ Aroldis Chapman A A+ D A+ Danny Coulombe F F- A- C Alec Gamboa N/A A A A Tyron Guerrero N/A C A+ A+ Jovani Morán A C+ B A Tyler Samaniego A C- B N/A Justin Slaten A- B+ D A+ Ryan Watson F B- B+ B- Greg Weissert D- C- C A- Garrett Whitlock B+ B A+ A+ View full article

Agreed. His all around skillset makes him a better candidate than Jones, although he's been solid too. And although I like Nate Eaton and wouldn't mind seeing him as the 4th OFer, White obviously has more of a pedigree and is another veteran voice in the clubhouse with plenty of experience

In a trade deadline that featured former first overall pick Adley Rutschman and lockdown southpaw Erik Miller being dealt to the Boston Red Sox, one might argue Craig Breslow’s most surprising deal of the day came when he acquired veteran right-handed hitting outfielder Eli White from the Atlanta Braves. At first glance, the move doesn’t look like it makes a ton of sense, as Boston chipped away at more of its pitching depth, sending 27-year old Tyler Uberstine back to the Braves. In return, they got a player that seems counterintuitive to have on the roster, given the outfield and designated hitter options that are already on the roster in the form of Wilyer Abreu, Jarren Duran, Nate Eaton, Romy Gonzalez, Jahmai Jones, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Masataka Yoshida. A more in-depth look at what White brings to the table, however, shows that he could turn out to be one of the more undervalued moves of the entire deadline. Who Eli White Is Replacing In Boston Before Tuesday night’s series opener against the White Sox, we learned that White would be activated and take the place of Gonzalez, who was subsequently being optioned to Worcester. For anyone who hasn’t been following since his return from the injured list, recovering from left shoulder surgery that caused him to miss all of spring training and 81 games this season, it’s been anything but smooth sailing. During his struggles at the major-league level, there was a growing belief Gonzalez may have needed a longer rehab stint, in which he only tallied 18 at-bats between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester, leading to a .111/.238/.278/.516 line. Gonzalez most likely wanted to get back sooner rather than later to help Boston’s lineup that could’ve greatly benefitted from his right-handed bat that put up career numbers in 2025. While the desire to get back for his teammates and help the club anyway he could was a commendable one, it also may have been what led to his option back to the minors as things never clicked for Gonzalez, who outside of an occasional clutch pinch-hit performance, looked continuously overmatched at the plate. He posted a ghastly .185 average, .572 OPS, 33.8 Whiff%, and a 37.8 Hard-Hit%, a far cry from his 57.3% in 2025 that had him sitting in the 99th percentile. The move from Gonzalez to White may make more sense when you look at it from a versatility standpoint as well. While White has primarily featured as an outfielder throughout his career, accumulating 1945.1 innings in 297 games across all three positions, he does have four games played at both second and first base, with 28 innings played at second and nine at first. The Red Sox will more than likely look to Nick Sogard and Anthony Seigler to man those positions with Gonzalez no longer on the roster, but it’s good to know White has the experience to be slotted into either spot if he is desperately needed. Eli White Might Actually Be A Solution To Red Sox's Outfield Logjam Speaking of the outfield, one would think a big reason why White was brought onboard is to give both Abreu and Rafaela some breathers down the stretch as the Red Sox continue their postseason push. In the case of Rafaela, while he continues to be Boston’s most consistent hitter not named Willson Contreras, you would have to image the coaching staff will be keeping a close eye on him as the second half progresses to avoid another late season nosedive like he had in 2025. Last year, he went from a pre-All-Star-Break line of .271/.314/.483/.797 with 14 HR, 48 RBI, and a wRC+ of 115, to slashing .218/.268/.319/.587 with just two homers, 15 RBI, and a 59 wRC+. As for Abreu, he may already be in the midst of his own 2025 Rafaela-esque drop off. While he has shown no signs of slowing down in the power department, with a .571 SLG, .853 OPS, and .371 ISO in the second half as opposed to his .428, .759, and .167 showings in the first, he has seen a massive decline in his batting average (.261 to .200), on base percentage (.332 to .282), BABIP (.306 to .136) and an increase in his K% (20.5% to 23.1%). Now, while the decrease in production from Abreu isn’t as drastic as Rafaela’s was a season ago, there have been numerous games where he just hasn’t looked right at the plate—borderline tired when looking for a word to use to describe it—even prompting NESN’s Lou Merloni to call for an occasional off day here and there. The addition of White gives the Red Sox a better option to do that with than they had prior to the trade. Nothing against either Jones or Yoshida, but with White bringing eight defensive runs saved (five in RF) and two outs above average as opposed to Yoshida’s negative three in both and Jones’ negative one defensive runs saved and negative two outs above average. There is a clear and obvious choice as to who should be patrolling right when Abreu needs a breather. Eli White's True Value: A Menace on the Basepaths For the third and final reason Eli White is on this roster, let me ask Red Sox fans to remember the names Dave Roberts and Quintin Berry, although one of those is probably easier to remember than the other. That of course being Roberts, who during the 2004 playoffs appeared in three games for the Sox as a pinch runner, scored two runs, and stole maybe the most famous theft of second in MLB history, helping the Sox end their 86-year championship drought. As for Berry, he too appeared in three playoff games and stole three bases en route to the franchise’s eighth World Series title in 2013. All of this is a long-winded way to say Eli White could very well be on this team come playoff time if the Sox can get there, as a professional pinch runner thanks to a 30.3 mph sprint speed that has him in the 99th percentile. This is a role that some wondered if spring training standout Braiden Ward might be able to fill if he ended up as a September call-up that the Red Sox turned to. The idea doesn’t sound so far-fetched when you remember just this season, Ward broke the spring training record for the most steals in a campaign with 19 and also realize that he has stolen 50 bases at least in four of the last five seasons in the minors. Of course, there may be some who are weary to trust Ward in that spot given his lack of major-league experience, leading to the question of if Nate Eaton could just handle that job. However, in the case of Eaton, it may just come down to the fact that White has been a better, more dependable bat this year, with a .231/.283/.403/.686 line and 21.4 K% as opposed to Eaton’s .125/.282/.281/.563 line and 30.8 K%. It will be interesting to see how the Red Sox deploy White, and how often they plan to do so as the reports of returns for Trevor Story, Roman Anthony, Curtis Mead, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa begin to ramp up. For now, though, they will surely benefit from the age-old adage that it never hurts to have too much depth. View full article

Yeah in the moment it was incredibly frustrating they couldn't get him, especially for those 30-45 seconds it was tweeted out they did and no one knew what was going on. But now that it's come out that their offer was Tolle AND Arias I'm glad Minnesota was stupid and declined

When The Police said they were “sending out an SOS to the world” their hope was that someone would get their message in a bottle. The message I’m sending out to Craig Breslow on behalf of all Boston Red Sox fans in the form of an SOS is a simple one: "Secure One Starter." After witnessing the Red Sox end up with Dustin May in the dying seconds of the MLB trade deadline last year, it was refreshing to see Craig Breslow take a more proactive approach in addressing one of the club’s biggest needs this season, acquiring right-handed power bat Curtis Mead from the Nationals in exchange for left-handed starter Connelly Early. While a risky one given that this is Mead’s first true breakout season and Early had quickly developed into a fan-favorite pitcher, the move showed Breslow was willing to be more on the attack rather than waiting around for the perfect deal to develop only to end up with scraps when it’s all said and done. [Though, of course, injury news regarding both players has sent that deal into baseball purgatory.] As fans and reporters now speculate what could be coming next for the Sox, both Jeff Passan and Alex Speier have given some insights into their next target, with Passan taking to X to answer a fan trade question with a somewhat vague “there will be more”, and Speier joining the NESN booth during Monday night’s game versus the Athletics to inform viewers that the team is interested in pitching, specifically rotation depth, which they were already looking into before trading Early. The idea of adding to the bullpen for some needed depth was also brought up in the discussion between Speier and NESN’s Mike Monaco and Lou Merloni, prompting Merloni to agree and remind viewers that you can never have too many bullpen arms. And while that statement does ring true and is a definite area the Sox should look to add to, their next pivotal addition should come via adding another arm to the starting rotation. While some fans may think that a group that has featured arguably the best five-man attack in baseball in Sonny Gray, Ranger Suarez, Payton Tolle, Jake Bennett, and Patrick Sandoval doesn’t need to be the primary focus over adding another bat— specifically at the shortstop or catcher positions—or taking some stress off the likes of Aroldis Chapman and Garrett Whitlock with an acquisition for the back-end of the bullpen, it never hurts to have more pitching. There are plenty of examples to point to as to why Breslow’s next move should come via adding another arm, preferably of the solidified veteran variety, to said rotation. For starters (no pun intended), it would be in the club’s best interest to avoid another situation like 2025, where the Red Sox were in need of rotation depth and Breslow, after balking at adding Joe Ryan or Merrill Kelly, had to settle for the disaster that was Dustin May. Sure it gave the Sox depth, but once he was injured, joining the likes of Richard Fitts, Hunter Dobbins, Tanner Houck, and eventually Lucas Giolito, it left Boston heading into their playoff series against the Yankees with Garrett Crochet and a prayer. This time around, the options are definitely better equipped in terms of experience, with Ranger Suarez (42.2 postseason innings) and Sonny Gray (30.1 innings) better suited to ease in postseason newcomers Tolle, Sandoval, and Bennett, who have one-third of an inning pitched in the playoffs between the three. With age comes experience, and an additional rotation arm can ease the workload of Gray, something that Chad Tracy and Andrew Bailey will surely like to do for the 36-year old who has been a workhorse thus far, tallying 106.2 innings over 19 starts. When it comes to Suarez, his concerns lie in the health department, an area where the Red Sox have already felt the impact with uncertain futures for Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, Johan Oviedo, and most importantly Crochet, who Speier says could come back and pitch out of the bullpen toward the end of the season, if he comes back at all. Suarez has already been on two IL trips thanks to hamstring and groin injuries, so much like Gray, he could benefit from a smaller workload to stay fresh for the postseason push. There's also the impending threat of an innings limit for most of the young contingent in the rotation, all of whom have already surpassed or are close to resetting their career high in terms of workload. When it comes to evaluating and ultimately choosing the arm he best thinks suits Boston’s rotation, Breslow necessarily doesn’t need to hit a massive home run and mortgage the future for a ‘1C’ type to replace Crochet and supplement Gray and Suarez. However, he also can’t once again panic or settle for a May type that ends up not helping the club in any capacity either. How adequately the front office performs that balancing act could determine the fate of the 2026 season. View full article

Major League Baseball’s All-Star festivities have come and gone, and while the game itself may have been a bit of a snooze-fest to those who prefer offensive slugfests to a pitching-and-defense clinic, one thing we all can agree is that the removal of the clock in the Home Run Derby was one of the smartest decisions the league has made in recent years. This coming from someone who may be in the minority of actually liking the clock when it was first implemented way back in 2015, leading to one of the most electric and entertaining derby finishes in league history when Todd Frazier knocked off Joc Pederson with a homer in the final seconds to win the title. After watching Jordan Walker’s six home runs at sudden death to quite literally walk-off with the win over hometown favorite Kyle Schwarber though, I have no doubt saying that performance triumphs the Frazier one by a mile. Clock or no clock, Red Sox fans had plenty of reasons to tune in regardless with the inclusion of Willson Contreras, the first Boston participant since 2011 when Adrian Gonzalez and reigning derby champ David Ortiz both took part in the event. Contreras did not disappoint, as not only did he start the event off with a literal bang — hitting 13 homers with three being the longest of the first round, including a 490-foot bomb that fell short to only Junior Caminero’s 491-footer in round two — but also embracing his villain role so much as to almost knock off the clear fan favorite Schwarber in the second round, falling 9-8 to the Phillies and former Red Sox superstar. With Contreras’ inclusion, there will surely be fans that are convinced his swing is now “messed up” and his production will take a dip in the second half thanks to the alleged “Home Run Derby Curse.” The question is though, is that “curse” just a myth? Or is there actually some merit behind it that fans should be wary of for a player who has been, and will continue to need to be the driving force of getting Boston to a playoff spot? Second Half Spotlights: Do Previous Participants Give Any Insights into a ‘Derby Curse?’ When looking into the question of “Does the Home Run Derby ruin swings and cause second half slumps?”, it’s important to note that the “second half” of the baseball season doesn’t even technically exist. Take this year's Red Sox schedule for example; the true halfway mark occurred on Saturday, June 27 with their 4-1 win over the Yankees, a date that put them exactly at the 81-game mark. When the Sox return from the break on Friday, July 17, there will be 68 games remaining as opposed to the 94 that already took place. Take a step back to last year, and the Red Sox first and second halves had a 98/64 game split. In 2024, it was a 96/66 split, and if you want to go all the way back to 2011 when they had their last two participants in Gonzalez and Ortiz, that season saw a little bit of a better distribution of 90 first-half games to 72 second-half ones, but that's still not a truly even 81-81 game split. That means samples are smaller in the second half, and the opportunity to total big home run and extra-base hits numbers is lower. Below is a summary of the 2025 and 2024 Home Run Derby participants along with their first and second half splits, and any noteworthy injuries, absences, and or storylines that may have occurred: 2025 Derby Participants Looking at the 2025 derby participants, a few noticeable trends emerge. For starters, while Cal Raleigh’s numbers do drop off compared to his first half ones, the 22 homers, .526 slug, .297 ISO and 140 wRC+ don’t indicate any sort of slump or curse by any means. Keep in mind at that time, Raleigh was also attempting to (and did) break the all-time single season home run records for a catcher, switch-hitter, and Mariners player, adding a more psychological factor/pressure into the equation as well. Then there are the cases of Matt Olson and Junior Caminero, who not only continued to put up consistent numbers half to half, but were actually better statistically when it came to their average, on-base, slugging, ISO, and wRC+ totals, showing no signs of any sort of HR Derby fatigue. Brent Rooker is really the only player you could make the case for when it comes to the derby affecting his second half performance with how his numbers dropped off. As for the dip in Oneil Cruz’s, Byron Buxton’s, and James Wood’s production, all three can be attributed to injuries that were suffered during the second half rather than in the derby itself, as Cruz missed 13 games due to head (11) and ankle (2) injuries, Buxton 14 to side (13) and knee (1) ailments, and Wood, who although didn’t miss any significant time, is on record for saying nagging knee and quadriceps soreness helped factor into his rough second half. 2024 Derby Participants A review of the 2024 derby participants shows a similar trend of no player really being all that affected by any sort of derby curse. Teoscar Hernandez, Bobby Witt Jr., Jose Ramirez and Pete Alonso all followed similar paths to Caminero and Olson in using the derby to springboard better performances across multiple stats rather than just home runs and RBIs. Adolis Garcia and Gunnar Henderson may have seen significant drops in their home run numbers, indicating a bit of a power outage, but again showed solid enough numbers to not raise any red flags of a definitive curse. As for Alec Bohm, he falls into the same category of 2025’s Buxton and Cruz, missing 14 games throughout August and September with a hand injury that significantly hampered his second-half production. Recent Red Sox Participants For a look that hits closer to home in terms of any sort of curse affecting the Red Sox, you of course have to start with that infamous 2011 season for the most recent example — one that may actually help those who argue the derby does mess with players’ swings and production. In the midst of everything else that went wrong that year, two key contributors to that collapse were the falloffs in home run and RBI production from David Ortiz and derby runner-up Adrian Gonzalez. The argument for any sort of curse quickly falls apart, though, when you factor in that Ortiz was dealing with fatigue, soreness, and back spasms during that second half along with the fact that both players numbers didn’t completely fall off a cliff. Ortiz still managed to slash .315/.409/.527 with a wRC+ of 150 and Gonzalez posted a 137 wRC+ with a line of .317/.404/.489. Those are elite numbers. Not to mention once again that everything that could go wrong, did go wrong with that team, leaving some to wonder if the whole team had been cursed rather than just two derby participants. In terms of Ortiz, who took part in the event four times prior, including a victory in 2010, his second half production had never really taken a dip and was actually more consistent and at times better than any other player that’s been looked at thus far (which may be an unfair comparison to make given the level of hitter Ortiz was throughout his illustrious Hall of Fame career). What’s in Store for Willson Contreras in the Second Half? By now it seems pretty clear that the answer to the question of “Does the Home Run Derby ruin a player's swing?” is a resounding "no," meaning Red Sox fans should have nothing to worry about when it comes to Willson Contreras’ production at the plate. However, that isn’t where the concerns with Contreras should lay given his history in the league. In the 10 years he spent prior to Boston, excluding the 2020 pandemic-shortened year where there was no second half to the season, Contreras has missed a total of 180 games (not factoring in regular off-days). The makeup of these games missed include: 174 due to an injury, five due to suspension, and one from an undisclosed circumstance last season with St. Louis. Looking at his splits year-to-year, Contreras has proven to be a pretty consistent player all things considered, with the only two really glaring drop-offs occurring in 2018 and 2019 with the Cubs where his wRC+ figures plummeted from 123 to 63 and 139 to 90. As great as Contreras may be, his Achilles heel comes in the age-old saying: “The best ability is availability.” When the Sox return to action on Friday, kicking off the second half with a doubleheader against the Tampa Bay Rays, Contreras will be using the first to serve the fifth and final game of his reduced suspension stemming from his benches-clearing incident with Nationals starter Cade Cavalli. Once he is officially back, the All-Star slugger will look to make good on his comments of loving Boston and wanting to finish his career here trying to build off a superb first half that saw him finish just four home runs and 19 RBIs shy of his career highs. View full article

With June now in the rearview mirror, it’s safe to say there may not be another month this season that perfectly represents the 2026 Boston Red Sox. This was a team that, going into the year, was expected to win on their pitching and defense, and possibly struggle at times to score runs due to a lackluster and questionable lineup. Another inconsistent month saw the highs of finally winning a series at Fenway Park for the first time since April 6-8 vs. Milwaukee, when the Sox took two out of three from the Rangers, a west-coast trip that got off to a great start when they took two out of three from the first-place Mariners, and a shocking four-game sweep of the Yankees that led some fans to [foolishly] believe that they were finally turning a corner heading for the dog days of summer. That being said, June also saw the lows of the Red Sox continuing to be allergic to momentum, being swept by Toronto and losing two out of three to the Rockies and Nationals immediately after those aforementioned series wins against Texas, Seattle, and New York, plus an additional sweep at the hands of the Rays, and a 6-9 record against the AL East that was only propped up by that Yankees sweep. Add in the fact that there still doesn’t seem to be a timetable for the returns of Roman Anthony and Garrett Crochet, injuries have begun piling up to the likes of Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Marcelo Mayer, and Connelly Early, and a suspension that could be looming for Willson Contreras and what looked like an already grueling summer stretch could be getting a lot worse very quickly. Before we get to that point though, let’s dive back into June to see how the offense, rotation and bullpen all graded out: Grading Every Red Sox Player in June Offense One month ago, the Red Sox offense looked like it was maybe starting to branch out from the projections that worried fans and media members prior to the 2026 season. While they still had their inefficiencies at hitting with RISP and striking out more than you’d like to see, their surprise top-10 finishes league wide in AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, hits, doubles, triples, WAR, and BABIP positioned them as a middle-of-the-pack offense league-wide. Add in some standout performances from Wilyer Abreu, Willson Contreras, and a power-surge from Jarren Duran, and there was a dim light at the end of the tunnel that with a few more hitters getting hot, and a better performance in clutch spots, that things might take a turn for the better. Taking a look at Boston’s offensive numbers post-June, it's easy to see that reality won out. While they have improved on hitting with RISP, up from .227 (23rd in MLB / 11th in AL) in May to .232 (21st / 10th) and hitting with RISP with two outs, up from .178 (24th / 11th) to .253 (11th / 7th), their numbers in every other offensive category have taken a nosedive. When it comes to player highlights for the month, Willson Contreras (7 HR, 20 RBI, .933 OPS) and Ceddanne Rafaela (2 HR, 12 RBI, .288 AVG) have continued their strong seasons, but saw noticeable drop-offs in performance, with Contreras falling victim to a 5-for-38 with 14 strikeouts stretch, and Rafaela reverting back to his old ways of chasing, leading to an OPS drop from .826 to .735 and third-worst BB% (1.9%) in all of baseball. Then there’s the case of Duran, who instead of building off a strong May, proceeded to put up a historically bad June, finishing with not only the third-worst OPS for a single month in team history, but a league-worst finish for the month in AVG, OBP, wOBA, WAR (-0.8). He was also the only qualified player in the majors to finish with a negative wRC+ of -1. Fatigue may also be setting in, as the usually consistent Wilyer Abreu had his worst month of the season in terms of average (.228) and K% (20.8%). In trying to find some positives, the obvious answer is at the hot corner in Caleb Durbin, who was without a doubt Boston’s best hitter in the month, slashing a team-best .326/.359/.605/.964 with six home runs, 13 RBI, and a 160 wRC+ while continuing to give the Sox solid defense at third and some much-needed timely hitting. While the catching situation has been a tumultuous one to say the least, with Carlos Narvaez’s consistent offensive woes (.097, -33 wRC+, 38.9 K%), and Mickey Gasper coming back down to earth and being optioned back to Worcester, Connor Wong has continued to quietly put up solid numbers, slashing .333/.441/.444/.885 with a 150 wRC+ and second best 14.7 BB% for June. To go along with Durbin, June also saw the emergence of another player featured in that trade, that being Anthony Seigler who has been excellent covering for injuries to Kiner-Falefa and Mayer, slashing .350/.409/.550/.959 with a team=best 164 wRC+ in 13 games. These positives, however, can’t outweigh the negatives that made Boston’s offense one of the worst in baseball for the month of June. It's what continues to keep them from building any true momentum, earning them a lowly D grade as a unit. Position Player Name March / April May June Wilyer Abreu A+ B C+ Roman Anthony C+ C+ N/A Tsung-Che Cheng N/A N/A C Willson Contreras A A+ B Jarren Duran F A D- Caleb Durbin D+ D A+ Nate Eaton N/A N/A C+ Mickey Gasper N/A A+ D Romy Gonzalez N/A N/A C Isiah Kiner-Falefa D A+ C+ Marcelo Mayer B- D+ D Andruw Monasterio C D+ D Carlos Narvaez C- C- F Ceddanne Rafaela B A A- Anthony Seigler N/A N/A A+ Nick Sogard N/A B- N/A Trevor Story D- D N/A Connor Wong B- B A Masataka Yoshida B- C+ D Rotation Just when you thought the rotation couldn’t get any better than they did a month ago when they obtained an A- grade, they proceeded to double down and basically carry the Red Sox through June with a stretch of dominance that included a streak of 12 consecutive quality starts. Sonny Gray should be firmly cemented in the Cy Young race with another stellar run that saw him not only once again go undefeated at 3-0 in five starts with a 2.14 ERA and .211 average against in 33.2 innings pitched, but also come within five outs of no-hitting the Yankees in his final start of June. Fellow veteran Ranger Suarez was arguably just as good if not better, pitching to a 2-0 record with a 2.10 ERA, .219 average against, and 1.91 FIP in five starts, helping to create one of the most unhittable one-two punches in baseball over the last two months. As for the kids, it was a bit of a mixed bag. Jake Bennett got off to a slow start, allowing six earned runs over 10.1 innings pitched with a .323 BABIP in his first two starts, but turned things around in his final two, with just one earned over 12.1 with a .207 BABIP. Payton Tolle was the opposite, sandwiching three rough starts (17.0 IP, 10 ER, 11 K, 5 BB) in between two phenomenal shutout performances that saw him combine for 13.0 innings pitched with 12 strikeouts and four walks. And then there’s Connelly Early, whose bag was the most mixed of the bunch, allowing 15 earned runs and a season high six home runs in the month while striking out 36 over 30.2 IP to go along with a 4.87 FIP and .338 BABIP. Outside of a few hiccups along the way — and one very bad Brayan Bello start that was answered with a demotion to Worcester— the Sox rotation continues to be the least of their problems. Another month of both top-5 finishes in the American League and top-10 finishes in MLB grants the Red Sox rotation an A grade for June. Pitcher Name March / April May June Brayan Bello F- B+ F- Jake Bennett N/A C A Connelly Early B+ B+ C+ Sonny Gray C+ A+ A+ Ranger Suarez B+ B- A+ Payton Tolle B A+ B+ Bullpen Boston’s bullpen was a bit of a tricky one to grade out for June. On the side of positives, Garrett Whitlock bounced back after a bit of a shaky May to pitch to a 1.13 ERA, 24.1 K% and zero walks in eight appearances. Ryan Watson has continued to improve each month, holding opposing hitters to a .182 average against and racking up his lowest BB% of the season thus far at 6.3% over 12 innings pitched. Danny Coulombe has even brought himself back from the grave, pitching to a 2.08 ERA and holding opponents to a .200 average against in 11 appearances. And a new flame-throwing weapon has emerged in Tyron Guerrero, who was the Sox's best reliever, owning a 0.96 ERA and .194 average against while striking out a dozen and walking zero over 10 appearances. As for the negatives, and glaring ones at that, two of the most important bullpen pieces Aroldis Chapman and Justin Slaten may be broken. Starting with Slaten, his June was incredibly confusing as he made 11 appearances, seven of which where he did not allow a run, four where he did, and three of those where he allowed two or more runs, including a four-run blow up in the Bronx. All of that factors into his 9.00 ERA and unsightly .536 BABIP. When it comes to Chapman, his month was anything but smooth sailing, as along with struggling to even get into games (he made just seven appearances), he was reportedly dealing with a hamstring injury when he did pitch. These two factors could be the reasons for his struggles, as he entered the month with just one run allowed for the season and finished with five earned and a 7.50 ERA for June alone with most (if not all) of his saves coming of the nail-biting variety. While Boston’s bullpen may have been up there as one of the better groups in baseball for May, regressions across the board were clearly visible for June, leading to average to below-average finishes for numerous league-wide stats and a very pedestrian C grade. Pitcher Name March / April May June Aroldis Chapman A A+ D Danny Coulombe F F- A- Alec Gamboa N/A A A Tyron Guerrero N/A C A+ Tommy Kahnle N/A N/A F Joe La Sorsa N/A N/A F- Jovani Moran A C+ B Tyler Samaniego A C- B Justin Slaten A- B+ D Ryan Watson F B- B+ Greg Weissert D- C- C Garrett Whitlock B+ B A+ View full article

When the Boston Red Sox finally reach the 2026 trade deadline, they’ll be in a different spot than they were a year ago when Craig Breslow put together a performance that could only be described as “underwhelming.” With the Red Sox sitting at 59-51, good for third in the American League East and second in the AL Wild Card (both five games back coincidentally), the goals seemed obvious enough: acquire some help for the rotation and potentially another late-inning arm to help solidify the back-end of what was an impressively strong bullpen. Of course, we know Breslow answered those questions by acquiring left-handed reliever Steven Matz from the now-frequent trade partner St. Louis Cardinals, and right-handed starter Dustin May from the Los Angeles Dodgers, who should probably find themselves on the same “Do Not Trade With” list as the Milwaukee Brewers, given their consistent ability to seemingly send the Red Sox a lesser piece/pieces than what the Sox are sending them. Our managing editor, Brandon Glick, graded out these deals when they occurred, which you can find here. But now almost a full year removed, with neither player on the current iteration of this Red Sox roster, it’s time to take a big picture look back and re-grade Boston’s 2025 deadline acquisitions. Trade #1: Red Sox acquire LHP Steven Matz from the Cardinals for 1B/3B Blaze Jordan When the Red Sox entered the 2025 deadline, most people assumed that if they were going to acquire some sort of bullpen help, it would be of the late-inning, right-handed variety to not only ease the workloads of arms like Garrett Whitlock, Greg Weissert, and Justin Slaten, but to also make up for the failure that was Jordan Hicks. Instead, Breslow opted to acquire veteran lefty Steven Matz, a move that was surprising to say the least and met with some skepticism due to the fact the bullpen already featured four southpaws in Aroldis Chapman, Justin Wilson, Brennan Bernardino, and Chris Murphy. In return, they sent the Cardinals No. 19th-ranked infield prospect Blaze Jordan, who was tearing up Triple-A Worcester at the time, slashing .298/.341/.480 with six home runs and 25 RBIs in 44 games. However, he seemed to be locked out of any infield position given the team's glut of options at the corners. Almost a year later, and this deal is definitely the harder of the two to put a grade on. Initially, it garnered a ‘C’ and was justifiably labeled a “nothing-burger move” by Glick. As previously mentioned, Jordan looked like an easily expendable prospect and Matz came in sporting a respectable 3.44 ERA, 2.92 FIP, and 20.7 K% in 55 innings pitched with St. Louis. With the Red Sox though, Matz was borderline dominant with a 2.08 ERA, .218 average against, and 2.4 BB% in 21 regular season appearances to go along with two scoreless outings in Boston’s Wild Card series loss versus the Yankees. He ended up only being a gun-for-hire though, as he signed with the Rays on a two-year, $15 million deal this past winter with the opportunity to once again work as a starter. The move hasn't really panned out for Tampa Bay as he currently owns a 5.65 ERA and 5.55 FIP across 14 outings split between the rotation (10) and bullpen (4). As for Blaze Jordan, this is where the old “hindsight is 20/20” saying comes into play. After slugging .313 with a .921 OPS, 11 home runs and 35 RBIs in 57 games for Triple-A Memphis, the Cardinals called him up to make his major league debut on June 12 and he’s done nothing but hit since, slashing .286/.306/.486 with one home run, seven RBIs and an impressive 11.1 K% and 16.7 Whiff% in just nine games. That's production I’m sure disgruntled Red Sox fans don’t want to see given the team’s continued offensive woes. While Jordan’s production could definitely be used in this abysmal Red Sox lineup, the fact still stands he probably wouldn’t have a spot on this club at first or third base with the additions of Willson Contreras and Caleb Durbin (or even designated hitter, which has constantly been used to try and solve Boston’s outfield logjam situation). When it comes to Matz, the Red Sox got exactly what they needed from him as a shutdown arm a year ago and seem to have dodged a bullet given his struggles this year opting to not bring him back. Grade: B+ Trade #2: Red Sox acquire RHP Dustin May from the Dodgers for OF James Tibbs III and OF Zach Ehrhard When it comes to the second of Boston’s two 2025 deadline acquisitions I want to put this as lightly as I can… everything about this trade was an abject failure. Let’s start with the lead up to it. By now, everyone knows this ended up being a panic move by Craig Breslow, a deal that was one of those that trickled in after the deadline came and went, after numerous failed attempts throughout the afternoon to acquire a more dependable and solidified arm like Merrill Kelly and the tease that was Joe Ryan, who the Sox had consistently been linked to. Now to the player himself. Upon being dealt to Boston, May was the owner of a 4.85 ERA, 4.74 FIP, and 44.4% hard-hit rate across 16 games (15 starts) and looking like he was about to fall out of L.A's crowded rotation. With the Red Sox, things took a turn for the worse, as his numbers imploded to a 5.40 ERA, 5.39 FIP, even worse 45.6% hard-hit rate, and career-worst .307 average against in just six games (five starts) before having his short-lived Sox tenure end due to a right elbow neuritis injury. He, like Matz, would end up leaving Boston in the offseason for St. Louis where he has pitched to a pedestrian 4.30 ERA in 15 starts. And just when you think things couldn’t get any worse, we turn to the two prospects Boston sent the Dodgers’ way: James Tibbs III (No. 10 prospect via MLB’s rankings) and Zach Ehrhard (No. 17). Upon getting to the Dodgers organization, both reported to Double-A Tulsa and performed relatively well, with Tibbs hitting .269 with a .900 OPS, and seven homers to go along with 32 RBIs in 36 games and Ehrhard hitting for .282 with an .857 OPS, five homers, and 20 RBIs in 30 games. As for this season, where they both currently reside at Triple-A Oklahoma City, this is where Red Sox fans who haven’t been paying attention might want to avert their eyes. Starting with the latter, in 67 games Ehrhard is slashing .288/.394/.490/.884 with 11 home runs, 53 RBIs and 29 extra-base hits. As for Tibbs III, he not only has racked up a line of .291/.415/.585/1.000 with 20 homers and 62 RBIs, but also leads all PCL hitters in home runs, walks (57), extra-base hits (39), total bases (161) and runs (64), per of OKC Comets Communications & Broadcast Assistant Logan Bourandas on X). When Glick first graded this trade, he put a caveat on it that it would be a ‘B+’ if May was re-signed and a ‘D+’ if he wasn’t, which made sense given the price the Red Sox were giving up to get him but the flashes of potential and ability May had shown in the past to hopefully be a solid middle of the rotation arm. Given the absolute train-wreck that ensued everywhere you look with how this trade shaped up, I think it’s pretty obvious what this deal deserves. Grade: F- Final Verdict and Grade With almost a full calendar year to now look back on those who described the 2025 Red Sox trade deadline as “underwhelming” seemingly hit the nail on the head. Steven Matz gave them exactly what was needed, and while the Blaze Jordan departure doesn’t look ideal on paper right now, there was no true path to him contributing like he has on the Cardinals. On the flip side, at the time it was believed Dustin May wasn’t the right move for the rotation and that could not have been more of the truth; that trade not only hurt the Sox in-season with his horrendous performance and an injury that left the rotational depth weakened heading into the playoffs, but could come back to haunt them in a major way if Tibbs and/or Ehrhard grow into contributing big leaguers. Overall Grade: C- View full article