IN: Curtis Mead, Adley Rutschman, Jake Rogers, Eli White, Erik Miller, Carlos Gutierrez

OUT: Connelly Early, Anthony Eyanson (#2 BOS, #49 MLB), Kyson Witherspoon (#4 BOS), Enddy Azocar (#5 BOS), Carlos Narvaez, Tyler Uberstine, Marcelo Mayer

 

Finally, Craig Breslow makes a big add at the deadline. Sox fans have been begging him to do that for years. And I have to credit Breslow. As bad as he's been with free agency and especially that Devers trade, since last offseason he's been amazing. Traded practically nothing for Willson Contreras, nothing much for Sonny Gray, and made a great signing in Ranger Suarez. And this deadline right here was his best. With his seat as hot as nearly any GM in baseball, he put a pan on it and absolutely cooked.

Let's start it off trade by trade. The Red Sox made the first big splash of the deadline, trading away Connelly Early to the Nationals for right handed hitting infielder Curtis Mead. My immediate reaction was very negative. Early has shown so much for the Sox this season before getting hurt. 7-5, a 3.44 ERA, and 93 strikeouts in 91.2 innings. However as I continued to dive deeper into Curtis Mead's stats and metrics, he really started to grow on me. And then right as I was really starting to like him, he gets hit by a pitch and breaks his wrist in his second at bat on the team. But that of course isn't at all in Breslow's control. Overall, I think the Sox still massively overpaid for Mead, Early has ace potential, but he's a solid hitter and if he can get healthy he can be a big part of the Sox lineup come playoff time.

Before we get to the blockbuster deal, I'll just go over their smaller moves. First off, trading Tyler Uberstine to Atlanta for Eli White. Overall just kind of a nothing deal, White gives us great speed off the bench and another option in left field over Duran, maybe against left handed pitchers. Uberstine pitched once for the Sox this season, going 2 and 2 thirds and allowing 1 run. I think he could be a solid bullpen piece for Atlanta but nothing major for either team.

Marcelo Mayer to the Giants for Erik Miller and Carlos Gutierrez. I didn't love this trade. Marcelo Mayer's value right now was at the lowest it has been in his career, so while I hoped they would've put him in a package for a big star, I don't think that was very realistic. However, in that case, I would've preferred they held on to Mayer. He's been plagued by injuries but the talent is there. He didn't show many flashes with the bat last year but his glove was incredible. The concern with Mayer was always injury. He was plagued by it in the minor leagues and now in the majors he's spent more games on the IL than on the field. Erik Miller has been a very solid arm out of the bullpen for a terrible San Francisco team this year, and for a bullpen that isn't amazing outside of Chapman and Whitlock, this could be a great addition. Gutierrez instantly becomes the #14 prospect in the Sox system and their #3 outfield prospect. I would've preferred they held on to Mayer, but I don't hate the return they got.

And finally, the Red Sox blockbuster move of the deadline. They traded their everyday catcher, #2, #4, and #5 prospects for 3-time all star catcher Adley Rutschman. The last time the Red Sox had an All-Star catcher was Jason Varitek. This instantly improves both the lineup and the defense behind the plate. Rutschman is hurt right now, but when he comes back, I expect him to slot right into that 5th spot in the batting order. Of course, it was a ton to give up. I think one of Anthony Eyanson or Kyson Witherspoon will turn out good, but that's the thing with these prospects. With minor league guys you just can't quite tell who's gonna be good and who isn't. They could all be superstars or all be out of baseball by 2028. With that said, I had very high hopes for Kyson Witherspoon, I think he'll be a top end of the rotation pitcher, while Eyanson won't quite reach that level, and I don't think Azocar is anything special at all. Overall, I think this was a great move by the Red Sox. They finally went out and made a big move at the deadline, and I think it will pay off.

POTENTIAL RED SOX FULLY HEALTHY LINEUP POST DEADLINE

1. Ceddanne Rafaela-CF
2. Wilyer Abreu-RF
3. Roman Anthony-LF
4. Willson Contreras-1B
5. Adley Rutschman-C
6. Trevor Story-SS
7. Caleb Durbin-3B
8. Curtis Mead-DH
9. Anthony Seigler-2B