After a month-plus of talking about flexibility gained from the Rafael Devers trade, the Red Sox basically stood pat on deadline day. There was no impact move made by chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, only a pair of fringe deals that might improve the team.
There was a lot of talk from the Red Sox about being aggressive at the deadline, but in the end Breslow only added a bullpen arm in lefty Steven Matz and a back-end starter in right-hander Dustin May. No one is going to jump for joy or start dusting off the duck boats over either of those acquisitions.
There were rumblings of a potential blockbuster deal for Minnesota starter Joe Ryan, which would have been a massive trade for Breslow and company. He would have been an incredible No. 2 starter after ace Garret Crochet and give Boston a scary 1-2 punch in the rotation.
But in the end, Ryan stayed with the Twins and the Red Sox settled for another fifth starter.
There were chances to make moves if Boston got aggressive, but the Red Sox took a back seat to other teams in the AL playoff hunt. Both the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers made significant moves as they look to catch Boston in the Wild Card race.
In addition those two AL West teams, the New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Toronto Blue Jays, and Detroit Tigers all made at least one move on Thursday.
In the immediate aftermath of the deadline, it doesn’t feel like the Red Sox did much of anything, let alone enough to solidify them as a serious playoff team. They didn’t subtract anyone from the big league club, but they also didn’t add anyone that will have a big impact.
Inactivity at the deadline has thrown the team into a spiral each of the last three seasons. The Red Sox will now try to avoid a similar fate without much added help for the stretch run.
Money was reportedly a factor for Red Sox
After the Matz trade and ahead of the deadline, one MLB executive told Mass Live’s Chris Cotillo that money was a factor in negotiations with Boston:
“The Red Sox took on the rest of Matz’s money before he hits free agency this fall, which equals about $4 million in CBT calculations. They’re more than $10 million over the first threshold as is,” Cotillo wrote around noontime Thursday. “Boston has $9-10 million to go before crunching up against the next CBT threshold of $261 million. That would seem to be hard to get to. But one executive who has had talks with the Red Sox has said money is a factor in their negotiations. There’s always the possibility of a John Henry-imposed budget, which in this case would be higher than the ones he has installed in previous seasons.”
High asking prices likely played a role in Boston’s relative inactivity on deadline day, but it looks like a budget imposed by John Henry played a part too. Given the money the team saved in the Devers trade, making only two minor moves at the deadline isn’t a good look for Boston.
Trades the Red Sox didn’t make on deadline day
The Red Sox were in talks for Ryan leading up to the 6 p.m. deadline, but their push was “not even close,” according to Cotillo.
Boston had also been linked to Marlins righty Sandy Alcantara, the 2022 National League Cy young winner, but he remained in Miami. So did Arizona’s Zac Gallen and Pittsburgh’s Mitch Keller, both of whom were connected to Boston but carried high asking prices.
Tampa Bay’s Yandy Diaz was reportedly a target of the Red Sox to add a right-handed bat to the lineup, but he’s still in Tampa. Diaz had to leave Thursday’s game against the Yankees after he was hit by a pitch on his hand in his first at-bat.
Boston was reportedly chatting with the Nationals about first basemen Josh Bell and Nathaniel Lowe, but those talks went nowhere.
The Mariners went all-in
Seattle traded for Arizona first baseman Josh Naylor last week, and then landed D-Backs third baseman Eugenio Suarez Wednesday night. Suarez has been one of the best hitters in baseball going back to last season, and will provide plenty of thump to the Mariners offense the rest of the way.
That hurts Boston in two ways. Seattle is 1.5 games behind the Red Sox for the second Wild Card spot in the American League, and just got a lot better. The Red Sox also had some interest in trading for Suarez and moving him to first base, according to The Athletic.
Seattle also got some help for its bullpen by picking up lefty Caleb Ferguson from the Pirates.
Rangers trade for starter Merrill Kelly
There were rumors the Red Sox were hot for the Arizona starter, but he ended up going to Texas for three prospects.
Kelly is a consistent starter and went 9-6 with a 3.22 ERA and 1.057 WHIP over his 22 starts with Arizona this season. He would have been a nice addition to the Boston rotation, but will instead he’ll slot in after Nathan Eovaldi and Jacob deGrom in Texas.
The Rangers also got reliever Phil Maton from the Cardinals to help their bullpen. Texas is currently tied with Seattle in the standings, and also sits 1.5 games behind Boston in the Wild Card race.
Yankees made moves to improve
The Yankees added quite a bit at the deadline to help their leaky bullpen. New York picked up Pirates closer David Bednar, another closer in Camilo Doval from San Francisco, and reliver Jake Bird from Colorado. They also helped their outfield depth by adding Austin Slater, and infield depth with a deal for third baseman Ryan McMahon.
New York is three games up on Boston for the top Wild Card spot in the American League.
Blue Jays land Shane Bieber
There were rumblings the Red Sox could kick the tires on the recovering Shane Bieber, whom they showed interest in over the offseason as he recovered from Tommy John surgery. But he is now north of the border with Toronto, who acquired Bieber for a pitching prospect.
Toronto also added right-hander Louis Varland and first baseman Ty France from the Twins, as the Blue Jays look to hang on to their 3.5-game lead over the Yankees in the AL East.
Carlos Correa reunites with Astros
Fresh off going 2-for-6 in his two games against Boston with the Twins, Correa was traded to the Houston Astros on Thursday.
Correa spent his first seven MLB seasons in Houston, so his return is fitting. His first opponent with the Astros? The Red Sox, who host Houston for a three-game series at Fenway Park this weekend.
While the Red Sox made a couple of moves that addressed areas of need, they aren’t the kind of moves that will really push them into being a serious contender. Now we’ll see how Cora and his squad responds to another lackluster deadline day with 52 games left in the season.
Matt GeaganMatthew Geagan is a sports producer for CBS Boston. He has been part of the WBZ sports team for nearly 20 years. He moved over to the web in 2012 and has covered all the highs (and a few lows) in Boston sports.
