Red Sox biggest mistake after 2026 MLB trade deadline

The Boston Red Sox are in the process of recording one of the most memorable turnarounds in Major League history. Less than two months ago, they had a 32-46 record after dropping two of three games to the Colorado Rockies, the team with the worst record in the National League.

The situation appeared to be nearly hopeless. The Red Sox had decent pitching, but they had no power in the lineup and the team could not get hits with runners in scoring position. The Yankees were coming to Fenway Park and it appeared that more misery was on the way for interim manager Chad Tracy’s team.

Shockingly, the Red Sox swept a four-game series from their archrivals and there was suddenly some confidence within the locker room. The Red Sox went on a perfect 9-0 road trip shortly thereafter, and remained hot after the All-Star break. They would tie the team’s all-time record for longest winning streak at 15 games and the losses have been few and far between since the streak ended.

Surging in the American League East

The Red Sox are now the No. 2 team in the American League playoff structure after winning 24 of their last 27 games and they are gunning to track down the Yankees and the first-place Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East. They have been fueled by clutch home runs from Willson Alvarez, Wilyer Abreu, Caleb Durbin and Ceddanne Rafaela as well as excellent pitching.

The Red Sox attempted to build on their momentum with a couple of moves prior to the Major League Baseball trade deadline. They acquired Curtis Mead from the Washington Nationals for young starting pitcher Connelly Early and made a huge move by trading for catcher Adley Rutschman of the Baltimore Orioles for two of their top pitching prospects, a minor league outfielder and catcher Carlos Narvaez.

Sending Early to Washington was a mistake

Mead was brought in to give the Red Sox lineup added right-handed power. It was a move that made sense because the team had struggled badly at Fenway Park prior to their hot streak and it seemed that Contreras was the only right-handed bat with power.

Mead suffered a non-displaced fracture in his left wrist in his first game with the Red Sox and will be out at least until mid-September. The acquisition was not a mistake, but the result was bad luck for both Mead and the Red Sox.

However, trading Early may prove to be a huge error in the future. Early was promoted to the Red Sox late in the 2025 season and impressed the team with his fastball, preparation, discipline and pitching mix.

The Nationals were not going to give Mead away, and they wanted a young pitcher with potential. That meant Early, Payton Tolle or Jake Bennett. All three left-handers have been effective this season, but the belief is that Early has the most potential and will eventually become the best of those three pitchers.

Bennett has exceeded all expectations while Tolle has shown quite a bit of growth in his time with the Red Sox. Tolle should become an effective starting pitcher over the long haul and has the most effective fastball. If the Red Sox had traded Tolle and kept Early it would have been the best move for the long run.

Red Sox needed a shortstop as well as a catcher