Red Sox Expected to be Aggressive at Trade Deadline

With the way the team is currently constructed, the Red Sox most pressing need is certainly a right-handed bat. This has been the case all year, but became even more prevalent with the underperformance and subsequent injury to starting shortstop Trevor Story.

While Story (sports hernia) is on the road to recovery and is expected to begin a rehab assignment sometime in August, the club may not be super eager to add the 33-year-old who held a .547 OPS through his first 41 games before getting hurt.

Shortstop, which has been a revolving door since his injury, with utility players Andruw Monasterio, Nick Sogard, Marcelo Mayer, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Tsung-Che Cheng all working in there but none running away with the full-time role, definitely makes sense as a spot for the Sox to upgrade.

However, it will be no easy task prying star players like Neto, Peña, or Abrams away from their teams. And while each is having a great season at the plate, Breslow may hesitate to pull the trigger on a below-average glove like Neto or Abrams considering he built the team around pitching and defense.

The other pathway to add thump would be making an upgrade at catcher, where Carlos Narváez (.560 OPS) and Connor Wong (.744 OPS) have provided very little. There seems to be a number of options to be had at the position, with big names like Shea Langeliers, Hunter Goodman, Adley Rutschman, and Ryan Jeffers all said to be available.

With manager Alex Cora's firing early in the season, Breslow eliminated any other possible scapegoat for Boston's struggles. This opened him up to harsh and immediate criticism during the bleak months of May and June when things did not turn around.

But with the recent success, it has been easy to see many of Breslow's impressive offseason maneuvers paying off, including the acquisitions of Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, and Caleb Durbin.

Still, Breslow had yet to have success at the trade deadline during his tenure in Boston, botching both opportunities to buy in 2024 and 2025 with deals for Danny Jansen (0.1 fWAR in 30 games) and Dustin May (-0.3 fWAR in six games).

This season will be a big test for the third-year executive, who will have to navigate the pressure of being a buyer in a seller's market for a club that has a renewed energy and hopes of another trip to the postseason.