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The New York Yankees reloaded their bullpen with former All-Star closers and infused defensive versatility to their infield. The Seattle Mariners acquired Josh Naylor and brought back Eugenio Suarez, strengthening a lineup that already includes MVP contender Cal Raleigh and the capable Julio Rodriguez. Determined to keep pace in the American League West and Wild Card races, the Texas Rangers added veteran pitcher Merrill Kelly to their imposing starting rotation. And the Boston Red Sox did what they usually do: tinkered around the margins.
While the team's biggest threats to a playoff berth all upgraded their respective rosters at the MLB trade deadline, the best haul that chief baseball officer Craig Breslow could muster was two injury-prone right-handed pitchers. Fans may now have a clearer idea as to what induced this lack of activity. But be warned, it is quite alarming.
“Teams hate dealing with the Red Sox,” USA Today columnist Bob Nightengale told the “Foul Territory” podcast on Friday. “They said it's very tough to deal with Breslow. The Diamondbacks had momentum going with Merrill Kelly, and that fell apart at the end. I don't think {the Sox} were ever really in on Joe Ryan… I'm not sure they even had conversations.
“But when you talk to {general managers} around the game, they say {the Red Sox} are very tough to deal with, Craig Breslow in particular. And if they're really going for it, they did a poor job… I think they're going to be on the outside looking in.”
Teams hate dealing with the Red Sox, says @BNightengale.
"When you talk to GMs around the game, they say it's very tough to deal with the Red Sox and Craig Breslow in particular." pic.twitter.com/X2usHWRtGv
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) August 1, 2025
Red Sox cannot get out of their own way
Red Sox brass just keeps drowning in bad optics, and fans are sick of suffering the consequences of their consistently questionable decision-making.
The ballclub has done an admirable job of weathering injuries, growing pains and the messy Rafael Devers divorce, but both ownership and the front office continue to alienate one of the most passionate fan bases in baseball. In short, it was business as usual at the trade deadline.
Now, that does not mean Boston's acquisitions are flops. Steven Matz put together a solid 3.44 ERA in 32 appearances with the St. Louis Cardinals this season and has improved his control since becoming a reliever.
He can do his part to make sure the bullpen does not burn out during the playoff push. However, it remains to be seen if the 2009 second-round draft pick can be an actual needle-mover.
Despite a promising past, starter Dustin May allowed 13 runs in 21 1/3 innings in July, four of which came in a loss to the Sox. He has a 4.85 ERA and 97 strikeouts on the year. The 27-year-old is barely an upgrade to what the team is currently employing in the fifth spot of its starting rotation, but Breslow clearly thinks otherwise.
In exchange for May, the Red Sox traded James Tibbs III to the Los Angeles Dodgers — the young outfielder and 2024 first-rounder came over in the Devers deal.
So just to sum up, after allegedly turning off several executives around the league, Craig Breslow gave the reigning World Series champions a chance to grow even stronger in the long run. Aces!
Is this the year Red Sox overcome an underwhelming trade deadline?
Some will argue that the Rangers paid a steep a price for a rental in Kelly — gave up their No. 5, No. 9 and No. 13-ranked prospects — but what good is it having a well-stocked farm system if management is not going to put it to use when necessary?
Besides, both Dustin May and Steven Matz are on expiring contracts themselves. If the Sox were committed to skimping out, then maybe it would have been wiser to trade for an established big-game pitcher like Charlie Morton instead.
Breslow insisted the team “pursued as much as possible,” a claim that Nightengale and several others are basically refuting. The benefit of having a former Boston player make personnel decisions is that he is supposed to “get it.” Instead, fans only hear an Ivy-Leaguer when this man talks.
The Red Sox (59-51) are only five games clear of the Toronto Blue Jays for the best record in the American League. This was their chance to cement themselves as an unquestioned title contender.
They can still achieve that status with guys like Garrett Crochet, Alex Bregman, Jarren Duran, Brayan Bello and Roman Anthony leading the way, but the organization is choosing to make life harder on the club and fan base.
Whether it is because of an out-of-touch ownership group or an analytics-heavy front office or a nightmarish combination of both, this franchise is losing trust with the public and, apparently, the rest of the league as well. A talented and gritty squad can engage people for a while, but the Red Sox have an ongoing image problem. And they just bypassed an opportunity to help fix it.
