The Boston Red Sox of late have flipped their script. After dealing away their best hitter, Rafael Devers, in a puzzling June blockbuster, the Sox bumbled to a 3-7 mark in the days immediately following the trade. In July, though, they found a higher level.
Since the calendar flipped to the present month, the Red Sox have gone 12-5, including Wednesday night’s extra-innings win. That run has lifted Boston’s overall mark to 55-49 with a plus-54 run differential. They’re still within range of the first-place Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East, and they’re tied with the Seattle Mariners for the second wild-card spot in the AL. In related matters, Caesars gives them +120 odds of making the playoffs for the first time since 2021, necessary headway in validating what’s been a slow rebuilding process in Beantown.
More to the present point, that July surge has positioned the Red Sox as strong buyers heading toward July 31, and as such they should be expected to address present roster weakness in the service of making the postseason and improving their chances for a deep run. On that front, here are three moves we’d recommend that chief baseball officer Craig Breslow do his best to pull off before the deadline passes.
Sox first basemen this season have combined for a sub-.700 OPS. That’s far from optimal production from a bat-first position. With Triston Casas out for the season because of a knee injury, Boston badly needs an upgrade at the position. Ideally, they’ll get one who bats lefty, since Romy Gonzalez has been capable as the right-handed half of a post-Casas platoon. That brings us to Naylor.
While it remains to be seen whether the Diamondbacks indeed sell at the deadline, signs are pointing in that general direction. Really, it’ll come down to how they perform in the NL wild-card chase during that final week leading up to the deadline. If they are open for business, then the Sox should put in a call about Naylor. The left-handed-batting Naylor this season has a slash line of .293/.361/.449 (125 OPS+) with 11 home runs and 19 doubles in 92 games for Arizona. For his career, the 28-year-old Naylor has an OPS+ of 144 and an .884 OPS against right-handed pitching. As well, he’s in his walk year. As a rental player, Naylor will command a lower cost in trade, and the Sox can also bid him adieu before Casas’ return from injury in 2026. He checks a lot of boxes for Boston, and he’ll allow their first basemen to not bat ninth quite so often.
Boston’s rotation to date ranks 18th in MLB in both ERA and FIP, which means it’s been an average-ish unit at the level of run prevention and underlying indicators. Garrett Crochet at the front end is a legit ace, but they lack depth overall. Pitching injuries have hit them hard this season, and Walker Buehler probably needs to lose his spot in the rotation. They also lack a playoff-caliber starter behind Crochet. The market for starting pitching figures to be a fairly tight one at the deadline, and it’s one that will be devoid of ideal solutions.
So while Mitch Keller may strike some as an uninspiring solution, he’s better than you might think. This season, he’s registered a career-best ERA+ of 121 and a career-best FIP of 3.42 in 21 starts. As well, Keller hasn’t been on the injured list since 2021, and that was for a case of COVID.
Keller’s also signed through 2028 at reasonable salaries, and he won’t turn 30 years of age until next April. In other words, he could be a rotation stabilizer in Boston for years to come. As our R.J. Anderson recently wrote, Keller’s uncommonly deep and spin- and movement-heavy repertoire presents an opportunity for his new team to find paths to improvement. Boston in recent years has become a much better organization when it comes to developing and “coaching up” pitchers, so this could be a nice fit in that regard, too.
3. Kick in cash to find a taker for Masataka Yoshida
Dealing Yoshida should be a priority largely because the Sox have a positional log jam, and getting him into the lineup costs members of the young core plate appearances and consistency of role. Developing top talents like Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Wilyer Abreu, and Ceddanne Rafaela (and also clearing the decks for Kristian Campbell’s eventual return to the majors) should be the priority, and doing so is also good for near-term results.
The 32-year-old Yoshida has a solid-enough career OPS+ of 110, and he can be the primary half of a strong DH platoon, while also seeing spot duty in left. He’s a useful player if deployed properly, but he’s a poor fit for Boston’s roster. His contract is also an issue, as he’s owed the balance of an $18.6 million salary this year and an additional $18.6 million in each of the next two seasons. That’s a lot for a player of Yoshida’s narrowly defined skills, and it’s why the Red Sox will need to contribute substantial cash in order to trade Yoshida. There’s just no way to trade him unless you pay down his remaining commitment or staple prospects to him. The Sox, obviously, don’t have the appetite for the latter approach. So cash it is.
The Padres? The Rangers? The Brewers? The Guardians if they decide to press for contention? The Giants maybe? There are potential fits out there, and Breslow should be engaging with them on Yoshida.
