Craig Breslow spent like a madman ahead of the trade deadline, putting the Red Sox all-in on this season and next. Boston improved the on-field product at the big-league level. The problem is the price. If his team doesn’t at least reach the World Series in the next two years, these deals won’t be remembered as aggressive. They’ll be remembered as reckless.
Since July 1, the Red Sox have gone 23–3 and put themselves back into contention in the American League. They exit the deadline five games back of the Rays in the AL East and 2 1/2 games shy of the Yankees for the top wild-card spot. While his team is certainly charging hard as we approach the stretch run, Breslow wildly overplayed his hand, acting like the Red Sox had already secured a postseason spot.
The Red Sox badly needed to upgrade their catching situation, and they did so by adding Adley Rutschman, an All-Star backstop who is an excellent defender. But the price they paid to land him from the Orioles was genuinely shocking. Boston shipped its No. 2 and No. 4 prospects, as right-handed pitchers Anthony Eyanson and Kyson Witherspoon headlined the package, while high-ceiling 19-year-old lottery ticket outfielder Endy Azocar is joining them. That’s a superstar price for a player who hasn’t produced like one in a few years.
Rutschman is an improvement behind the plate for Boston and is under team control through next season. That said, he’s not playing like he did in 2023 when he was first-team All-MLB. This season he’s slashing .251/.331/.433 with eight home runs, 47 RBIs and a wRC+ of 115. He is currently on the IL with a wrist injury and dealt with an ankle injury in April and a concussion in June. That’s after he was limited to 90 games last season due to multiple oblique strains.
While 2026 has represented a bit of a bounce-back season for Rutschman, there is a concerning trend. From Opening Day through the end of April, he slashed .356/.406/.661 with four home runs, 17 RBIs and a 199 wRC+. Since then, he has fallen apart. In his last 51 games, he has slashed .218/.309/.362 with four home runs, 30 RBIs and a wRC+ of 90.
There is a ton of risk in this deal, especially given what they surrendered to land him. Breslow may be banking on a bounce-back from Rutschman, but he paid as though it had already happened.
As if that wasn’t enough Breslow, also bet big on Curtis Mead. He acquired the 25-year-old infielder from the Nationals last week. Mead is in the middle of a career year, slashing .253/.353/.498, which are all career bests, while his 17 home runs are 12 more than he had in his three-year career entering the season. Meanwhile, his wRC+ (134) is 58 points higher than his 2025 mark of 76. Here’s the fun part: Mead was DFA’d by the White Sox in March and four months later the Red Sox treated him like a hot commodity at the deadline. They shipped left-handed starter Connelly Early to Washington for him. Early is 24 and in 21 career starts is 8–7 with a 3.24 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He’s under team control through the 2031 season and could blossom into a frontline starter.
That trade was made all the worse when Mead was hit by a pitch and fractured his wrist in his second at-bat with the Red Sox. He’s out for at least six weeks.
Then came the most baffling move of the bunch. Shortly before the deadline, Breslow acquired lefty reliever Erik Miller from the Giants in exchange for former top prospect Marcelo Mayer. What, exactly, was he doing here?
Miller is a 28-year-old lefty who does have some encouraging numbers. Over the past two seasons, he is 6–1 with a 2.15 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 62 2/3 innings. He also has 42 walks and a 1.42 WHIP in that time. On the plus side, opposing hitters have an xBA of .181 off him in 2026, while his whiff (34.8%) and strikeout rates (31.7%) are excellent and his average exit velo against (83.1 mph) is exceptional. He’s a sinker-slider guy, with the slider the star as opposing hitters are producing an xSLG of .192 against it this season. So, yes, Miller is a nice pickup, though his walk rate (15.5%) is concerning. He’s a solid addition; the issue is what Boston gave up to get him.
Mayer is the team’s former top prospect and was the fourth pick in the 2021 MLB draft. He debuted last year and struggled to hit consistently. Over 114 big-league games, his wRC+ of 69 is untenable for a team in a playoff race. On the plus side, he’s only 23 and has plenty of good tools, though moving off shortstop has reduced his value. Given his pedigree and talent, there’s a decent chance he turns things around. He’s been dealing with a stress reaction in his left wrist, but in 43 games at Triple A this season he did produce an .818 OPS.
Smart investors buy low, then sell high. Breslow did the exact opposite with every deal at this deadline.
What made those deals even more shocking was that the seller’s market everyone projected never really materialized. Apparently, no one told Boston’s front office.
The Red Sox improved their big league roster over the past week. But if they don’t make a deep postseason run, this deadline won’t be remembered for the players Boston acquired. It’ll be remembered for the talent Craig Breslow recklessly gave away.
More MLB from Sports Illustrated
- Grading Every Major Deal at the MLB Trade Deadline
- Five Winners and Five Losers From the 2026 MLB Trade Deadline
- Heliot Ramos Trade Grades: Yankees Fill a Key Need in Deal With Giants
- Clay Holmes Trade Grades: Cubs Give Mets a New No. 1 Prospect for Righty Starter
- Adley Rutschman Trade Grades: Red Sox Pay Up to Land Orioles’ All-Star Catcher
