Today is the trade deadline and the Boston Red Sox have made some moves. First, the Sox sent 22 year old first baseman Blaze Jordan and 22 year old outfielder Zach Ehrhard to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for 34 year old relief pitcher Steven Matz. Jordan went viral as a teenager for hitting tape measure bombs and the Sox took him in the 3rd round back in the 2020 draft. He was hitting .298 in Worcester with 6 home runs and 25 rbis in 44 games and was a victim of the numbers game. The Sox already have Alex Bregman at third and Triston Casas will be back next year. Chaim Bloom drafted him and now he's reunited with Blaze in St. Louis. Ehrhard was drafted out of high school and again out of college. He was hitting .227 with 8 home runs and 23 rbis at the time of the trade. Meanwhile Matz looked like the next big thing with the New York Mets going 4-0 with a 2.26 ERA in 6 starts down the stretch as the Mets went on a run to the World Series against the Kansas City Royals. He never became a star and bottomed out in 2020, although he had a bounce back season in 2021 in Toronto's rotation. He's been perfectly mediocre with the Cardinals since 2022 but he was having a good season this year going 5-2 with a 3.44 ERA. The Sox are probably going to send Jorge Alcala packing so if Matz can just keep doing what he's doing, he could be a big contributor down the stretch.
The second trade caused an uproar in the Red Sox fandom. Rumors swirled all week that the Red Sox wanted Minnesota starter Joe Ryan and today the Twins sold off just about everyone....except Ryan. It was reported, then confirmed that the Red Sox traded James Tibbs, the centerpiece of the Rafael Devers trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers for often injured starter Dustin May. May is 6-7 with a 4.85 ERA this season and is essentially LA's fifth starter. The Sox gave up part of the Devers package for a fifth starter, let that sink in.
You can look at this two ways. The pessimist way is the Sox once again did absolutely nothing at the deadline besides put a band-aid on a gushing wound. The Sox desperately needed a second starter go with Crochet and a bat in the lineup to replace Devers. Instead the Sox got a relief pitcher they didn't need and a fifth starter. The Sox had a chance to deal prospects for what they needed and chose not to do it. If they collapse down the stretch, they deserve it.
The other way to look at it is the Sox didn't give up their primary prospects such as The Password, Peyton Tolle, Connelly Early, Miguel Bleis or Kyson Witherspoon. Tibbs wasn't exactly lighting it up in Portland and Blaze Jordan was a victim of the numbers game. Not to mention both Matz and May are free agents after the season. Both their contracts along with Walker Buehler and Lucas Giolito come off the books. Sox GM Craig Breslow is essentially playing for next year, at least you can respect that.
All in all the Sox trade deadline was underwhelming and fans are not happy. Whether they go from here is up to the team.
On this day in Boston Red Sox Basebawful History:
2010 - Ortiz, Sox walkoff Tigers
2017 - Fister, Sox defeat Indians
2018 - Sox fall to Phillies
2019 - Yankees knock out Sox
2020 - Yankees easily defeat Sox
2022 - Sox rally past Brewers
The Sox are back in action tomorrow night against the Houston Astros. The Sox still haven't named a starter while Hunter Brown goes for the Astros. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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