Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow wasn’t afraid to get bold ahead of Monday’s MLB trade deadline.
He made arguably the most shocking deal of deadline day, acquiring All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for catcher Carlos Narvaez and a massive prospect haul. Top pitching prospects Anthony Eyanson (No. 2 Red Sox prospect, per MLB Pipeline) and Kyson Witherspoon (No. 4) were shipped to Baltimore along with top outfield prospect Enddy Azocar (No. 5) and a player to be named later. Boston also received catcher Jake Rogers in the deal.
Later, the Red Sox traded infielder Marcelo Mayer to the San Francisco Giants for left-handed reliever Erik Miller. They also sent minor-league right-hander Tyler Uberstine to the Atlanta Braves for outfielder Eli White.
One week before the deadline, Boston sent rookie southpaw Connelly Early to the Washington Nationals in exchange for infielder Curtis Mead. Mead suffered a fractured wrist on a hit-by-pitch in his second plate appearance with the Sox and was subsequently placed on the 10-day injured list. He’s expected to miss six to eight weeks.
One word to describe Breslow’s deadline approach? Aggressive. Boston is going all in after miraculously winning 28 of its last 33 games and climbing to the second Wild Card spot in the American League. Once on track for one of the worst seasons in the franchise’s 125-year history, the surging club is suddenly considered a legitimate World Series contender.
So, what grades did MLB experts across the nation give the Red Sox’ trades? Were they trade deadline winners or losers?
Here’s a roundup of instant reactions:
“Look, the Red Sox might turn into winners, but the Rutschman and Mayer deals are pretty bizarre. Giving up three of your top five prospects — of a very good system — is a wild pay for Rutschman. Mayer, one of the top prospects in the game not so long ago, was flipped for a lefty reliever who walks six batters per nine innings. You have to admire chief baseball officer Craig Breslow going absolutely all-in when so many front offices are reluctant to do so, but the Red Sox better rally past the Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays and win the division or Boston could easily find itself eliminated in an anything-can-happen-in-three-games wild-card series.”
Schoenfield: “A couple hitches here to explain why this isn’t a higher grade. Rutschman is currently on the IL with left wrist inflammation, his third IL stint of the season. He missed 10 days in April with knee inflammation and then another 10 days in June following a concussion. This is on top of a hand injury of some sort that hurt his offense in the second half of 2024 and injuries in 2025 that limited him to 90 games. The second hitch: After hitting .356 with a 1.067 OPS in April, he has hit just .218/.309/.362 since. The third hitch: The Red Sox gave up a lot in the deal.
“I love the aggressiveness here from Craig Breslow in trying to get the Red Sox to a World Series, but I’m also not convinced that Rutschman is enough of an upgrade to justify what the Red Sox traded away.
Schoenfield: “What are the Red Sox doing? The consensus was they overpaid to get Curtis Mead. They gave up three of their top five prospects to get one-plus years of Adley Rutschman. And now they give up Mayer for a lefty reliever who is averaging more than six walks per nine innings in 2026 (and 5.5 in his career). Craig Breslow is going for it at the trade deadline like nobody else we’ve seen in a long time. In a way, you have to admire the audacity.
“But it’s a risky play because the Red Sox are still five games behind the Rays and 2½ games behind the Yankees. It’s one thing to make these deals when you’re trying to put the finishing touches on a first-place team. But one that’s in third place? The probability is the Red Sox will still end up in the wild-card series anyway, a best-of-three coin flip.”
“Rutschman isn’t quite the superstar he looked to be when he first reached MLB, but he’s still one of the game’s better catchers and under team control for 2027, too. Boston is probably going to love him.
“As for the price general manager Craig Breslow paid, let’s go to a talent evaluator quoted by Sean McAdam of MassLive.com: “I’m absolutely dumbfounded by this … This is literally one of the most ridiculous trades I’ve seen in 30 years. … The baseball world is prone to overrating the value of prospects, but that’s a considerable price for a guy whose median outcome is a quality starter and not much more.'”
“The Adley Rutschman trade is a stunner, as was the top prospect package the Red Sox surrendered. We often hear a team has to be bowled over to consider moving a player, and it feels like that’s what happened here. The Orioles set a sky-high asking price and the Red Sox said OK, we’ll do it. Rutschman is on the injured list with a wrist issue, but he has begun baseball activities, and isn’t too far away.
“He improves the Red Sox defensively and lengthens and diversifies their lineup. I’m sure they were disappointed to not get a shortstop, but Rutschman was arguably the best position player traded at the deadline. A genuine shocker, this was.”
“The Red Sox had a strong deadline even though they may have overpaid some in their two biggest trades. They still landed exactly what they needed to make their team better.
“Acquiring Mead gave them the right-handed power-hitting infielder they were looking for — it was just unfortunate he was injured in his first game with them. Trading for Rutschman could be a difference-making move for Boston both in the regular season and postseason. He’s a game-changing player and will help the middle of their lineup and defense behind the plate. Adding Miller to an already strong bullpen was also a smart play.
“I know many Red Sox fans who buy into prospects will be screaming about them trading so many big-name prospects, but several players that team president Craig Breslow traded have been over-hyped and over-ranked. In time, I believe Sox fans will be happy they landed Rutschman, especially if they can sign him long-term.”
“There’s a lot of long-term risk here because of the star potential heading to Baltimore, and this could be a Red Sox F in the long-term analysis. But this is what an all-in move looks like, and the Red Sox finally made one.”
“I won’t ding Craig Breslow for the Rutschman deal as much as many onlookers have. Sure, it’s a lot to give up for 1.5 years of an injury-prone player who’s been up-and-down as a hitter, but his elite defense offers a high floor and I understand and respect the aggression. What I really don’t understand is why Boston left other holes unfilled, particularly in the middle infield, where they cut bait with Marcelo Mayer without adding anything else. I’m still not quite sure whether this lineup is good enough come October, and Erik Miller as the only relief add was a bit curious.”
“Grading this one is tricky. The return is massive for Baltimore, and a couple of years from now, when Eyanson and Witherspoon are dominating in the O’s rotation, maybe we view this move as a turning point for the franchise. Still, it has to be gut-wrenching for Orioles fans to see the topsy-turvy Rutschman era come to an end like this, watching him play for a division rival at 28 years old. …
“With this move, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow addresses one of the offense’s problem areas. Boston catchers rank 25th in OPS and 26th in fWAR this season, and the Red Sox are betting that Rutschman can change that in a meaningful way.”
USA TODAY: B+ (Rutschman trade)
“Boston had the worst catching in the division and just landed the best. Its catchers combined for a .615 OPS this season, 25th in baseball. Rutschman is at .251 with eight homers, 47 RBI and a .764 OPS, and his defense is elite: 93rd percentile in framing, 100th percentile at throwing runners out. His 37.2% caught-stealing rate leads the majors. He’s 28 and is under team control through 2027. Boston beat out the Yankees and Rays reportedly to get him and the Red Sox blocked them.”
