‘It simply really did not exercise:’ Red Sox Lament Absence of Big Target Date Trades

The Boston Red Sox are trying to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2021, but it seemed the team fell short of making the big splash it wanted to at Thursday’s trade deadline.

“I understand the frustration and the disappointment. There’s not a lot of sympathy for how hard we tried to get deals across the line. I understand that,” Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow told reporters in a conference call. “We believe that we have a really young, exciting, talented team and one that is capable of continuing to perform at this level and and get to the postseason. That’s what our focus is on.”

Boston acquired right-hander Dustin May from the Los Angeles Dodgers at the trade deadline on Thursday, bolstering the rotation but falling short of the front-line starter the team was shopping for as it tries to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2021.

The Dodgers will receive minor league infielder/outfielder James Tibbs III and outfielder Zach Ehrhard for May, who is 6-7 with a 4.85 ERA this season. In his last outing, May gave up four runs in five innings in a loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Breslow, who also acquired Cardinals lefty reliever Steven Matz earlier Thursday, said there was no one off the table for discussions.

“We went into this deadline feeling like in order to accomplish what we needed to accomplish — what we hope to accomplish … we couldn’t go into this with untouchables. And we didn’t,” he said. “We were willing to talk about all of our guys in the name of improving the team. It just didn’t work out.”

A member of the Dodgers’ 2020 World Series championship team, May pitched in just 20 games over the next four seasons as he tried to come back from two Tommy John surgeries and a torn esophagus. He agreed to a one-year deal with the Dodgers last offseason worth just over $2 million.

Tibbs was one of the players acquired in the salary-shedding deal that sent All-Star designated hitter Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants last month. The deal brought the Red Sox little in talent but saved them more than $250 million that was expected to fatten their wallets for the trade deadline and beyond.

After missing the playoffs for three straight seasons and five of the last six – including three last-place finishes – the Red Sox were primed for a trade deadline spending spree. Despite trading Devers, Boston won 10 straight games heading into the All-Star break, has improved to 59-51 and entered the day in position for a wild-card berth.

“The team has been playing well. The playoffs are firmly in view,” Breslow said. “We felt like we needed to do what we could to try and bolster the team. I think I’ve been pretty outspoken about that.”

But the acquisitions of May and Matz are unlikely to make the impact that Red Sox fans had been promised. The teams Boston is chasing in the AL East all made bigger moves to improve, with the Toronto Blue Jays acquiring Shane Bieber and the Yankees picking up relievers Camilo Doval, David Bednar and Jake Bird as well as outfielder Austin Slater, third baseman Ryan McMahon and infielder Amed Rosario.

Seattle, which entered the day 1 1/2 games behind Boston in the wild-card race, landed slugger Eugenio Suarez — perhaps the top prize of the deadline.

“We can’t ignore what other teams are doing,” Breslow said. “Ultimately, we’re all going to be defined by what happens from tomorrow through our last game of the season, and eventually the playoffs. I think it’s really easy to sit here today and evaluate the trades that were made and how much better we think teams got on paper. Ultimately, those questions are going to be answered for us.”

The Red Sox acquired Matz, who is 5-2 with a 3.44 ERA in 32 games this season, mostly in relief, from St. Louis in exchange for minor league infielder Blaze Jordan. Jordan, 22, is batting .298 with six homers and 25 RBIs at Triple-A Worcester this season, having also spent time in Double-A.

The Giants traded Tibbs to Boston on June 15 in a package for Devers. He is batting .232 with 13 homers and 38 RBIs in Single- and Double-A. Ehrhard, 22, was hitting .227 with eight homers and 23 RBIs with Double-A Portland.

Reporting by The Associated Press. 

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