It was a relatively quiet trade deadline for the Red Sox, as Dustin May and Steven Matz were the only additions brought onto the roster for the pennant race. However, the Sox had their eyes on plenty of bigger targets, including the team’s previously-reported pushes for the Twins’ Joe Ryan and the Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara. WEEI’s Rob Bradford provides some details on those pursuits, saying that the Red Sox were willing to dig deep into the prospect depth to try and secure a deal.
“Anybody and everybody from the Sox’s minor league system” was available to some extent, Bradford writes. Boston offered multiple packages that included two of Jhostynxon Garcia, Payton Tolle, and Franklin Arias as the headliners, with other names also involved from the top ten names on the club’s prospect rankings. Since the Marlins and Twins didn’t seem to be prioritizing the addition of big league players, Red Sox officials saw Alcantara and Ryan as particularly good fits since Boston didn’t want to trade from its Major League roster.
A match didn’t happen, of course, and Bradford characterizes the talks with the Twins as somewhat one-sided on Boston’s part. “Ultimately, Minnesota never acted, not informing the Red Sox chief decision-makers what level of offer would be needed to pull off….a move for a controllable ace starting pitcher,” Bradford writes. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that the Twins actually did want some MLB-level talent, as Minnesota wanted either Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu in a Ryan trade package.
As much as the Twins’ deadline fire sale was about shedding payroll, Duran or Abreu are arbitration-controlled through the 2028 season. Obtaining a controllable starting outfielder would’ve been a sign that the Twins still want to return to competitive baseball as soon as 2026, and Thursday’s stunning set of moves wasn’t the first step of a rebuild process. The club’s other deadline moves saw multiple players with MLB experience obtained, including such names as Taj Bradley, Mick Abel, and James Outman.
Turning to the injury front, Nightengale writes that Marcelo Mayer could be facing a season-ending wrist surgery, as the rookie infielder’s “sprained wrist is more serious than the Red Sox initially envisioned.” Mayer was placed on the 10-day IL a little over a week ago and he recently received an injection in his wrist to help with the healing process.
Speaking with MassLive.com’s Sean McAdam and other reporters, Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow didn’t rule out the possibility of surgery. For now, the hope is that the injection “gives him the best chance to be back on the field this season. It’s a credit to him to try to do anything he can to get back.”
Mayer has hit .228/.272/.402 over his first 136 plate appearances in the Show. While not a standout performance, it isn’t unexpected for a player to need time to adjust to the majors, plus it helps that a healthy Mayer would be a luxury at this point for a crowded Red Sox infield. Now that Alex Bregman is back from the IL and Ceddanne Rafaela has moved into regular second-base duty, the team’s everyday lineup is pretty set, so Mayer might only be in line for a bench role if he is able to get back to action.
One player whose return seems a little more likely is Justin Slaten, though Breslow warned that “it’s hard to put a timetable on it given the topsy-turvy nature of the recovery to date.” Slaten hasn’t pitched since May 28 due to right shoulder inflammation, though as the reliever told Bradford and company, he was also dealing with a nerve issue related to his transverse bone.
That problem has now been corrected, and Slaten’s restarted throwing progression hit another checkpoint with a bullpen session on Saturday. The Sox will continue with a more gradual build-up and a minor league rehab assignment will surely be necessary given how much time Slaten has missed. If all goes well, Slaten feels he’ll be back by September, and ready to continue building on what is becoming an impressive resume. Slaten has a 3.09 ERA over 78 2/3 relief innings since making his MLB debut last season.