The Boston Red Sox underwhelmed at the trade deadline, acquiring only LHP Steven Matz and RHP Dustin May. Both figure to play an important role down the stretch, but for a team with significant forward momentum and a real shot at the pennant, fans were hoping for a bigger splash. The dream in most Red Sox circles was Minnesota Twins ace Joe Ryan.
Ryan has enjoyed a dominant campaign for the Twins, punching a ticket to his first All-Star game. He's 10-5 with a 2.83 ERA and 0.93 WHIP through 22 appearances (21 starts), notching 141 strikeouts in 127.1 innings. Still 29 years old and on a controllable contract, Ryan would've been a home run addition for the Sox.
While Boston made an effort to acquire Ryan, Craig Breslow and the front office never came close. In fact, the Red Sox were unwilling to offer any of their MLB outfielders, nor enough prospect capital to pique Minnesota's interest, per The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. This is particularly striking when the Twins basically sold half their roster at the deadline, including All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa and top relievers Jhoan Durán and Griffin Jax.
We know the Twins were listening to all offers with an open mind. Boston has the talent to move a deal across the finish line, but the Red Sox balked at a high asking price. It could come back to bite them.
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This Red Sox trade package would've been enough for Twins to give up Joe Ryan
This is a lot to give up — don't get me wrong — but in a marketplace where the Padres are giving up a potentially generational prospect in Leo De Vries for a 26-year-old reliever, a controllable starter like Ryan is going to cost a pretty penny. That is why the Red Sox ultimately fell short, but Breslow has talked a big game all season about Boston's spending power and competitive desire. To come up short of such a monumental addition is disappointing, to say the least.
Wilyer Abreu has put together another excellent campaign at the plate, producing an .800 OPS and 113 wRC+ at 26 years old. He's a plus defender in right field and a significant source of power in the middle of a lineup. Minnesota would love to get him in the building.
Pair Abreu with Payton Tolle, a 22-year-old southpaw with an unhittable fastball, and Miguel Bleis, a 21-year-old outfielder with tremendous raw power, and the Twins are taking that offer in a heartbeat given the direction of the franchise. If all goes well, Abreu can anchor a reworked lineup in the short term, while Tolle and Bleis develop into high-leverage starters a few years down the line.
Red Sox dropped the ball in Joe Ryan trade talks
Boston tends to play it safe. Aside from the Garrett Crochet trade — an undeniable win — that has been the defining feature of Breslow's tenure as team president. Even the Rafael Devers trade was an example of Boston sidestepping drama and uncertainty in favor of a happier locker room, despite Devers' immense offensive value. A gutsier GM tries to work things out and keep Devers around, despite his lofty contract and well-documented unhappiness. The Red Sox were under no obligation to trade Devers with eight years left on his contract.
That said, credit where it's due; Boston is winning a lot of games, despite Breslow's unambitious attitude. The Red Sox are sustainably built, with three of MLB's brightest young stars and a solid veteran apparatus around them. Questions remain with this roster, primarily on the rotation front, but the Red Sox are good. We can only imagine how good they'd be with Ryan taking the mound every fifth day behind Crochet.