Red Sox trade deadline failure grows to be a full-blown catastrophe

The Boston Red Sox had low-ish expectations entering this season following an underwhelming offseason in what was projected to be a brutal AL East, but they shocked many by sticking around in the AL Wild Card race virtually from the jump. Despite dealing with a myriad of injuries, the team had hung around or over .500 all season long, leading to Craig Breslow buying at the trade deadline.

Red Sox fans hoped that the team would make a big move or two following their underwhelming offseason, but instead, while Craig Breslow was active, the moves he made were far from blockbusters. The Red Sox brought in several players and addressed holes on their roster, but the players that they brought in were far from All-Stars.

Sure enough, the team that was 56-50 on deadline day has gone 19-25 since, bumping their record down to the .500 mark entering Monday's action, and all but ending their once-bright postseason hopes. At this point, a lot would have to go in Boston's favor for them to squeak into the postseason.

Boston's deadline failures have a lot to do with where the team is now. To make matters worse, one of their questionable deadline deals looks even worse now with the news that the Pittsburgh Pirates are set to promote Nick Yorke to the majors.

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Red Sox deadline failures reach new low following Nick Yorke promotion

The Red Sox made several moves, but one of them in particular was shocking. They chose to trade Nick Yorke to the Pirates in exchange for Quinn Priester. On the surface, this made some sense. Boston needed pitching, and the Pirates needed hitting. The problem was it felt like Boston gave up the better and more promising player. That's exactly how this deal has played out so far.

Yorke had been playing well at the Triple-A level before the deal and had only stepped his game up in the Pirates system, putting up a .938 OPS in 40 games for Triple-A Indianapolis. On the flip side, Priester has a 5.67 ERA in eight starts in the Red Sox organization.

Yorke has a very legitimate shot at being the Pirates' second baseman of the future, while Priester might be a long shot to ever play a role in Boston's rotation. That might seem crazy to say, but he's 24 years old, has a 6.46 ERA in 20 MLB appearances (5.04 ERA this season), and is struggling in the minors right now. Assuming Boston upgrades their rotation in the offseason, how will Priester make the cut if he hasn't yet?

The Yorke deal looks like an easy win for the Pirates, and unfortunately, that isn't the only loss that the Red Sox have taken.

James Paxton, the only starting pitcher they traded for despite a slew of injuries, made three starts with the team before suffering a season-ending injury. Luis Garcia (10.32 ERA) and Lucas Sims (8.10 ERA) both struggled mightily post-deadline and have both been sidelined with injuries since late August. To top it all off, Danny Jansen is hitting under .200 with a .653 OPS in 26 games with the Red Sox.

It's not only the fault of these acquisitions that the team has fallen flat down the stretch, but they haven't exactly helped either. The Yorke promotion only added fuel to the fire. The Red Sox had a chance to make a difference at the trade deadline but refused to make any big moves, and are paying the price every day.