by Even though the Red Sox’s 2025 season has been erratic thus far, Alex Cora and his team appear to be back in the running for the playoffs.
Boston is tied with the Mariners for the third and final wild card berth going into Thursday night’s game against the Rays, having won six straight games over the Nationals and Rockies, two teams who are in the bottom.
The Red Sox still have a lot of work to do to catch up to the AL’s leapfrogging clubs, as they are now four games over.500. According to FanGraphs, Boston has a mere 35.9 percent probability of qualifying for the playoffs.
But what will chief baseball officer Craig Breslow do to strengthen Boston’s roster now that the Red Sox are starting to gather some traction and MLB’s July 31 trade deadline is quickly approaching?
As of right moment, it appears that every possibility is open.
We need to zoom out a bit to attempt to understand who we are, what we have coming back, and what we believe is sustainable since it kind of depends on where we are. Breslow remarked Thursday when he appeared on WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show.
Breslow said that starting pitching was thought to be Boston’s weak point for the majority of the spring and warned that this might change quickly.
We would have discussed beginning pitching, gaining more consistency, and locating a player who could fill in at the top of the rotation behind Garrett [Crochet] a month and a half ago, Breslow said. After considering the work that Brayan [Bello] and Lucas [Giolito] have done over the past month and a half, you begin to have faith in the way the starting pitching is developing.
After Crochet (9-4, 2.39 ERA), Giolito and Bello have both contributed significantly to Boston’s remarkable surge over the past month and are beginning to look like real weapons in the rotation.
Giolito is 5-0 with a pitiful 0.70 ERA during his last six appearances, dropping his ERA from 6.42 to 3.36 over that time. Bello is 3-2 with a 2.83 ERA over his last nine starts.
Breslow emphasized that pitching is still a priority for a team whose starters have a 4.18 ERA this season, despite Giolito and Bello finding their rhythms.
However, you can never have too much [beginning throwing], so I believe that would be our top priority. However, we have witnessed the progress made by [Richard] Fitts, [Hunter] Dobbins, and [Tanner] Houck. Although we have considerable depth, I believe that we would probably concentrate on starting pitching if there was a chance to contribute to the group.
Given the lackluster performances from other arms like Walker Buehler and Tanner Houck, adding another established starter who could sit behind Crochet would benefit the remainder of Boston’s rotation.
Jon Morosi of MLB Network said on Wednesday that the Red Sox are keeping an eye on the Twins righty Joe Ryan market with a few weeks left until the trade deadline.
Ryan may be the missing component for Boston as a dominant No. 2 starter, but it would take a big comeback to wriggle a pitcher with term (two more arbitration-eligible seasons in 2026 and 2027).
With an 8-4 record, 2.76 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 116 strikeouts in 104.1 innings pitched, Ryan has been among the top pitchers in baseball in 2025.
The Red Sox must consider their choices at the deadline and determine whether to purchase, as well as what to do with Alex Bregman going forward.
After joining the team in February, Bregman has contributed significantly to Boston, earning an All-Star selection in just 51 games despite missing six weeks of play due to a quad issue.
The 31-year-old veteran did sign a three-year, $120 million contract with Boston this spring, but if he thinks he can land a bigger, longer-term deal, he can opt out and test free agency again after this season and next year.
Retaining Bregman on a long-term extension would appear to be a wise move by Breslow and Boston as they want to lay the groundwork going ahead, especially since the Red Sox traded Rafael Devers last month.
Since this is something that both Alex and we are thinking about, I believe that “ongoing” is always an appropriate summary. Regarding contract negotiations with Bregman, Breslow stated that he was more concerned about Bregman’s anticipated return to the field this weekend against the Rays.
Breslow continued, “I’ve been fairly vocal about what he’s provided on the field and in the clubhouse.” We would like to see him here for a very long time wearing a Red Sox uniform.
Bregman expressed a similar desire to remain with Boston for the long run when he spoke last month.
According to Chris Cotillo of MassLive, Bregman stated of his June 30 performance in Boston, “I expected to love playing here and I have definitely loved playing here.” It’s a fantastic baseball field. It’s fantastic to be able to perform for this company.
It has absolutely lived up to my high expectations, which were all extremely favorable.
Since 2023, Conor Ryan has worked as a staff writer for Boston.com, covering the Boston Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox.
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