Red Sox
“Talks fell apart when the Red Sox were unwilling to offer any of their big league outfielders, or an enticing enough package of their top-tier prospects.”
The Red Sox were reportedly interested in trading for Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan over the last couple of months. However, they weren’t interested enough to let go of any of their surplus of outfielders on Boston’s MLB roster, according to a report.
Per The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow wasn’t inclined to deal big-league outfielders in a potential trade for the right-hander, and Boston’s minor league players on the table weren’t enough for the Twins, either.
“According to league sources briefed on discussions from the Twins’ side, talks fell apart when the Red Sox were unwilling to offer any of their big league outfielders, or an enticing enough package of their top-tier prospects,” McCaffrey wrote on Thursday, hours after MLB’s trade deadline passed.
Conflicting reports surfaced following the 6 p.m. on July 31 deadline on whether the Red Sox came close to landing Ryan. On one hand, MLB insider Jon Morosi said Boston got “pretty close” to acquiring the player after reporting that the team made a late push in the final minutes.
However, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and MassLive’s Chris Cotillo each reported that the Red Sox were never close to crossing the finish line with Minnesota.
“Not even close,” Cotillo said, sharing what a source told him regarding Boston’s efforts.
“My understanding is any talks with the Twins were feeble at best,” Rosenthal said on “Foul Territory.”
Regardless, it’s evident that whatever the Red Sox’ best offer for Minnesota wasn’t good enough to swap for Ryan.
McCaffrey’s report infers that Breslow and the rest of Boston’s front office were not willing to deal outfielder Jarren Duran, as well as Wilyer Abreu and (understandably) Roman Anthony.
Given the Red Sox’ season-long logjam of individuals who play the outfield, it’s surprising the team reportedly wasn’t willing to part with any of them. Perhaps Triple-A outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia was on the table, for example, instead of a major-leaguer like Duran; it doesn’t seem like an unproven minor-leaguer would have sufficed for the Twins.
Because of Boston’s continued surplus of MLB outfielders (Abreu, Anthony, Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Rob Refsnyder), there is no clear path for Garcia to be promoted.
Breslow spoke with reporters on Zoom after the trade deadline about his attempts to acquire players that failed.
“We were uncomfortably aggressive in trying to pursue them, in the players we were trying to put into deals,” Breslow said. “Ultimately, it wasn’t from a lack of effort. Other teams needed to say, ‘Hey, that’s enough. That crosses the line.’ It wasn’t about an unwillingness to talk about our full system.”
Minnesota completed nine trades before the deadline, signaling they wanted to clean house ahead of 2026. The Twins’ biggest deal consisted of trading Carlos Correa, and $70 million of the $105 million remaining guaranteed on his contract, to his former team, the Houston Astros, in exchange for one prospect. They also dealt closer Jhoan Duran and outfielder Harrison Bader to the Philadelphia Phillies, starting pitcher Griffin Jax to the Tampa Bay Rays, and several more.
With that being said, it’s interesting that Minnesota was unable to trade Ryan. It’s especially interesting how the Red Sox were unable to put together a package good enough for the Twins, given the number of other trades Minnesota agreed to during its fire sale this week.
Breslow didn’t directly name Minnesota while speaking with the media on Thursday night, but he seemed to claim that certain clubs he discussed deals with were not necessarily interested.
“We pursued a number of really impact possibilities,” Breslow said. “Ultimately it takes two teams lining up for those teams to line up. … Teams have to like our players in order for that to happen.”
Boston could have used another top-of-the-rotation pitcher in Ryan to complement Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello down the stretch and hopefully into the playoffs. It acquired starter Dustin May from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday, but the right-hander owns nearly a 5.00 ERA through 19 games this season.
Giving up a player like Duran in exchange for Ryan, who is under team control through 2027, is a hypothetical deal that fans may look back on and wonder if Breslow should have pulled the trigger.
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