Red Sox Trade Deadline Strategy Clouded by Uncertain Market originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Boston Red Sox were the hottest team in the MLB entering the All-Star break, winning 10 straight games and putting themselves right back in the playoff hunt. The Red Sox lost the first two games out of the break to the Chicago Cubs, but were able to salvage Sunday’s finale.
With its recent success, Boston will be active buyers at the 2025 MLB trade deadline, and president of baseball operations Craig Breslow has been vocal about putting the right chips on the table to make a World Series run.
However, doing so could be difficult if the Red Sox don’t know who will be available at the deadline. One of the Red Sox’s main needs at the deadline is bullpen help, but multiple MLB insiders have reported that there’s uncertainty over whether some of the potential top relievers will actually be available at the deadline.
“Big-name relievers such as Emmanuel Clase and Jhoan Duran have frequently populated the hot stove, but they may all stay put beyond July 31. Ryan Helsley is another top reliever on a fringe contender,” NESN’s Andrew Gould wrote. “ESPN’s Jeff Passan recently identified the St. Louis Cardinals closer as Boston’s ‘best match’ for an impactful deadline deal. However, the Red Sox may not get the chance.
“The Cardinals ‘remain undecided’ on whether to shop Helsley before the deadline, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. They ‘may have no choice’ but to trade the pending free agent because they don’t intend to extend him a qualifying offer this offseason.”
Any of the three relievers mentioned would be massive adds to the Red Sox bullpen to work with closer Aroldis Chapman. However, Boston might have to target secondary guys as well if some of the top arms become unavailable.
With so many teams on the fringe of playoff contention, the next 10 days will be critical in teams deciding whether to buy or sell and which players are worth keeping versus moving on from.
Related: Red Sox Predicted to Trade All-Star in Blockbuster Deal for Guardians Pitcher
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 21, 2025, where it first appeared.