Red Sox Have One Clear Trade Deadline Move and One They Absolutely Should Not Make

The Boston Red Sox are in a tough spot. They swept the Yankees in late June, sure, but that four-game win streak feels more like a mirage than a turning point. The team is sitting in the AL East basement, and the brutal truth is this: the American League is weak this year, with only five teams above .500, and the Red Sox are not one of them.

Boston made the playoffs last season and nearly knocked off the Yankees in the Wild Card round. But this year’s roster barely resembles that group. Garrett Crochet has been out since late April with shoulder inflammation and a lat strain. He’s hoping to return after the All-Star break, but that might be wishful thinking. Roman Anthony, the team’s promising outfielder, has been sidelined since early May with a partially torn ligament in his right ring finger. What was supposed to be a 10-day absence has turned into months.

And then there’s the Alex Bregman situation. The Red Sox didn’t sign him in the offseason, and that decision by general manager Craig Breslow has aged terribly. Boston could use his right-handed bat and his veteran presence. Instead, they’re left with a lineup that often looks like it belongs in Triple-A.

All of this leads to one obvious conclusion: the Red Sox should be sellers at the Aug. 3 trade deadline, not buyers. There is no realistic path to contention here. They might climb past the Orioles and out of last place, but expecting a miracle comeback is a fool’s errand.

Hold on to Willson Contreras

That said, selling doesn’t mean trading everyone. The Red Sox absolutely should not move Willson Contreras, even though he’s facing a seven-game suspension for his role in a near-brawl with the Nationals. Contreras brings the kind of firepower this team desperately needs. He leads the team with 18 home runs and 53 RBIs, and he’s under team control through 2027, with an option for 2028. That’s two more years of a legitimate power bat at a position where Boston has no obvious replacement.

The Red Sox don’t have another reliable first baseman in the system. Triston Casas is still around but barely part of the conversation anymore after an abdominal injury kept him out all year. He hasn’t played a single game in 2025. His 24-homer season in 2023 feels like a long time ago. Casas isn’t the answer right now, and nobody should pretend otherwise.

Contreras has the right-handed pop that plays at Fenway, and he brings an edge that this clubhouse needs. Trading him would create a hole the team can’t fill for years. So keep him. Simple as that.

Sonny Gray needs to go

But the Red Sox do need to trade Sonny Gray. The 36-year-old righty has been exceptional this season: 9-1 with a 2.69 ERA and 10 quality starts in 15 outings. He’s not a power pitcher — he lives on his cutter and sweeper, getting soft contact and keeping hitters off balance. That makes him exactly the kind of veteran arm contenders want for a playoff push.

Here’s the thing: Gray isn’t under contract beyond this season. He’s not part of the long-term plan in Boston, and this team isn’t going to win anything meaningful in 2025. Trading him could bring back a package of prospects or established young talent that fits the rebuild timeline. Breslow needs to make that call.

The Red Sox have some young arms in the rotation — left-handers Connelly Early, Payton Tolle, and Jake Bennett have all held their own alongside Gray and Ranger Suarez. But the core of this team is still a mess. You don’t fix that by holding onto a 36-year-old rental when you’re in last place.

The path forward is clear: keep Contreras, trade Gray, and don’t talk yourself into a false sense of hope because you swept a banged-up Yankees team in June.