The Red Sox are heading into the second half with real momentum, and that changes the conversation fast. Boston comes back Friday for a doubleheader against the Tampa Bay Rays, sitting at 46-48 after winning 14 of its last 16 games. A team that looked buried not long ago is suddenly right back in the playoff race, and with a little more than two weeks left before the 2026 trade deadline, Craig Breslow should be shopping for help.
The biggest question now is which bats make sense for Boston. The club needs offense, and there are a few names that stand out as possible fits.
Gleyber Torres is one of them. The former longtime New York Yankee is now with the Detroit Tigers, and before the All-Star break he was hitting .280/.395/.395 with a .790 OPS, four homers and 18 RBIs.
He’s currently on the Injured List, but he has already started a rehab assignment. Torres would give Boston the kind of right-handed pop its lineup could use, and at 29 years old, he still fits the timeline.
Luis Arráez is a different kind of target, but an appealing one all the same. He doesn’t bring right-handed power, yet he does bring elite contact skills and a track record that speaks for itself.
With three batting titles already, he’s in the mix for another one and is hitting .330 right now. For Boston, he’d be a table-setter near the top of the order and a steady way to get on base.
Then there’s James Wood, the kind of swing-for-the-fences target that would change everything if it somehow became realistic. He’s only 23, already a two-time All-Star, and under team control for four more seasons.
Wood hit 31 homers last year and has 28 already this season in 97 games played. If the Red Sox could land a bat like that, it would solve a lot.
The catch is obvious: prying him away from Washington would take a massive return.
Isaac Paredes is another name worth keeping in the mix. He was linked to Boston more than almost anyone this past offseason, and while the Astros don’t appear to be in sell mode, he still makes sense as a player to check on. Houston did trade Lance McCullers Jr. to the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday in a salary dump, which at least leaves the door open for more movement than expected.
In Other News...
Orioles Just Reached A Crucial Deal With Their Top Draft Pick
The Orioles got one of their most important off-field items taken care of with first-round pick Eric Booth, who signed for $7,324,700, a figure that came in close to the slot value for the No. 7 selection. For a club that has spent much of the summer balancing a big-league push with the business of building the next wave, getting its top draft choice under contract keeps the focus on development and on the pipeline that has become such a central part of the organizations identity.
Booths deal also arrived as Baltimore kept rolling on the field, beating the Astros to stretch its winning streak to five and adding outfielder Rudy Martin from the Royals for cash considerations. The Martin move gives the Orioles another name to sort through in the system, while Booths signing closes the loop on the drafts biggest piece and leaves the next question centered on how quickly he fits into the clubs long-term plans. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Deadline Debate Just Got More Complicated Than Fans Expected
With the August 3 deadline closing in, the Orioles are still trying to sort out what kind of market they are actually in. It is not a simple buyer-or-seller call yet, and that uncertainty has made the roster a little harder to read, especially with a few players drawing interest for very different reasons. Trevor Rogers has emerged as the most attractive piece if Baltimore does decide to move talent, thanks to a strong run after a rough May, while Taylor Ward has also stayed in the conversation because of his qualifying-offer status and a recent go-ahead two-run homer that could help his case.
Andrew Kittredge is another name to watch, though the return would likely be modest even with relievers always in demand. At the same time, several Orioles are effectively off the board because of injuries or contract situations, which narrows the clubs options and adds another layer to a deadline picture that already feels more complicated than many around the team expected. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Draft Just Put Two Outfielders On Notice
The Orioles early-2026 draft haul sent a pretty clear message about where the organization wants to go next in the outfield. Baltimore used two high school outfield picks and a polished college center fielder, a notable break from the clubs recent habit of leaning on college power bats, and the headliner was Eric Booth Jr., the seventh overall pick who already sits atop Baseball Americas Orioles prospect list.
For a system that has spent years trying to sort out which outfielders can actually hit enough to matter, the new crop only sharpens the pressure on the names already in the pipeline. Cedric Mullins is part of the backdrop, but so are the younger pieces the Orioles have been trying to develop into everyday answers, and the draft only adds more competition to a group still looking for consistency, health and a clearer path to the majors. [Read more 🡒]