Three weeks ago, the Red Sox looked like obvious deadline sellers. On June 25, Boston sat at 32-46 and the conversation around the club had already turned to what it might move. Then came the surge: 13 wins later, the Sox have flipped the script and landed on the buyer side of the deadline.
That turnaround matters because Sonny Gray was the clearest name in play when Boston was still in sell mode. The veteran’s strong season had him drawing interest from plenty of contenders, but one club deserves a much closer look than it’s gotten: the Chicago Cubs.
Chicago makes sense as a possible match because the need is so obvious. The Cubs have been battered on the pitching front all year, and the injury list keeps growing.
Edward Cabrera is out with a hamstring injury, Ben Brown has a neck injury, Cade Horton and Justin Steele are on the 60-day injured list, and Jameson Taillon is on a rehab assignment. That’s a whole starting five’s worth of arms unavailable, and it leaves the Cubs in a spot where they have to chase pitching.
Gray, meanwhile, has only gotten better as the season has gone on. He’s older and he’s not an ace, but that doesn’t really matter when the other side is desperate. Chicago also has another factor pushing it harder: the National League Central is tight, which makes the Cubs more likely to push chips in and pay up.
If Boston had still been shopping Gray, the return could have started with Josiah Hartshorn. The 19-year-old outfielder/first baseman has rocketed into the conversation, climbing to top-100 status according to MLB and ranking No. 2 in the Cubs’ system.
Hartshorn is hitting .276/.395/.498 across Single-A and High-A, with 15 doubles, three triples and 15 home runs. He has driven in 69 runs, scored 59 and stolen nine bases in 82 games between the two levels. A sixth-round pick out of high school in 2025, he won’t turn 20 until February of 2027, and he fits a real organizational need for Boston at first base.
But Gray’s value could have pushed the package further. The Red Sox might have asked for right-hander JP Wheat as well. Wheat isn’t ranked, and his High-A numbers this year aren’t pretty - an 8.85 ERA in 20.1 innings - but he’s 6-foot-5, can touch 100, and brings the kind of movement that keeps teams interested.
Then there’s Fernando Cruz from the ACL. He’s No. 27 in the system, a 19-year-old right-handed-hitting shortstop with speed, some pop, and promising defense for his age.
It’s not the kind of return that jumps off the page if you’re looking for a near-term major league piece. The closest player to the big leagues is still a 19-year-old with fewer than 30 games in High-A. But Chicago would have done it because the goal is winning now, not waiting around for 2026 or even 2027 help.
In the end, though, the whole idea is moot. Boston’s hot streak has changed the entire deadline picture, and Gray’s 2.48 ERA and 12 wins are staying put as the Red Sox chase a playoff run closer to home.
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Red Sox Suddenly Linked To The Blockbuster Move Fans Wanted
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Around the league, Boston has been mentioned as a possible fit in trade chatter involving a star Mets infielder, a kind of move that would instantly change the complexion of the roster if it ever got serious. The obstacle is obvious, though, because any deal of that magnitude would have to clear a long list of hurdles, and for now it remains just that kind of rumor - the sort that says as much about Bostons ambition as it does about the odds of a deal actually getting done. [Read more 🡒]