The Red Sox are heading into the second half with real momentum, and that changes everything about how the next two weeks should look in Boston.
Friday’s doubleheader against the Tampa Bay Rays will reopen the 2026 season for a club that looked buried not long ago. Instead, the Red Sox have climbed back to 46-48 and have won 14 of their last 16 games. The turnaround has shoved Boston right back into the playoff conversation, and with a little more than two weeks left before the trade deadline, Craig Breslow and the front office have a clear job: add.
One obvious area to attack is the lineup, and Gleyber Torres fits that conversation. 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.
Torres is currently on the Injured List, though he has already started a rehab assignment. Even with the injury, his right-handed pop would give Boston something it needs, and at 29, he’s still in a good age range for a team trying to make a push.
Luis Arráez brings a very different profile, but one that would still make sense for the Red Sox. He doesn’t offer right-handed power, yet he does bring elite contact skills and a track record that speaks for itself.
Arráez has won three batting titles and is in position for another one after hitting .330 so far. For Boston, he’d be the kind of table-setter who could help get traffic on the bases near the top of the order.
If the Red Sox wanted to swing bigger, Junior Caminero would be the kind of move that changes the conversation. He’s under team control for four more seasons, is only 23, and already has two All-Star nods.
Last season he hit 31 home runs, and he’s already up to 28 this year in 97 games. That kind of bat would be a massive addition for Boston, though prying him away from Washington would take a hefty price.
Isaac Paredes is another name worth keeping on the radar. He was linked to Boston more than almost anyone this past offseason, and while the Astros don’t look like a club that’s ready to sell, the fit still makes enough sense to at least check in. Houston dealt Lance McCullers Jr. to the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday in a salary dump, which at least opens the door to wondering whether more moves could follow.
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