The Red Sox didn’t wait for the deadline buzz to build before jumping into the market. Late on July 25, Boston made a surprising move, sending left-hander Connelly Early to the Washington Nationals for third baseman Curtis Mead, according to the first report from Jeff Passan.
It’s an odd-looking swap on its face, especially with Boston riding a 15-game winning streak that has pushed them firmly into buyer mode. Early had been leaned on heavily by the Red Sox this season, so moving him now felt like a jolt, not the kind of piece you expect to see dealt in the opening act of deadline season.
Mead gives Boston something it clearly wanted: a right-handed bat and an option at third base. The 24-year-old, born and raised in Adelaide, Australia, is hitting .254/.352/.500 with 17 doubles, a triple and 17 home runs in 87 games, easily the best offensive stretch of his young career. He’s also been pulling the ball at a career-high 47 percent clip this season, which makes him look like a cleaner fit for Fenway Park and for a Red Sox lineup that has been heavy on lefties.
There’s a catch, though. Mead’s glove has been a problem.
He has nine outs below average and minus-2 defensive runs saved at third, a sharp contrast to Caleb Durbin’s Gold Glove-caliber work. After Boston’s July 25 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, Durbin said he would move to second base if the team added a third baseman at the deadline, though the Red Sox still have not confirmed any plan for the two players.
The deal also raises eyebrows because of the timing and the cost. Mead is still on a pre-arbitration contract, which helps explain why Boston was willing to part with a promising arm. Still, plenty of fans are going to look at this one and wonder if the Red Sox overpaid, especially since Mead’s breakout has come in only a few weeks of real offensive production.
Boston’s pitching depth may have made the move easier to stomach. Jake Bennett and Payton Tolle had already established themselves as rotation fixtures, and the organization may be banking on both taking another step forward. Early, meanwhile, had been the kind of rookie the Red Sox could have packaged in a bigger deadline swing for a more established target down the line.
And if there’s one thing to watch as this deadline unfolds, it’s where Boston keeps doing business. Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow has tended to deal with the same clubs, with the St.
Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates among his most frequent partners. Those front offices also have Boston ties, with former CBO Chaim Bloom running things in St.
Louis and former Red Sox executive Ben Cherington in Pittsburgh. In Washington, former Red Sox assistant general manager Paul Toboni is now in charge, and he’s already completed two trades with Boston.
If this one is any indication, there could be more coming.
In Other News...
Patriots Camp Got More Physical And Two Key Health Concerns Emerged
The Patriots fourth training camp practice brought a noticeable step up in intensity, with the team in shells for the first time this summer and the drills looking a little closer to real football. There were still several players out because of injury designations, but the on-field work offered a clearer look at the competition and the rhythm of the offense, with Drake Maye, Tommy DeVito and Behren Morton all getting their chances while Kayshon Boutte paced the receivers and Andy Borregales stayed busy on field goals.
The bigger concern came from the health front, where two key players did not finish the session after the physicality picked up. Any early exit in camp gets attention, especially when the Patriots are trying to build continuity on both sides of the ball, and the sight of Carlton Davis and Rhamondre Stevenson leaving practice before it was over added a different kind of urgency to an otherwise productive day. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Face A Costly Defensive Line Decision They Can't Miss
The Patriots still have a defensive line question hanging over the roster, and it is the kind that can shape how aggressive they get before the market thins out. One name worth watching is Tampa Bay tackle Vita Vea, a massive interior presence who would instantly change the look of New Englands front if the price ever made sense.
There is plenty standing in the way, though. Vea is already 31, would come with a hefty contract ask and would almost certainly cost real draft capital, which matters for a Patriots team that already sent a first-round pick to Philadelphia for A.J. Brown last month. Tampa Bay has not officially put Vea on the market, so for now New England is left weighing the appeal of a rare difference-maker against the cost of making a move that might be too rich even for a team trying to fix its defense. [Read more 🡒]
Bill Belichicks UNC Gamble Just Took Another Ugly Turn
Bill Belichicks first year at North Carolina already carried plenty of scrutiny after the Tar Heels stumbled to a 4-8 finish and spent much of the season near the bottom of the offensive rankings. Now the off-field structure around the program is drawing attention too, with the university saying a human resources matter involving a key football staffer has led to administrative leave.
UNC said the move is standard procedure and does not speak to the merits of the complaint, but it adds another layer of uncertainty around a program still trying to find its footing under a coach whose arrival was supposed to change the conversation. The timing is hardly ideal, either, with the Tar Heels only weeks away from opening the 2026 season against TCU in Dublin, Ireland. [Read more 🡒]