Late Saturday night, the Red Sox kicked off the trade deadline with a move that only Craig Breslow could really pull off: a deal that answers one question and immediately creates three more.
Boston sent left-hander Connelly Early to the Nationals in exchange for Curtis Mead, a former Rays top prospect who has put together a breakout first half. Mead has 17 home runs and a 135 OPS+, and his bat looks like the kind of right-handed swing that can do damage at Fenway. The fit, at least offensively, is obvious.
Early’s departure is the bigger surprise. The lefty starter has been out since June 30 because of elbow issues that were said to be less serious than first feared.
He had also built a reputation as a polished arm with a steady floor, even if the underlying numbers suggested some regression was coming. Boston had enough left-handed pitching depth emerging behind him with Payton Tolle and Jake Bennett that a move was possible.
This one, though, was not the one most people saw coming.
The swap also comes with some odd roster math for Boston. Mead plays third base, but not especially well, which makes the rest of the infield picture messy.
Caleb Durbin said on Saturday before the trade that he’d be willing to move to second if needed to accommodate an addition, but he’s a much better defender than Mead and shouldn’t be displaced for him. That leaves questions everywhere else: Anthony Seigler at second, Trevor Story when he returns at short, Mead possibly at designated hitter, Masataka Yoshida after he’s been carrying the load for weeks, maybe even a short look in left field.
And if the pieces keep shifting, what does that mean for Jarren Duran?
There’s also the bigger picture. The Red Sox still need controllable bats, and while pitching depth is never a bad thing, Boston had a surplus there.
Mead’s pull-heavy power profile could play at Fenway if the breakout is real, and Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni, who left Boston last winter, has a strong relationship with Breslow. That likely helped make this deal happen.
Jeff Passan has said the Red Sox will keep chasing a larger bat after this one, and that feels like the more logical path. For now, Boston has traded a lefty who handled the Yankees well, posting a 3.97 ERA against them, for a right-handed hitter who homered off Cam Schlittler before the All-Star break - a detail that may have helped push this deal across the finish line.
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