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Red Sox Stop Selling, Pursue Pitcher or Hitter Trade

7/18/2026

50 6 Full Breakdown

Summary

Breslow Flexes Plans

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said trade-deadline plans are fluid and the team is no longer a seller after a nine-game winning streak.
Boston (46-48, half a game from the wild-card) and Chicago (50-45, AL Central lead) are both seeking a hitter or a starter/reliever, with Chicago possibly trading in-field prospects.
If improvements stall, each club could sell assets such as Aroldis Chapman, Sonny Gray or Jarren Duran.

Summary

Bennett Fuels Streak

Red Sox pitcher Jake Bennett posted a 2.35 ERA and 0.88 WHIP in nine starts.
His six-game stretch joined only four Red Sox since 1920 with sub-1.20 ERA and under five walks.
The 11-game winning run became Boston’s longest streak since September 2016.
Boston allowed just 14 runs in the ten-game span, the fewest in the live-ball era.
Interim manager Chad Tracy said the streak’s momentum revived the club’s confidence.

History

Historical Context

After the Red Sox ended an 86-year championship drought in 2004, Theo Epstein’s mid-season trades for Curt Schilling, Keith Foulke and Orlando Cabrera helped fuel a historic comeback from a 3-0 ALCS deficit against the New York Yankees, culminating in a World Series sweep. That decisive roster overhaul set a template for today’s trade-deadline strategy.

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Breslow Flexes Plans

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said trade-deadline plans are fluid and the team is no longer a seller after a nine-game winning streak.
Boston (46-48, half a game from the wild-card) and Chicago (50-45, AL Central lead) are both seeking a hitter or a starter/reliever, with Chicago possibly trading in-field prospects.
If improvements stall, each club could sell assets such as Aroldis Chapman, Sonny Gray or Jarren Duran.

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