After carrying a 10-game win streak heading into the 2025 All-Star break, the Boston Red Sox have returned to their middling ways. The Alex Cora-led squad has regressed to playing at or below .500 ball and, with less than a week to go before the MLB trade deadline, has some big decisions to make on whether they want to buy—or sell—ahead of the second half of the season.
For the sake of this exercise, let's assume that Boston's front office—led by Craig Breslow—is going to be buyers prior to July 31 deadline. With a loaded outfield, a hit or miss infield, and a pitching staff that could certainly use some help, here are three players who would be perfect fits for the Red Sox down the stretch of the 2025 campaign:
3. 1B/DH Ryan O'Hearn, Baltimore Orioles
After losing Triston Casas to a significant knee injury and trading Rafael Devers—who now apparently wants to play the field—to the San Francisco Giants, the Red Sox have a major hole at first base. Platooning Abraham Toro and Romy Gonzalez is simply not a recipe for postseason success.
Meanwhile, 1B/DH Ryan O'Hearn is having a career year in Baltimore, hitting .282 with 12 home runs and 39 RBI. The 31-year-old was named an All-Star for the first time this season, and with his squad sitting well below .500 and virtually out of playoff contention, it'd be wise for them to move off of him and continue building for the future.
2. SP Dylan Cease, San Diego Padres
A newcomer to the 2025 trade market, San Diego Padres Dylan Cease is a "surprise name" being floated around in discussions as we approach next week's deadline.
Despite sitting at just 3-10 this season with a 4.59 ERA, Cease is a proven ace who's pitched at a high level since his MLB debut in 2019. Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran has been a favorite of the Padres for a while now and, with San Diego's apparent willingness to now move off the righty, the two squads could kill two birds with one stone here.
For what it's worth, Boston reportedly did some "due diligence" on a trade for Cease this past offseason.
1. SP Joe Ryan, Minnesota Twins
Joe Ryan is the prized possession here for the Red Sox.
A dependable front-end starter who's still under contract for two more arbitration years in Minnesota, Ryan would be far more than a rental for Boston. The 29-year-old is 10-5 in 21 appearances this season while holding a 2.82 ERA, striking out 137 batters, and allowing just 38 earned runs.
Boston would likely need to give up Duran and more to acquire Ryan, but having another reliable arm in between Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello—not only down the stretch of this season, but beyond—would be more than worth the cost.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as 3 Perfect Fits for Red Sox at 2025 MLB Trade Deadline.