No team charged into the All-Star break on more of a heater than the Boston Red Sox. Winners of 10 straight, and 13 of their last 15, the Red Sox as late as June 27 were three games under .500, eight games off the pace in the American League East and three games behind the Seattle Mariners for the third and final AL Wild Card spot.
As they head into the second “half” â actually the final 64 games, 40 percent of the season â they now stand eight games over .500, in sole possession of the second AL Wild Card game ahead of Seattle, and just three games behind the first place Toronto Blue Jays in the division.
When the Red Sox resume play on Friday, with an afternoon game at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs, they will have just 13 days before the 2025 MLB trade deadline, and according to Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, the team will be “approaching this deadline as looking for opportunities to improve the club.”
Rays Slugger Reportedly on Red Sox Radar
The Red Sox have a range of needs and priorities. Breslow has said that he would “prioritize” starting pitching. But the Red Sox could also use a right-handed power bat, and according to insider Chris Cotillo of MassLive they may find one in the Tampa Bay Rays’ 33-year-old first baseman and designated hitter, a native of Cuba who is playing his ninth MLB season.
“If the Rays do what they always do, and trade players getting close to free agency, someone like Yandy DÃaz could be available,” Cotillo wrote on Wednesday. “If he is, sources indicate, heâd be high on the wish list of some Red Sox decision-makers.”
DÃaz was finally successful in his attempts to defect to the United States in 2013, at age 21, after three previous attempts that each ended with his arrest by Cuban authorities and months spent in the country’s brutal prisons.
His heart-wrenching story had a happy ending, however. DÃaz won the AL batting title with a .330 average in 2023, the only Tampa Bay Ray ever to earn that crown.
That earned him a $8 million contract for 2024 and $10 million this season. DÃaz has a club option for 2026 at $12 million that the Rays have already picked up, with a vesting option for 2027 that could pay him $13 million if he reaches 500 plate appearances next season, or $10 million if he doesn’t.
That’s $32 million over three seasons, at least.
Sale of Tampa Bay Team Could Complicate Deal
“DÃaz has steady pop, as evidenced by his 14 pre-break homers, and could get a little rich for the Raysâ blood,” Cotillo wrote. “The Rays are always willing to deal players as they get close to free agency and could do the same here.”
One factor that could mitigate against DÃaz becoming available, however, is the pending sale of the Tampa Bay franchise by owner Stu Sternberg, who will reportedly collect $1.7 billion for the Rays from an investor group led by Florida-based real-estate developer Patrick Zalupski.
“Industry insiders who know the Rays well wonder if theyâll try to contend one last time” before Sternberg steps aside, Cotillo reported.
Of course, the Red Sox have already had something to say about that, sweeping a four-game series from Tampa Bay immediately prior to the All-Star break, leaving the Rays 1 1/2 games out of the final Wild Card spot.
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