This year's MLB trade deadline is on August 3, about one week away. It's a tight race in the American League with five to six teams in the mix for Wild Card contention. Many teams' deadline strategies won't be set until the days before the deadline.
The Boston Red Sox, on the other hand, have shot into buyer's territory following a 15-game winning streak. A right-handed infield impact bat would be the ideal addition along with some relief help, but the competition is going to be fierce, as always.
The Red Sox will have some tough decisions to make when it comes to their additions and who they'll have to remove from the roster to fit them in. Their 40-man roster sits at 39 players after they placed reliever Zack Kelly, who's spent most of this season in Triple-A, on the injured list. But they'll have to move more players off when they activate their other injured players or make deadline trades.
These are three Red Sox players who may not be long for the 40-man roster. They could be traded in a deadline deal or designated for assignment to accommodate new players.
3 Red Sox who will be off the 40-man roster by the 2026 trade deadline
Joe La Sorsa
The Red Sox on June 4 traded for Joe La Sorsa from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Since then, he's pitched just a third of an inning for the Red Sox and spent the rest of his time in Triple-A, where he hasn't allowed a run on five hits over 6.1 innings.
But the WooSox on July 1 placed La Sorsa on the injured list, giving them an easy excuse to let him go at the trade deadline. Boston's big league bullpen has been relatively healthy all year so it hasn't had much reason to call La Sorsa up, but he hasn't pitched enough in the big leagues to earn trust for a postseason run.
Jahmai Jones
Jahmai Jones has already been a hero for the Red Sox when he tied their July 18 game against the Baltimore Orioles with a two-run homer that helped keep their 15-game winning streak alive. He's 2-for-6 in a Red Sox uniform as of July 24.
But before that, Jones was in the throes of a severe offensive regression from last season. The Detroit Tigers designated him for assignment before the Red Sox traded for him for a player to be named later. Jones slashed .137/.219/.221 over 57 games with Detroit. Jarren Duran hasn't been much better, especially not since June began, but Jones is a below average defender and Duran is not. Unless Jones can break out with Boston, he could be DFA'd again.
Nate Eaton OR Nick Sogard
Depending on how many additions Boston makes, it may need to remove a bat or two from its current infield mix. Nate Eaton or Nick Sogard would be the two most likely answers, in that case.
Eaton and Sogard have played a combined 26 games in the major leagues this year. The Red Sox have plenty of capable infield depth following their injured players' eventual returns — Andruw Monasterio, Anthony Seigler, Tsung-Che Cheng and Romy Gonzalez have gotten the majority of the reps for a reason.
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