An early June surge by the Boston Red Sox has brought them back into the Wild Card picture, but only just. With playoff hopes rising, the idea of buying at the deadline becomes much more real. Even though they traded their best hitter already, Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow said they aren't waving the white flag on the season.
There aren't many holes on the Red Sox roster in its current construction. They are overloaded with outfielders, the left side of the infield is accounted for, the catching tandem doesn't seem like it needs addressing, and the Gonzalez-Toro platoon at first may produce enough to dissuade Breslow from acquiring a rental.
The positions that likely will be addressed are the starting rotation, the bullpen, and potentially second base. Which players would fit like a glove in this current roster?
4 dream trade deadline targets for the Red Sox in 2025
Zac Gallen
The Arizona Diamondbacks will likely wait until the last minute to decide whether they are going to buy, sell, or hold. They are sitting right around .500, but have been bit by the injury bug this season, are fourth in the NL West, and need to jump four teams to claim a Wild Card spot. Zac Gallen is in the final year of his contract and is likely to end up in free agency this winter. He is having the worst season of his career by far (5.75 ERA) but has a track record of ace stuff.
The Sox could easily buy low on Gallen and try to turn him around down the stretch. He led the Snakes' pitching staff to the World Series in 2023, something an inexperienced pitching staff may covet in October. Despite the down season, he is getting more whiffs on all his breaking balls this year, just not getting hitters to chase as much. Gallen would easily slide into the No. 2 spot in the rotation and give Boston a formidable one-two punch down the stretch.
Chris Sale
This one certainly is a bit more of a "dream," but reuniting with former friend Chris Sale would certainly inject some life into Red Sox Nation. After winning the National League Cy Young Award and pitching Triple Crown last season, Sale came into 2025 trying to repeat. He currently owns an ERA well under 3.00, his ERA+ is over 150 and he's still striking out hitters at a rate over 11 per nine innings.
The Braves are having a down season and are unlikely to make the playoffs this season. President of Baseball Operations Alex Anthopoulos publicly said they aren't trading Sale (who has a club option for 2026), but GMs say stuff like that all the time to raise a player's value. It would take a pretty penny to get Sale back in Boston (much prettier than the one they got for him), but he and Crochet at the top of the rotation would make any team shake in their cleats.
David Bednar
The Pittsburgh Pirates are currently well out of the NL playoff picture and they have a closer who would be a perfect fit in the back of the Red Sox bullpen. David Bednar had a tumultuous start to the 2025 campaign, resulting in him being sent to Triple-A from April 1-19. Since his return, he's been lights out, posting a 2.10 ERA over 25.2 innings and racking up nine saves.
Bednar has one more year on his contract, meaning he won't be cheap. The former All-star would be a perfect setup man for Aroldis Chapman and could step into the ninth if Chapman needs a day off. Also, with Chapman being on a one-year deal, Bednar would be the perfect candidate to be the closer next season. Just like Sale though, his availabilty is a question.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa
Sticking in the Steel City, super-utility Isiah Kiner-Falefa would fit very nicely into Boston's current squad. Though he's played almost exclusively shortstop this season, he has played almost a quarter of the games in his career at second base. The righty could platoon with Marcelo Mayer or David Hamilton at second base and also provide Gold Glove defense almost anywhere around the diamond. Kiner-Falefa is a true rental, so he wouldn't block anybody from playing more than the rest of this season.