In his short tenure as chief baseball officer of the Boston Red Sox, Craig Breslow has made one sucessful trade deadline move: acquiring Steven Matz from the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for top first base prospect Blaze Jordan.
Matz was an anchor in Boston's bullpen throughout its playoff chase, to the tune of a 2.08 ERA and 0.88 WHIP over 21.2 innings. The veteran was solid with the Cardinals earlier in the season (3.44 ERA) but he turned his performance up to 11 with the Sox to become one of their best relievers late in the year.
Matz's success led some Red Sox fans to wonder why Craig Breslow didn't bring him back in for 2026. Boston has a fair few lefties in its bullpen already, including Aroldis Chapman, Jovani Morán and newcomers Danny Coulombe and Tyler Samaniego, which could've made things crowded.
Instead of returning to the Sox, Matz signed a two-year, $15 million deal with the Tampa Bay Rays, who have used him as a starter. Passing on him might've helped the Red Sox avoid a scary injury in their pitching staff. The Rays on May 20 activated Matz from the injured list after 15 days resting elbow inflammation.
Red Sox 2025 trade deadline acquisition Steven Matz activated off Rays IL after stint with elbow inflammation
It's promising that Matz only needed the minimum stint for his injury, but elbow pain is often a sign of a scarier injury in pitchers. UCL issues are a common reason for elbow pain, but loose bodies have been the injury of the season for pitchers.
Matz hasn't performed quite as well for the Rays as he did for Boston last year, but he's been a reliable starter for them, despite the fact that he hasn't started games regularly since 2023 and his last full season as a starter was in 2021. Matz has a 3.70 ERA with 33 strikeouts and 15 walks over 41.1 innings in Tampa's rotation.
The Rays have unexpectedly been the best team in the American League East this season and their pitching has been a strong point. Tampa's starters have a league-best 3.00 ERA between them, assisted by Matz's performance.
The Red Sox's bullpen is left-handed enough that they didn't need to bring Matz back for another season, despite his prior success with the team. His elbow inflammation suggests Boston might've dodged a bullet by going with Samaniego as part of the Johan Oviedo trade instead.
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