The New York Mets on July 30 began their trade deadline fire sale by shipping reliever A.J. Minter to the Minnesota Twins. According to team insider Ari Alexander, the Boston Red Sox were one of many teams to check in on the veteran.
Minter has posted a 2.35 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 20 strikeouts and two walks over 23 innings. The longtime Atlanta Brave has a 3.18 ERA over 382.2 innings in his 10-year career. He's a lefty and he would add to an already-lefty-heavy Red Sox bullpen, but any depth is good depth in a playoff race.
Now that the Mets have started their sell off, Boston could turn to them for other deadline needs. Two other pitchers, Clay Holmes and Luke Weaver, could suit its needs in the rotation and bullpen. The Sox could even get lucky enough to land both in the same trade.
The Red Sox need another righty starter to pitch alongside Sonny Gray in the rotation. All their other healthy pitchers — Ranger Suarez, Payton Tolle, Jake Bennett and Patrick Sandoval — are left-handers. Tolle and Bennett are also just rookies and the Red Sox have been leaning on them heavily. Pushing them too hard before the postseason could be a recipe for disaster. Holmes has had a great, albeit abbreviated season that should have the Red Sox on the line.
Red Sox were in on Mets' A.J. Minter before Twins trade, but Clay Holmes and Luke Weaver could still justify a trade with New York
Holmes has posted a 2.39 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 45 strikeouts and 18 walks over 52.2 innings. Holmes has been on the injured list since May 16 with a right fibula fracture after he was hit in the leg with a comebacker, but he's in the middle of a rehab stint as the deadline closes in. He's performed decently well so far having given up two runs on five hits with five strikeouts and four walks over 6.1 innings.
Holmes last year signed a three-year deal with the Mets with a player option for the 2027 season. He could end up triggering the player option so he's signed somewhere during the near-certain delay caused by collective bargaining agreement negotiations. It may not be a risk the Sox want to take, but Holmes would be a great addition to their rotation to help them win now and ask questions later.
Like Holmes, Weaver would be an elite right-handed addition to the Sox's left-hand-dominant bullpen. Weaver, 32, has logged a 1.88 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 44 strikeouts and 11 walks over 43 innings pitched. Before the 2026 season, Weaver signed a two-year, $22 million deal with New York, which will make him a more expensive target as he has another year of team control remaining.
The competition for Holmes and Weaver will be tight, as the Mets are one of the few clear sellers on the deadline market this year and their talent would help any team in the playoff race. The Red Sox have a farm system deep enough to make a trade for either or both players without hurting too much.
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