The Boston Red Sox certainly are going to look different by the time the Aug. 3 trade deadline gets here.
Technically, we could see the Red Sox add a piece or two. Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow hasn't given up on the 2026 season and has made that point clear. But the Red Sox are 14 games under .500 and just lost a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies so the vibes aren't exactly high right now, to say the least.
In fact, Boston looks much more like a seller than a buyer right now. So much so, to the point that MLB.com's Mark Feinsand wrote a column about the five "prime" trade candidates for the Red Sox and unsurprisingly had Sonny Gray on the list.
"Sonny Gray, RHP," Feinsand wrote. "First and foremost, Gray will control if, when and where he is traded, because his contract includes full no-trade rights. That said, he recently told the Boston Globe that he “would be open for a conversation” if the Red Sox approach him about a potential trade, so if Boston decides to sell, it seems likely that would begin with the right-hander. ...
"The Cardinals sent the Red Sox $20 million in the offseason trade, which presumably went toward Gray’s 2026 salary, so an acquiring team would be on the hook for some part of his $11 million salary for the remainder of the season as well as a $10 million buyout of the option, a hefty price tag for two-plus months of Gray starts. Potential suitors: Braves, Brewers, Cardinals, Cubs."
Gray signed a three-year, $75 million deal as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals and is in the final year of that deal before a mutual option for the 2027 season. At this point, it sounds like another club could have to worry about that mutual option.