Craig Breslow is just getting started as the Aug. 3 MLB trade deadline approaches. The Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer signaled Saturday the club is all-in on this season by trading promising pitcher Connelly Early to the Washington Nationals for infielder Curtis Mead.
Up next for Breslow could be finding some help for interim manager Chad Tracy's bullpen, which already sports an MLB-best 3.05 ERA.
"The Red Sox have more pressing needs than bullpen, but it’s almost a rite of passage that contending teams acquire a reliever or two at the deadline," Masslive.com's Sean McAdam wrote Sunday.
"They could use another experienced lefty to help out in the seventh and eighth inning, someone with some swing-and-miss capability. The New York Mets’ Brooks Raley is available and would be a nice pickup at a reasonable cost. Raley is eligible for free agency after this season," McAdam added.
Raley is a legitimate high-leverage arm. He's had a sub-3.00 ERA in each of the last five seasons. That includes this year, with the southpaw posting careers bests in ERA (2.09), WAR (1.4) and wins (four) while making 43 appearances.
ESPN projects Raley will tie his career high this season with 66 appearances.
It's not hard to picture Raley slotting behind right-hander Garrett Whitlock (2.13 ERA in 39 appearances) and All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman (1.87 ERA and 24 saves in 35 appearances).
The bullpen has fueled the red-hot Red Sox's summer surge. Boston has won 17 of its last 19 games (including that record-tying 15-game winning streak) and has a 70.0% chance of making the playoffs, according to FanGraphs.
Raley, a nine-year veteran, joined the Mets in 2023. New York is expected to hold a fire sale with the high-priced club stuck in last place in the National League East.
The 38-year-old lefty also played for the Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs and Tampa Bay Rays. Raley owns a lifetime 3.64 ERA in 300 appearances with 9.99 strikeouts per nine innings.