Dissecting Sox's trade for Mead: What does he add? Breslow's next move?

This story was excerpted from Ian Browne’s Red Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

WEST SACRAMENTO -- Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow got a head start on the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline late Saturday night when he struck a one-for-one deal to acquire the type of right-handed power hitter he had sought for weeks in infielder Curtis Mead from the Nationals in exchange for homegrown, rookie lefty starter Connelly Early.

It was a deal that left plenty of things to dissect in the aftermath. Here are a few.

What about the saying ‘You can never have too much pitching?’

Usually, this is true. But in this case, the match was too good for Breslow and his former lieutenant -- Nats president of baseball operations Paul Toboni -- to pass up.

All season, the Red Sox have had one of the best pitching staffs in MLB, boasting a 3.56 ERA, second to only the Yankees in the AL. And the Nats are 27th in baseball with a 4.78 mark.

However, Boston’s 98 homers are tied with the Brewers for fewest in MLB. Then you have the Nats, who have gone deep 156 times, good for best in baseball.

“It was clear and obvious how our team needs to improve offensively, and Curtis fits that,” said Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy.

Despite Boston’s torrid run, which includes a 22-4 record since June 25, the Sox need more, well, sock.

“Any time you give up a player like Connelly Early, it’s really tough,” said Breslow. “Looking at our roster and our needs, we felt like this was something that made us better.”

Mead’s 17 homers so far this season is less than only one Red Sox player in Willson Contreras, who has cleared the fence 22 times. Put Mead’s bat in Fenway and his power figures to go up a little.

Why hasn’t the average fan heard much about Mead?

The 25-year-old, originally signed out of Australia as an international free agent by the Phillies in 2018, has bounced around and didn’t gain his footing until recently. In November of 2019, the Phillies made a masterful trade, sending Mead to the Rays for their current ace, Cristopher Sánchez. Mead got his first callup to the Rays in ‘23 and didn’t do much in parts of three seasons there before getting moved to the White Sox at the ‘25 Trade Deadline. Off he went again on March 28 of this ‘26 season -- two days after Opening Day -- when the White Sox sent him to the Nats for prospect Boston Smith.

Though the Nats were the latest team to send Mead packing, it was only after they resurrected his career by being the first team that truly believed in him, giving him a runway to succeed.

Mead capitalized on his playing time in Washington, producing a sturdy .852 OPS in 87 games before his latest trade.

Why are the Red Sox sold on Mead’s fairly brief sample size of success?

Breslow, who loves left-handed pitchers perhaps as much as the 2013 World Series ring he won playing for Boston, wouldn’t deal an emerging pitcher like Early without doing his share of legwork first. What did Breslow see with Mead that sold him?

“There were meaningful changes to his setup, where he was holding his hands, his bat path, to his stride to where he’s consistently doing more damage. He’s always had good bat-to-ball skills. He’s never really chased, and doesn’t swing and miss a ton,” said Breslow. “He has good bat speed. And then he kind of put it all together in a way we think is real and sticky. We feel like the way he’s performed over the last few months is actually the guy he is.”

How does Mead fit defensively with the Red Sox?

This is a little bit of a work in progress. But Boston has a highly versatile roster defensively, and Mead fits that profile. In short, Breslow is confident Tracy will make the pieces fit. In his career, Mead has made 99 starts at third base, 35 at second, 42 at first and three at DH.

In a vacuum, the logical move would be to play Mead at the hot corner. But Caleb Durbin has played that position at a Gold Glove level so far this season for Boston. For now, Durbin will stick at third and Tracy will get live looks at Mead at second. If that doesn’t go well, Durbin has made it clear he is willing to go to second base, a position he had plenty of experience at in the Minors.

“They’ve been great at communicating with me as far as my role and how that might be affected, and I’m excited to get Curtis here,” said Durbin. “I’m willing to play anywhere.”

What message did Breslow send?

While Breslow has made some high-impact offseason moves in his time leading Boston’s front office, the Trade Deadline wasn’t his friend the past two summers. The team’s recent surge clearly led him to be more aggressive this time around.

“The players deserved it,” said Breslow. “I think the fans deserved it. It’s been a turbulent path to get here. But as we sit here today a week before the Deadline, the resilience and toughness of this team has become very apparent and the opportunity to upgrade is something we were looking for.”

And Breslow also noted a mindset change.

“I’ve tried to shift [in that] our goal is not to win the trade,” Breslow said. “Our goal is to make the Major League team better. Sometimes the most straightforward way to do that is a need-for-need trade.”

What might Breslow do next?

It seems doubtful this will be Breslow’s only move prior to the Deadline. Entering the week, the Red Sox are in possession of the second AL Wild Card spot and are the hottest team in the game.

If the Sox add another bat, the positions that would make the most sense are catcher and shortstop.

Don’t be surprised if Breslow tries to add another starter to fill the loss of Early. Keep in mind that there’s no guarantee ace Garrett Crochet will return this season, as he’s already missed three months with a left shoulder injury that was more significant than anyone expected.

While the Red Sox have a good thing going in the bullpen with dominant closer Aroldis Chapman and high-leverage setup relievers Garrett Whitlock, Tyron Guerrero and Justin Slaten, the teams that go deep in the postseason always seem to have an endless supply of power arms.

“We’ll continue to look at opportunities to upgrade the team,” Breslow said. “There are a few different paths to do that. It’s not quite clear how the market is going to materialize.”