How the Red Sox’ trade for Curtis Mead came together and how he fits into Boston’s plans
The backstory of the Red Sox acquiring infielder Curtis Mead from the Nationals for lefthander Connelly Early on Saturday night is not one defined by the usual multiple proposals, drawn-out negotiations, and sleepless nights.
The Sox needed offense, and the Nationals needed pitching. It was that simple.
“This one came together pretty quickly,” Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said Sunday. “I think this was a good opportunity for each team to meet some objectives, and so there wasn’t a whole lot of back and forth outside of making sure that we did as much work as we possibly could and got as comfortable as we could.”
The difficult part for both teams was giving up a player— and person — they valued. But the swap itself made sense.
“It’s really tough,” Breslow said. “But looking at our roster, looking at our needs, we felt like this was something that makes us better.”
The most basic of statistics point to why the trade was made. The Nationals lead the majors with 5.5 runs per game and the Sox are 23rd with 4.19. The Sox allow the fourth-fewest runs (3.8), and the Nationals are 28th (5.2).
The Sox are placing abundant faith in how Mead has played this season. The 25-year-old had a .617 OPS over 152 games for the Rays and White Sox from 2023-25. He has 35 extra-base hits, 47 RBIs, and an .852 OPS in 87 games this season.
Mead has been particularly hot of late with a 1.115 OPS, 13 runs, 10 extra-base hits, and nine RBIs over 16 games this month. At the time of the trade, Mead was 10th among qualified righthanded hitters in slugging percentage (.500) and 12th in OPS.
Sox analysts and scouts see that as being sustainable.
“It does seem like there were meaningful changes to his setup, where he was holding his hands, to his bat path, to his stride, to where he’s consistently getting more damage,” Breslow said.
“He’s always had good bat-to-ball skills. He’s never really chased. He doesn’t swing and miss a ton. He’s had good bat speed and then kind of put it all together, but put it all together in a way that we think is real and sticky. We feel like the way that he’s performed over the last few months is actually the guy that we’re getting.”
But they won’t get Mead until Monday in Sacramento when the Sox open a four-game series against the Athletics.
Mead was a corner infielder for the Nationals with 42 starts at third base and 19 at first base. With Caleb Durbin playing Gold Glove-level defense at third base and Willson Contreras entrenched at first base, the Sox plan to use Mead at second base.
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“Watched a ton of video and he looks cozy there,” interim manager Chad Tracy said.
Mead has played 48 games and 320 2/3 innings at second base in his major league career. Only 22 of those innings were this season, and 10 came in his one start on April 25.
“The cool thing was talking to all of the players involved — including Curtis — last night; the general response was play me wherever you need me,” Tracy said.
Timing was another factor as Mead could play in as many as seven games before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
“We don’t want to discount the value of getting those at-bats,” Breslow said.
Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni worked for the Red Sox from 2015-26 and was vice president of amateur scouting in 2023 when Early was a fifth-round draft pick.
“One of my favorites that I’ve been around,” Toboni said. “Just an awesome get for us.”
Toboni said he did not intend to trade Mead but “on the whole it made sense” once Early was on the table.
With the Sox vaulting into contention this month, the trade signals the front office’s faith in the team.
“I think the players deserve it. I think the fans deserve it,” Breslow said. “It has been a turbulent path to get here, but as we sit here today, a week out from the deadline, the resilience and kind of toughness of this team has become very apparent, and the opportunity to upgrade is something that we’re looking for, and fortunate to be able to do it at this point.
“I have tried to be as outspoken as possible — even in the face of a lot of skepticism — that we believe in the players, we believe in this team, we believe in the group.”
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