Red Sox' trade for Curtis Mead ‘A GAMBLE'?! | Was it the right move?
Tony Massarotti and Michael Holley discuss the Red Sox' trade of Connelly Early for infielder Curtis Mead. Holley is adamant that he likes the deal. He believes it makes the Red Sox better, and Mead fills a role on the team that they were lacking. Mazz believes the deal was an overpay. He says Early had far more value around the league, and the Red Sox could have gotten more.
Red Sox' trade for Curtis Mead 'A GAMBLE'?! | Was it the right move? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Video Transcript
So I want to get to the Red Sox trade, happened yesterday.
Curtis Mead, or happened late Saturday night or early Sunday morning.
Curtis Mead from the Washington Nationals to the Red Sox for Connelly Early, who's on the injured list at the moment, is on the verge of coming back.
But Connelly Early, the left-handed prospect who came up and impressed many of us last year with his, repertoire, his ability to pitch, his poise, all that stuff.
He goes out, Curtis Mead comes in.
So before I, I get to Breslow's comment, let me just ask you two guys quickly, give me your, your response to the deal.
I like the deal.
I like the deal for the Red Sox.
They got You- Maz and, and Murray, what you're looking at is a guy on one hand in Mead, who's having a breakout year, so it's not like he's done this for two or three years.
He's having a really good year, and his numbers, his power numbers this year would put him, in the top two or three on the Red Sox team.
Versus Connelly Early, who's had t- 21 starts in his career, so once again, not a- even a full season to look at who he is, but has been impressive.
So I, I, I can't believe I'm saying this, Murray.
I agree with Craig Breslow.
I agree with Breslow's logic.
Don't hate it.
I think it's a good tra- good trade for the Red Sox.
He's got 17 home runs, right?
17 home runs.
And looking- 70-something RBIs, yep, yep and looking at some of the advanced metrics, too, like he'll be the, looks like on paper, the second-best hitter in the lineup.
Fine.
Yeah.
So it looks like a bat that they could use, but to me, in terms of position, yeah, it's more than what they had, but it's not really what they need.
Aren't you now worse defensively, too?
Because also, Chang has been sent down to Triple-A Worcester.
Yep.
And does this mean that they don't believe in Caleb Durbin, who's been red hot for going on five, six weeks now?
Sure.
And so they're gonna move him over, and this Curtis Mead is now your third baseman?
No, no.
I think it's gonna be the other way around.
Okay.
Mead's gonna start at second, but go ahead.
But do you get my point, though?
Yeah.
This isn't All right, you're, I guess on paper in terms of your lineup and hitting, a little better than, and it's more than what you had, but it wasn't a need.
But you gotta h- But, you know, they, they got the worst.
They're still in the bottom five in baseball with home run.
They need some power.
I was reading a story over the weekend where- Okay, but Michael, before- where Devers was talking about, he's talking about the disappointing season he's having in San Francisco, and he's still got 22 homers.
Wouldn't the Red Sox take that?
You gotta have somebody with punch in that lineup outside of Contreras.
Okay.
So now let me ask you the obvious question.
Do you think this, this You know this guy has been, uh- He was DFA'd twice.
Yep.
Twice in the last year.
Yes.
Okay?
So theoretically they coulda had him a long time ago.
Right.
Okay?
So, so th- from n- I guess what I'm saying is, are you convinced that what he is this year is what he is?
No.
No.
But, that, that's my point.
I'm not convinced that what he is is sustainable, nor am I looking at Early, who hasn't pitched since July 1st.
I'm not convinced that he's the next great pitcher i- in baseball.
But what I do know is that And Craig Breslow, we know s- talking with the media is not a strength of his.
Working the room is not a strength of his.
He does know pitching.
He's, he, he has identified good pitchers.
He has- Did he know Kyle Harrison?
Okay.
Maybe not, but I'm, what I'm saying, Maz, is you look at what he has done over the last couple of years, he has identified some pretty good pitchers, and they have, they have done well on this level, including Jake Bennett.
Probably Jake Bennett's success makes Early expendable.
I would agree with all that.
So yeah, I mean, i- if, if your, if the strength of your team is pitching and there's a hitter available, you're not losing, in 2026, you're not losing anything by trading Early.
Now, maybe in '27, '28, you look back and go, "Can you believe they traded this guy for some DFA reject?"
But this year, if you, if you say Mead is gonna continue doing what he's done, it's a good move for the Red Sox.
Okay.
Yeah, and it's, if he's gonna, fine, then that gamble will pay off.
I like Early.
I like him and Tolly.
I think actually Early is maybe a better pitcher than Tolly, but I like them both.
It was just, it was a name I had to look up.
Okay.
Maybe that's more on me, but when it happened, I was up late that night, on Saturday night.
I was like, "Good, I guess."
And looking at it, correct me if I'm wrong, Maz, I mean, both these players, aren't owed any money, so it's cheap and young for cheap and young.
Like it- Correct it wasn't a wild move.
I just came away from it like, "Uh, good, I guess."
No, look, there, there's a lot of elements to this that call it what, what the Red Sox called it, a baseball trade.
The Red Sox have pitching, traded a pitcher to the Nationals, who need pitching and have offense.
The Red Sox got the guy back.
I guess what I'm getting at is this, and this is my biggest gripe with the trade before I get to Breslow's comments.
When the Red Sox were talking about trading pitching, didn't you expect something better back?
Yeah.
Something more proven?
Something with a little more Because we all know that pitching has value.
Now, right-handed hitters now have value 'cause there's not a lot of them anymore.
Especially here.
Okay, right.
So I understand that part of it.
They overpaid is my point.
They overpaid.
And I think Breslow admitted it.
He said, "We're not trying to win the trade."
He knows they lost the trade.
So when he says, "You're not trying to win the trade," which by the way, I find to be rich, because he didn't seem to have, he, he didn't seem to care about losing a trade when he's made other deals.
All of a sudden now it's because his job's on the line, and we've been screaming about the fact that he's gotta win every transaction, that he's not helping the team.
What, what argument does he make when he makes this move?
"Well, we're not looking to win the trade, we're looking to help the team," 'cause that's been one of the big criticisms of him since he took over, is that he wants to win the transaction.
So now he's gonna throw that back in everybody's face, which is fine.
But they overpaid and they know it.
And you know who else knows it?
Who?
The Nationals.
This is the guy that they turned around Curtis Mead, and they said it allows the Red Sox to go out on a limb.
Meanwhile, Breslow is talking about not winning the trade, trying to make the team better.
'Cause he knows he lost the trade.
I'm not sure about that.
And, and, and by the way- I'm not sure Oh, I, I am.
I, you know, you're, you're, you're sure that they lost the trade?
Yes.
Well, as of the day they made it.
Yeah.
Now- You know- Now look, Michael, I can't predict what's gon- this kid might hit.
Right.
They might be right, but they're taking a gamble.
Yeah, it's a- They are taking a gamble it's a gamble both ways, and I think the Nationals are taking a gamble too.
Because he's hurt.
Like Ear- like, here's one thing you don't wanna hear as a general manager.
Here's a risk from the Nationals', point of view.
I think Early's the safer player.
Yeah, but you don't want to You're making a trade for a, a pitcher, a young pitcher on the injured list.
Okay, you've heard that story before.
Sometimes it's just fine.
A- a- and, and, and with modern technology, modern medicine, Tommy John or any kind of elbow injury, any kind of shoulder injury, you can overcome it and have a great career.
But it is a risk for a guy who has 21 starts to his name.
You're trading for him, and you're expecting him to be what?
You're, you're, here a- at best he's gonna be what, your number four, number five starter- Yeah.
No, no, he's a- at best.
Yeah, I was gonna say, cur- but I have felt this way about Early all along.
That he's a number four starter?
No, no, he projects as a middle, yeah, three or four starter.
Okay.
All right, so, okay, if you give me a three or four starter, and, and, and look, pitching is everything.
Got it.
But if you got a guy who's a four starter, he may not start multiple times.
If you think about championships, he may not start multiple times in a playoff series.
Do you think this guy's a championship bat?
All right.
Now, the risk of trading that, will I trade that away for somebody who could be in the middle of my lineup?
I'd rather have a middle of the lineup bat than a number four starter.
I'd rather have a number two starter, a number one starter than a middle of the lineup bat.
Okay, so again, my, my, my issue comes with this guy's history.
I'm just telling you, this guy might be a flash in the pan.
I'm surprised your issue hasn't, isn't with the, the most obvious thing of all, Maz.
Which is what?
What's that?
That he's an Aussie?
Yeah.
Well, so you know what?
A- actually, you wanna have some fun with that too?
Name me the best Australian position player ever.
Dave Nilsson.
That's it.
Is it?
Oh, I don't even know.
That's the only one.
That's it.
I just look at other Aussie athletes- That's really- mostly in the NBA, your Matthew Dellavedovas.
They all suck.
Ben Simmons, who was- Dirty born there.
They all suck.
Dude, you see the Aussie team in the World Cup?
Bunch of- Dirty flopping pusses.
Golfers and tennis players.
Dirty Dellavedova?
Yeah.
Dirty.
That's it.
Golfers and tennis players.
That's it.
Yeah.
They don't do team sports well.
Then there's the baseball Roo.
I saw that part, I was like, "Ooh, I don't know if I'm in on this."
