The Boston Red Sox came up empty at the 2025 trade deadline when it came to landing a front-line starter. They needed another ace-caliber arm to pair with Garrett Crochet, but that’s not what they got.
Instead, Boston settled for Dustin May from the Dodgers. May’s carrying a 4.85 ERA this season, which isn’t exactly the impact addition Red Sox fans were hoping for.
Now they’ll have to wait until the 2026 offseason to make a real upgrade to their rotation. The good news? There should be some quality arms available, and Rick McNair from Fansided thinks the Red Sox could make a run at Framber Valdez when he hits free agency.
“Framber Valdez will be a prime target for those with an open pocketbook, which is questionable with the Red Sox. I would expect Valdez to get a Crochet-type deal, but probably not with Boston. Could it be?”
Valdez would make a lot of sense for Boston. The two-time All-Star (2022, 2023) is finishing up a one-year, $18 million deal in Houston, and he’s got the kind of resume the Red Sox need.
At 31, he’s right in his prime and brings World Series experience to a team that hasn’t won it all since 2018. The question is whether Boston’s willing to pay what it’ll take to land him.
That’s where things get interesting. McNair’s right to question the Red Sox’s spending appetite, but they’ve shown they’re serious about competing again. Missing out on deadline targets might actually push them to be more aggressive this winter.
Valdez profiles as exactly the type of pitcher Boston should target – proven, durable, and playoff-tested. Whether they’ll actually pull the trigger is another story entirely.
