But at the July 31 trade deadline, at least according to media reports, the Red Sox were targeting Josh Naylor, the seven-year veteran with 102 career home runs who despite making the American League All-Star team in 2024 was traded by the Cleveland Guardians to the Arizona Diamondbacks last December.

The Boston Red Sox of late have flipped their script. After dealing away their best hitter, Rafael Devers, in a puzzling June blockbuster, the Sox bumbled to a 3-7 mark in the days immediately following the trade.