RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Nowadays, it's somewhat rare in any of the four major U.S. professional sports leagues to see two good young players traded for one another: A simple one-for-one trade with no other bells and whistles. We got a pretty fascinating such deal over the weekend when the Red Sox dealt very promising 24-year-old lefty pitcher Connelly Early to the Nationals for infielder Curtis Mead .
Boston's new infielder is expected to make his debut with the team tonight in Sacramento and might be in a good spot to go yard/land Over 1.5 total bases. If you're interested in MLB betting , you can also check out the SportsLine Projection Model for more picks on Red Sox vs. Athletics .
Now there is obviously zero question that surging Boston will not be a seller at the trade deadline, as appeared would be the case even a few weeks ago. But then the Sox ripped off that 15-game winning streak to change everything from the front office's perspective. Now Boston holds the second AL wild card spot and is -235 for extra baseball.
The 24-year-old Early, who is currently on the injured list, could be a future ace, as he was 7-5 with a 3.44 ERA and worth a WAR of 0.7 that was 12th-best on the Red Sox per FanGraphs. Early also can't hit free agency until 2032. But the Sox are deep in young pitching.
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It was a steep price to pay to land the 25-year-old Mead, who doesn't hit free agency until 2031. The Red Sox have been searching for a right-handed bat, and Mead fills the bill as he slashed.254/.352/.500 with 17 doubles, 17 homers and 48 RBI in 87 games with the Nats this year. Mead largely played third base in Washington but will debut at second tonight. Mead has made only 35 career starts at that position and just one this year. But the Red Sox are set at the corner infield spots with Caleb Durbin at third and All-Star Willson Contreras at first.
A few years ago with Tampa Bay, Mead was a touted prospect like Early but never got it going there and only broke out in 2026. So, is he a fluke? A couple of things bode well for him tonight at hitter-friendly minor-league Sutter Health Park in Sacramento. Like usual, it will be scorching hot there, with winds blowing out. It's not clear where Mead will hit in the lineup but should be somewhere between spots 2 and 5.
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And the A's start struggling Jack Perkins (2-5, 6.75 ERA). At home, his ERA this year is 7.41 with an .266 opponents' batting average. Perkins has allowed five homers in his past three starts spanning just 11.2 innings, all losses. It's his first career look at Boston. Mead did have a recent series in Sacramento with Washington and was 5-for-11 with five runs scored and three doubles.
The A's no doubt will be sellers now with the news the All-Star catcher Shea Langeliers could miss the remainder of the season after suffering a torn meniscus in his right knee. Langeliers is a top five overall catcher in MLB .
He was slashing .263/.332/.497 with 23 home runs and 51 RBI -- on pace to become just the third catcher ever with three consecutive seasons of at least 29 home runs -- and stellar behind the plate in catching 11 runners on 35 stolen-base attempts. A lot of teams were calling the Athletics about acquiring him, but they kept saying no.
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I have no real opinion on the side but think Mead will be very fired up and like his chances of at least a double with the model projecting him at 1.84 total bases. Perkins, meanwhile, has yet to go more than five innings in 2026 and just once career in his two seasons. The model has him at 4.9 innings tonight. Check out other expert picks in the SportsLine daily newsletter .
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