The Red Sox occupy the second wild-card spot and sit just five games back of the Blue Jays in the AL East, putting them in a solid spot to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2021. Coming into the deadline, the Red Sox wanted to address two areas — first base and starting pitching.

The trade market is moving fast, and with six hours to go before front offices have to put their proverbial pencils down, the Red Sox have made just one move, shipping prospect Blaze Jordan to St. Louis for veteran lefty Steven Matz. There are expected to be more to come.

After a frenetic trade deadline came and went, let’s take stock of who maximized their World Series chances and who could have done more (or less).