As the minutes ticked closer to Thursday’s 6 p.m. ET trade deadline, the Boston Red Sox reached out to the Minnesota Twins about coveted starter Joe Ryan. But according to league sources briefed on discussions from the Twins’ side,

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.