The Boston Red Sox’s resurgence from a 37-48 record at the beginning of July to where they stand now has been commendable. They matched their 15-game winning streak from eight decades ago and firmly put themselves back in the postseason race. Somewhere during that stretch, the narrative shifted from the Red Sox being likely sellers to becoming buyers at the trade deadline. Turns out, they are now pursuing top talent across the league, and Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz was reportedly one of their targets.

“The Red Sox had discussions with the Cincinnati Reds about Elly De La Cruz, but couldn’t match up,” Sean MacAdam reported on MassLive. “The Reds aren’t inclined to move de la Cruz, but are willing to at least listen to teams who might meet their admittedly high asking price.”

With a 52-58 record, the Reds are last in the NL Central. They are also 5.5 games behind the final NL Wild Card spot, currently held by the Philadelphia Phillies. As their postseason chances have slowly faded, the Reds are reportedly willing to listen to offers for their best player, Elly De La Cruz. Perhaps for the right price, they will agree to trade the shortstop.

However, the potential trade talks between the Red Sox and Cincinnati have fallen through. Boston’s prospect-based offer reportedly did not match the Reds’ ask. The Reds are more interested in major league-ready players. MassLive’s McAdam reported that whether Boston included top prospect Franklin Arias in the deal is uncertain.

Andruw Monasterio is currently handling the shortstop position for the Red Sox, with Trevor Story on the IL. Adding de la Cruz, who is under club control through 2029, will only add more insurance to the position. Furthermore, the 24-year-old’s offensive production would have only made Boston’s roster stronger, especially with Roman Anthony on the injured list and players like Jarren Duran slumping.

Elly De La Cruz is slashing .276/.355/.503 with 18 homers and 48 RBI this season for an .857 OPS. His defense has also improved from last year, with ten errors so far this season.

The dynamic skills of de la Cruz make him one of the most sought-after players. He has not signed a contract extension with the Reds, despite being offered a high-value deal, as per reports. It indicates that de la Cruz might be interested in leaving Cincinnati a few years later in free agency. It might also be one of the reasons why the Reds are listening to offers for Cruz.

However, if an Elly De La Cruz trade does happen before 6 pm ET Monday, it will be a blockbuster one.

Meanwhile, the infielder whom the Red Sox recently acquired via trade has faced an injury setback.

Curtis Mead has a wrist fracture

The Boston Red Sox acquired Curtis Mead to address their need for a right-handed bat. They traded starting pitcher Connelly Early to the Washington Nationals in exchange for Mead.

However, Mead is currently sidelined, having suffered an injury in just his second at-bat for the Red Sox. After getting hit by a pitch against the Athletics, Boston has placed the third baseman on the 10-day IL. He returned to Boston to consult a hand specialist about the injury and was diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture in his left wrist.

“The doctors read the scan; it’s a non-displaced fracture, so he’s going into a cast. No surgery, and the way we talked was that he’s going to be re-imaged in four weeks,” interim manager Chad Tracy informed, per MLB.com.

Tracy further revealed that though the Red Sox do not have a timeline for Mead’s return, he is not completely ruled out for this season.