As 6 p.m. inched closer on July 31, the Boston Red Sox scrambled to add a pitcher before the trade deadline.
The Minnesota Twins were unlikely to move their ace Joe Ryan while he has two and a half years of control on his contract, but the Red Sox tried to trade for him anyway. They were ultimately unsuccessful and ended up with Dustin May, a longtime Los Angeles Dodger. Boston chief baseball officer Craig Breslow considered his trade deadline pursuits as "uncomfortably aggressive," while MLB insider Ken Rosenthal deemed his attempt to land Ryan as "feeble at best.