At some point, New England is going to be stop being fooled by the Red Sox annual empty promises. When Boston salary-dumped Rafael Devers, they chose a deal that freed them of all of his contract instead of maintaining salary and getting back better prospects.

It won’t make Red Sox fans feel any better, but chief baseball officer Craig Breslow is insisting that the team tried its hardest.

In the immediate aftermath of the deadline, it doesn't feel like the Red Sox did much of anything, let alone enough to solidify them as a serious playoff team.