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It was a relatively quiet trade deadline day for the Red Sox, but they did sneak in one move that actually broke shortly after the 6 p.m. deadline.
Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom confirmed to reporters via Zoom that the team acquired infielder Luis Urias from Milwaukee.
The team announced that it is sending minor league right-handed pitcher Bradley Blalock to the Brewers in the deal.
Urias, 26, has had a tough 2023 season, posting a .145/.299/.236 slash line for a .535 OPS through 20 games at the big-league level before getting sent down to Triple-A Nashville. He has hit .233/.345/.379 with four home runs, 16 RBIs and a .725 OPS in 29 games there.
Urias, a right-handed bat, did have a lot more success in the majors in 2021 and 2022, though. He had a career-high 23 homers, 75 RBIs and .789 OPS in 150 games in 2021, then followed that up with 16 homers, 47 RBIs and a .739 OPS in 119 games the following year.
Urias can play second base, shortstop and third base, so he could give the Red Sox some infield depth at multiple spots if he is able to stick at the big-league level. The return of Trevor Story from injury will ultimately be Boston's biggest offensive addition, though.
Starting pitching was widely considered a bigger area of need for the Red Sox, and Bloom told reporters that he did explore multiple options in that market, but that he ultimately didn't find a deal that he thought made sense.
The team is expected to eventually get Chris Sale, Garrett Whitlock and Tanner Houck back from injury, but will have to continue to roll with an opener on a regular basis until then.
The Red Sox previously traded away struggling utility man Kiké Hernandez to the Dodgers while also bringing in a bullpen arm in Mauricio Llovera from the Giants.
The Red Sox enter Tuesday night 2.5 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for the final wild card spot in the American League. Pretty much every other team in the AL playoff race added at the deadline, most of them with more significant moves than Urias.