The 2025 MLB trade deadline is Thursday at 6 p.m. ET. If last year is anything to judge by, Wednesday and Thursday are going to be chaotic, with several teams making last-minute decisions on whether to be buyers, sellers or some hybrid combination of the two.

The Boston Red Sox would have to "eat most if not all of" a major contract to make room for the Philadelphia Phillies slugger.

You’ll sit in a conference room, which typically includes the GM, assistant GMs, scouts, analytics staff, and other baseball ops folks, for hours making small talk, going over the same reports, and waiting for phones to ring. Some GMs set up too early, and you end up with a room full of people staring at each other for weeks.

MLB insider Jeff Passan reveals that the Boston Red Sox "are not inclined to engage in any large-scale deadline moves."

To set the stage for the sprint to the deadline, here's a primer based on what I'm hearing from front office executives across the league.