Red Sox can still ruin the Yankees’ season (and it involves the Astros)

Never thought of this scenario, did ya? To be honest, why would you?! The New York Yankees have the most wins in baseball and have their own business to handle at the trade deadline before the stakes are elevated.

Though every Yankees fan is thrilled about the Boston Red Sox collapsing in arguably the most embarrassing fashion in the history of the sport (the worst five-game stretch of ANY team since 1901), it has opened the door for an unsavory scenario.

With Boston falling to .500 just a week prior to the deadline and upcoming series against the Guardians, Brewers and Astros, it’s now more likely than ever general manager Chaim Bloom sells the team’s top assets. You can probably expect multiple of JD Martinez, Nathan Eovaldi, Christian Vazquez, Michael Wacha and Jackie Bradley Jr. — if not more — to leave by Aug. 2.

That’s not the problem, though. The Red Sox getting rid of this core of players will be delightful. It just becomes a bit nauseating if they opt to help out the Houston Astros — who are in need of a bat and a starting pitcher — in the process.

Imagine Eovaldi starting a playoff game for the Astros against the Yankees? Nightmare. Or how about JD Martinez in the middle of that lineup with Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez? Nauseating. It would be really, really bad.

The Red Sox selling to the Astros at the deadline would be the Yankees’ nightmare

Who’s to put it past two cheaters to conduct business with one another? The Red Sox and their fans might dislike the Astros (despite them having little reason to, since Houston has done nothing but ruin the Yankees in the postseason and then laid down to the 2018 Sox), but they hate the Yankees beyond words.

The good news here, however, is that the Astros have a farm system that’s universally ranked among the worst in the sport, and Bloom has a job to do. He’s expected to bring in the game’s top young talent, and if the Astros are at a disadvantage from the jump with regard to offering the best possible package, they’ll be quickly tossed aside.

Then again, the Astros are reportedly among the top suitors for Cincinnati Reds star Luis Castillo, who will cost A LOT more than Eovaldi. Maybe that’s all smoke to drive the price up for the Yankees and then … they swipe in and snag Eovaldi anyway? Make the bad thoughts go away!

As we’ve said a million times, any Astros’ acquisition that involves a Yankees target is a double loss for New York. We can’t say the same for any Houston dealing with Boston, but it’ll likely be just as strong and swift of a gut punch.

Just go get Luis Castillo, two bullpen arms, and a Joey Gallo replacement and fans will be able to stomach this unfathomable scenario. Either that, or get Steve Cohen to overpay for any Sox target that would perfectly fit the Astros.

3 Yankees who should be off the roster after 2022 trade deadline

These three New York Yankees should be off the 2022 roster after the trade deadline. Sorry, but Joey Gallo's time is approaching.