Instead, Steven Matz came over from the St. Louis Cardinals, but without Ryan, the Red Sox are left hoping that more marginal moves will be enough. Derek Falvey stared at a top 100 prospect return, but wisely backed off when Boston refused to put anyone else in the deal.

There was excitement for Correa to join the likes of Byron Buxton, an otherworldly talent whose only barrier to superstardom had been health, and Royce Lewis, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft, who made his major-league debut that season.

The Red Sox still have a logjam of outfielders after keeping everyone including Duran and Abreu, despite Duran’s name being floated in numerous trade rumors. They failed to get an impact starter, didn’t acquire a bat and didn’t address the hole at first base, but Breslow remains confident with the team he has.