View 15 photos

PORTLAND — Max Ferguson looked around the Portland Sea Dogs clubhouse after Thursday afternoon’s 2-1 win over the Altoona Curve. He didn’t see nervousness, exactly. It was more like excitement, or anticipation. Trade deadline day is when every minor leaguer’s career trajectory can change with a phone call.

Ferguson would know. He’s an infielder for the Sea Dogs now because he was dealt in a trade deadline swap three years ago. In 2022, he came to the Red Sox organization from the San Diego Padres, the team that drafted him a year earlier, along with major league first baseman Eric Hosmer and minor league outfielder Corey Rosier in exchange for pitcher Jay Groome.

He packed up his life in Fort Wayne, Indiana, said goodbye to his friends, and found a flight to Rome, Georgia, to join the Greenville Drive on the road. You don’t have time to think about it. You just do it.

“Definitely a crazy day. My girlfriend was actually the one who told me I got traded. She was on Twitter and sent me a text,” Ferguson said. “It was definitely a surprise. You’re young and you don’t know how everything is going to work in pro ball. I didn’t know what to expect. After it happens, everyone is saying congratulations. At the time, I didn’t really understand that aspect of it, but you come to realize it’s usually a good thing when you do (get traded). A team wants you.”

There is no doubt the Red Sox are in contention for a wild-card spot in the American League playoffs. There is no doubt the team needed to make some moves to bolster its playoff chances. Everyone in the Sea Dogs clubhouse knew their team has players that could be used as chips to acquire big league talent. They work for an organization that expects to contend more often than not.

“I’d be lying if I said there was absolutely zero nerves, but it’s out of my hands,” said infielder Mikey Romero, one of the organization’s top prospects. “I know that at the end of the day, it’s a business decision. All I can do is keep playing the game hard and just keep my head down.”

Ten minutes before the 6 p.m. deadline, the Red Sox acquired starting pitcher Dustin May from the Los Angeles Dodgers, in exchange for Sea Dogs outfielder/first baseman James Tibbs III, who was traded for the second time in a month and a half, and Portland outfielder Zach Ehrhard. Tibbs came to the Sea Dogs in June as part of the trade that sent Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants.

Late Wednesday night, the Red Sox traded corner infielder Blaze Jordan to the St. Louis Cardinals for left-handed pitcher Steven Matz. A high school phenom in Mississippi known for his power in youth baseball, Jordan was first promoted to Portland in 2023. He played 44 games with the Sea Dogs this spring, hitting six home runs with 37 RBI and a .320 batting average before being promoted to Triple-A Worcester. Romero reached out to Jordan on Wednesday night, and again Thursday morning.

“I texted him last night when it happened. We’ve been in contact. I’m excited for him. He’s going to be a big leaguer with that team, I think really soon. He’s had a great year,” Romero said. “I think he’s in good spirits, and he’s excited. I think he knows he really has a chance to help that team.”

Portland manager Chad Epperson has worked in baseball his entire adult life. He knows that as the trade deadline approaches, guys can let nerves get the best of them. Trade rumors fuel the unknown, and the unknown is scary.

“I can tell these guys to just focus on what they’re doing today and don’t worry about it, but it doesn’t fly. They’re all worried about it. Social media is everywhere,” Epperson said. “The one thing I do tell them is, the most important day of your career is today. So let’s just go treat it like that and go get better. Let the noise be noise.”

During Thursday’s matinee, there were no Sea Dogs pulled off the field to learn they were moving on. No dugout handshakes or hugs for anything more than a job well done on the field. There was one moment, though. After Romero doubled in the fifth inning, Epperson jogged to second base to meet him. Was the manager going to lean in and tell Romero he’d been traded and was being lifted for a pinch runner?

No, Epperson was just grabbing the shin and elbow guards that Romero wears at the plate.

“I knew he was just grabbing my gear. I didn’t think about that at all,” Romero said after a laugh.

But Romero knows his name is bound to come up in trade discussions. He talked about it with Tibbs in the locker room after Thursday’s game. The trade deadline was 6 p.m. Thursday. That doesn’t mean you exhale and relax at 6:01.

“Me and Tibbs were just joking about that. We’re going to be nervous until like 7:30. They can let you know a little later,” Romero said.

With the day’s win in hand, Romero wasn’t going to hang around the clubhouse and wait. If he got that call, he’d come back and get his stuff.

“I’m going to go back home, try and relax,” he said. “Watch and movie and chill with my wife, and whatever happens happens.”

For a prospect traded at the deadline, it’s a chance to prove something to your new club, that they made the right decision in getting you. To the old team, try to prove it made a mistake. Maybe become the next Jeff Bagwell, who built a Hall of Fame career after the Red Sox traded him to the Astros late in the 1990 season for reliever Larry Anderson.

We shall not speak of that trade again.