Most trades carry risk, and the first move of the trade deadline season for the Boston Red Sox — sending left-hander Connelly Early to the Washington Nationals for infielder Curtis Mead — is no exception.Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow hasn’t shied away from aggressive trades in the past (see Garrett Crochet and Rafael Devers), and trading a controllable starter in Early for a controllable hitter in Mead (who doesn’t hit free agency until 2030) is another uncomfortable move.“Anytime you give up a player like Connelly Early, it’s really tough,” Breslow told reporters Sunday as the Red Sox took two of three games this weekend from the Toronto Blue Jays. “But looking at our roster and looking at our needs, we felt like this was something that makes us better.”Mead, 25, has bounced around a bit and was designated for assignment earlier this year before hitting his stride with the Nationals. Early had become a strong part of Boston’s rotation in his first full major-league season before being sidelined with elbow inflammation before the All-Star break. Still, there’s an unproven element with both players.How many players will the Mets trade by the deadline?Ken Rosenthal and Johnny SweetYet with a rotation that has carried Boston all season and a lineup that could use a boost, Breslow seemingly didn’t want to waste an opportunity to add offense with so many AL teams in contention this season.“A lot of front offices are looking at very similar information, so trying to find an opportunity to win a trade is not nearly as easy as maybe it would have been at another point,” he said. “In this position, I’ve tried to shift to: Our goal is not to win the trade; our goal is to make our major-league team better. Sometimes, the most straightforward way to do that is a need-for-need type trade.”Some more thoughts on what the Mead trade means for the Red Sox:How Curtis Mead fits on offenseA career .244 hitter with a .709 OPS, Mead has had a breakout year in Washington. Before this season, he amassed just five homers in 152 career games, but some adjustments have led to 17 homers and an .852 OPS in 87 games.“What our roster needed right now was someone who can hit at the top of the order or the middle of the order,” Breslow said. “He’s a particularly good fit for our park, just given the batted-ball profile and the power.”The Red Sox believe those adjustments will stick. That, coupled with his pull-side power, gives them another hitter who can use the Green Monster to his advantage.“It does seem there were some meaningful changes to his setup, where he was holding his hands, to his bat path and to his stride. He’s consistently getting to more damage,” Breslow said. “He’s always had good bat-to-ball skills. He’s never really chased. He doesn’t swing-and-miss a ton. He has good bat speed. We feel like the way he’s performed over the last few months is actually the guy we’re getting.”