Portland Sea Dogs players walk to the clubhouse after taking batting practice on Tuesday at Hadlock Field in Portland. Players on the Sea Dogs were keeping an eye on the TV, wondering if they would be traded at the MLB trade deadline. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Two hours before Tuesday’s game against the Erie SeaWolves, Portland Sea Dogs players filtered in and out of the clubhouse. It was quiet as they went about their pregame business, and the reason why was on the television in the corner. Tuned into the MLB Network, players glanced up to see the latest as the trade deadline approached, wondering if they or a teammate would be called into Manager Chad Epperson’s office to learn they had been moved in a deal by the Boston Red Sox.

The 6 p.m. trade deadline came and went with no Sea Dogs being moved Tuesday, although infielder Eddinson Paulino was traded to Toronto on Saturday in the deal that brought catcher Danny Jansen from the Blue Jays. The Sea Dogs were on the road in New Jersey when the trade was finalized. Epperson said he broke the news to Paulino, who is on the injured list with a broken hand, with Red Sox Assistant General Manager Eddie Romero and Director of Player Development Brian Abraham on the phone.

Paulino was the first player dealt from the Sea Dogs’ roster since Epperson became manager prior to the 2022 season, Epperson said. Because he is on the injured list, Paulino was allowed to return to Portland with the team, before leaving for the Blue Jays’ minor league facility in Dunedin, Florida.

“There was some emotion there from (Paulino), and rightfully so, and from a lot of the players,” Epperson said. “We’re going into the month of August, you’ve spent every day with them, pretty much. You’ve gotten to know them. But being in the game as long as I have, I know this day comes just like Christmas does. It’s part of the gig.”

Sea Dogs Manager Chad Epperson watches as players take batting practice on Tuesday. Epperson had to inform Eddison Paulino on Saturday he was traded to the Blue Jays. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

In 69 games with the Sea Dogs this season, Paulino hit .263 with a .349 on base percentage, three home runs, 35 RBI and 33 runs. Epperson said he stressed to Paulino that the trade is a chance for him to excel and perhaps advance quicker through the minor leagues as the Red Sox have middle infield depth throughout the organization.

Second baseman/left fielder Nick Yorke, who spent all of the 2023 season with the Sea Dogs and began this season in Portland before his promotion to Triple-A Worcester, was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday for pitcher Quinn Priester. Outfielder Matthew Lugo and pitcher Ryan Zeferjahn, who also each began the season with the Sea Dogs before moving up to Worcester, were traded to the Los Angeles Angels just before the deadline for relief pitcher Luis Garcia. First baseman Niko Kavadas, also a former Sea Dog, and pitcher Yeferson Vargas, also were sent to the Angels.

For a few of the Sea Dogs who have been traded at least once in their career, the tension was understandable.

“The only thing we can control is what happens between the lines,” said relief pitcher Theo Denlinger, who was traded to the Red Sox by the Chicago White Sox in February 2023, shortly before the start of spring training.

Denlinger was driving home from throwing a live batting practice with his father and two friends in the car when he got a call from a Chicago number. It was then-White Sox general manager Rick Hahn. He was on the car’s speaker, and Denlinger’s passengers got the news at the same time he did. Denlinger remembers the call was brief.

Sea Dogs relief pitcher Theo Denlinger warms up Tuesday at Hadlock Field in Portland. Denlinger was traded to the Red Sox organization from the White Sox in February 2023. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

“He said, we just traded you to the Red Sox, so good luck and have a happy career and good luck with everything. Then he hung up. It was like a 3-second conversation,” Denlinger said. “The Red Sox fans immediately accepted me and took me under their wing. They’re crazy, and so am I, so we bonded quite quickly.”

Outfielder Corey Rosier was traded to the Red Sox by the San Diego Padres at the deadline in 2022, as part of the deal that sent first baseman Eric Hosmer to Boston. Playing for San Diego’s Single-A affiliate in Fort Wayne, Indiana, at the time, he left Indiana and drove to Rome, Georgia, where he joined the Greenville Drive. Rosier learned about the deal via Instagram.

“One of the Boston fan pages commented on one of my pictures, ‘Welcome to Boston,’ said Rosier, who earlier in his career had been traded from the Mariners’ organization to the Padres. “I literally packed my car and got on the road the next day. It’s different, getting to learn a new organization, new faces, but everyone here was super welcoming. Everyone’s in the same grind. It’s good for your career either way.”

Starting pitcher David Sandlin, who was promoted from Greenville to Portland last week, said he was surprised when he was traded by Kansas City to the Red Sox just before the start of spring training.

“I was supposed to report Monday and got traded Saturday. Thankfully, I hadn’t left yet, so I just switched the GPS from Surprise, Arizona, to Fort Myers, Florida,” Sandlin said. “It was kind of a full circle moment for me. In junior college, I did draft workouts for two teams, and one of them was for the Red Sox at Jet Blue (Ballpark), so I’d already been down there… Hopefully, this is the last team I have to go to. I love it here. I love this group of guys, I love the front office. They’ve really treated me well.”