Ken Rosenthal broke it on Thursday. The Boston Red Sox view Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto as their top trade deadline target. Boston has been pushing for weeks. The Angels have been listening.
Neto is 25 and one of the best young shortstops in baseball. He has 19 home runs, 46 RBIs, and elite defensive metrics. He has stolen 74 bases in three-and-a-half MLB seasons. He is under team control through 2029. That is exactly the kind of profile the Red Sox need to add.
The question is whether the Angels will actually move him.
Why Boston Needs a Shortstop
Trevor Story is dealing with a hernia. Isiah Kiner-Falefa has a forearm issue. Marcelo Mayer, the top prospect who was supposed to solve everything, also has a forearm problem. Boston has a hole at the most important defensive infield position and a farm system that is not quite ready to fill it.
Adding Neto solves multiple problems at once. He is elite defensively. He is a productive hitter. He is under contract for four more seasons at pre-arbitration and arbitration rates, which means Boston is not paying premium market money for premium production.
Craig Breslow has been building this Red Sox roster with an eye on 2027 and beyond. Neto fits that timeline perfectly. He is not a rental. He is a franchise cornerstone for the next five years.
What the Angels Actually Want
The Angels are not competitive. They are 15 games under .500. They have zero reason to hold onto their veterans, let alone their young stars. But moving Neto is not the same as trading a rental. He is the face of the franchise moving forward.
General manager Perry Minasian will demand a haul. That means Boston’s top prospects. Roman Anthony is likely off the table, but the Red Sox have depth beyond him. Kyle Teel, Bryan Mata, Marcelo Mayer despite the injury, and a top-tier pitching prospect would probably start the conversation.
The Angels want major league ready pitching first. Boston has some. Whether the sides can agree on the framework by August 3 is the question.
The Other Boston Options
If Neto is not available, the Red Sox have contingency plans. Willy Adames is on the block in Milwaukee. Jeremy Pena has been discussed as a possibility with the Astros if Houston becomes a seller, though that is unlikely. Elly De La Cruz is not moving from Cincinnati.
Neto is the clear top target because he checks every box. Youth, defense, offense, control. That combination does not exist elsewhere on the trade market.
Boston is going to be aggressive at the deadline. Alex Cora has said publicly the roster needs an infusion to make a run this year. The front office knows it. Fenway Park is loud when the Red Sox are winning, and this front office wants to give the fans a reason to come out.
Neto to Boston makes too much sense not to happen. Whether it does depends on how many prospects Craig Breslow is willing to move.
Watch the next 10 days. This one either happens or it does not.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
