The MLB Trade Deadline is less than a week away and with the team mired in a 40-game funk of mediocrity (a 20-20 record during that stretch), one of their star players openly challenging his boss to make improvements and that star player’s manager rebuffing those challenges, rumors persist the Phillies are interested in an upgrade for their infield.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Wednesday that Angels shortstop Zach Neto is high on their list of targets.
In his report, Passan mentioned an acquisition of Neto, who is just 25, would require moving Bryson Stott to third base and either Neto or Trea Turner to second. Passan also notes the Phils would not be the only big market teams in on the young shortstop, along with the Yankees, Dodgers and Red Sox as potential suitors.
There are a number of reasons why Neto would be appealing.
Since becoming a starter in 2024, the righty swinger has hit .248/.320/.452 with a wRC+ of 114, meaning he has been 14% better than league average at his position at the plate. His .772 OPS over that stretch would be 10th-highest among qualified shortstops over that span and is the exact same number as Turner. Turner’s wRC+ of 112 is slightly behind Neto’s. Essentially, they’ve produced nearly identical offensive production over the last three seasons. However, Turner’s fWAR of 11.2 is much higher than Neto’s 8.7, which is tied for 14th.
Neto is a right-handed hitter, a commodity in short supply across this year’s Trade Deadline. In 105 games and 471 PAs this season, Neto is batting only .234, but his .325 on-base percentage is decent thanks to a dramatic increase in his walk rate, from 6.0% in 2025 to 10.2%. He has been good, but not spectacular, against left-handed pitching, with a .255 batting average and an .832 OPS against southpaws this year. For his career his OPS against them is .868.
Neto’s also a solid base stealer, with 14 bags swiped this year and seasons in which he’s stolen 30 and 26 bags the two previous years. And he’s tallied 2.0 fWAR in 2026 thanks, in part, to solid defensive metrics.
In terms of Defensive Runs Saved, his +2 mark ranks 7th among 18 qualified shortstops. That position has been a black hole defensively all year, with Turner’s -13 DRS dead last. He’s also started the 4th-most double plays at shortstop (28). Turner’s 15 is second-lowest.
He would also be an inexpensive addition contractually. He’s under team control for four additional years after this year, becoming a free agent after the 2030 season. He’s making $4.15 million in ‘26 and, while he will see raises in arbitration each of the next three off-seasons, he’d be far more affordable than a free agent signed over the winter.
There are areas of concern, however.
Why are the Angels giving up on a player with this much team control and a salary this low? One would think this is a player even a struggling team like Los Angeles would build around. What’s going on there?
In addition to seeing his walk rate improve, he’s also seen his strikeout rate take a jump as well. It was 23.3% in ‘24, 26.9% last year and 31.4% this season. He’s swinging at a career-high 36.5% of pitches outside the zone (30.0% in 2025). His Baseball Savant page has more “blue” on it than one would like.
Here’s what it looked like a season ago.
The addition of Neto would almost certainly result in either Alec Bohm being dealt or moving Bohm to first base and shifting Harper to right field full-time, a switch that would improve the Phillies’ outfield production, even with Harper slumping in July.
Neto isn’t the only Angel Dombrowski could target. As one of MLB’s clear sellers at the deadline, outfielder Jo Adell is almost certainly available. He has failed to follow up last year’s 37-homer season with a similarly productive power performance, slugging just 16 HRs with a .695 OPS and .291 OBP, although his .941 OPS against left-handers would be a dominant feature in a platoon role.
There is the yearly trade deadline speculation of Mike Trout being willing to waive his no-trade clause, but there has never been any indication the Phils are as interested as the fanbase in bringing the 34-year-old outfielder home. Trout’s had a solid season, with an .852 OPS in 90 games, but lugs around another four years at $37 million a season and a constant worry of injury with him.
Starters Reid Detmers (4.03 ERA in 22 starts) and Jose Soriano (3.29 ERA) are starting pitchers who could interest Dombrowski, as could left-handed relievers Brent Suter (4.26 ERA) and Sammy Natera (2.08 ERA in 21.2 innings), could be added in any potential Neto deal, too.
Acquiring Neto would almost certainly require them giving up their top prospect, pitcher Gage Wood. So Dombrowski needs to ask himself one main question.
Is he the guy to go all-in on at the Trade Deadline?
