We officially have trade deadline rumors! Is anyone interested in a little Zach Neto action?
Yesterday, The Athletic reported that “after expressing interest in the Los Angeles Angels shortstop last offseason, [the Red Sox] continue to view him as a strong fit, according to people briefed on their discussions.”
As fun as it was to watch Anthony Seigler and Tsung-Che Cheng make surprising contributions during the 15-game win streak, there is no question that the middle infield continues to be a major
weak spot on the Red Sox roster. Marcelo Mayer and Trevor Story are making progress on their rehab journeys, and Franklin Arias is now knocking on the door at Worcester, but Zach Neto and his 2.8 bWAR would be a significant upgrade. And, as a right-handed home run hitter who would likely see a Green Monster-induced power boost, he’s a great fit for the lineup.
But Neto is by no means a perfect player. He strikes out a lot, doesn’t walk much, and has consistently graded out as a poor defensive shortstop. He’s unlikely to be the long-term answer at the most important defensive position on the diamond. But he’s just 25-years-old, is under team control through 2030, and his 19 homers would be second on this Red Sox team behind Willson Contreras. Frankly, he looks a lot like a younger, healthier Trevor Story.
Personally, I don’t love Neto’s profile. But he’s a young player who will almost certainly put up 3-5 WAR over the next 3-4 years, which is more than you could reasonably project from Marcelo Mayer at this point. And with Arias almost ready for the bigs, the Sox will have a painless avenue f0r moving Neto off of shortstop in the very near future. The prospect of a Contreras-Neto-Arias-Durbin infield is tasty.
From that perspective, a package headlined by Mayer makes sense, though the Sox would almost certainly have to sweeten the deal with additional prospects, and we’re talking about top-10 guys here, like Kyson Witherspoon, Anthony Eyanson, and Justin Gonzalez. The Angels might even insist on a big league-ready arm like Connelly Early.
So what would you be willing to ship to LA to land him?
