Red Sox are circling the trade deadline's best shortstop

The Red Sox are in the middle of a surge that's put them squarely in the AL Wild Card mix, and front offices tend to get aggressive when a team like that smells contention. So it tracks that Boston's front office has reportedly zeroed in on one of the more talented young shortstops in baseball as a potential deadline splash.

Ken Rosenthal

@Ken_Rosenthal

Red Sox view Angels shortstop Zach Neto as strong fit. Story with @WillSammon, unlocked and free to read. t.co/I8NTeXbqy9

Neto isn't some fringe rental, either. Since the start of the 2024 season he ranks 5th in bWAR among shortstops who've played at least half their team's games at the position, and his 19 homers this year sit 3rd among shortstops behind CJ Abrams and Colson Montgomery. He's only 25, he's playing on a 1-year, $4.15 million deal for 2026, and because he's got just over 2 years of service time, whoever trades for him would be buying 3 more years of club control beyond this season. That's the kind of package that turns a rental market into a real trade discussion.

There's also a health angle teams will weigh. Neto had shoulder surgery in the offseason that cost him the first 18 games of this season, and he dealt with a wrist scare in spring training after a headfirst slide, though that turned out to be just a minor sprain. He's answered by hitting.278 with an.814 OPS since returning, so the medicals clearly aren't scaring Boston off.

MLB Trade Rumors

@mlbtraderumors

Red Sox Have Interest In Zach Neto t.co/eyOzlHFxB2

Boston isn't the only outlet hearing it. Jon Heyman put Neto right up there with names like Andrew Miller and Tarik Skubal on his list of the most intriguing trade candidates of the summer, odds attached and everything.

Jon Heyman

@JonHeyman

t.co/2SApvcDdt4 MLB Insider: Miller, Skubal and Neto lead my list of the most intriguing trade candidates (included: true odds for each to be traded)

The catch is the Angels don't have to move him, and reports have already flagged a caveat around how firmly LA is actually shopping their shortstop. Neto was reportedly a target for Boston last offseason too, so this isn't a new crush — it's a front office that keeps circling back to the same guy. Whether the Angels blink before Aug. 3 is the whole ballgame here, and it's worth watching how much Boston's Wild Card push accelerates their urgency to get a deal done.