With the trade deadline down to its final day, the Red Sox have become the team to watch if a shortstop market suddenly gets serious.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan said Boston is the club most likely to land one of the big names still floating around, and that fits the way this season has gone for the Red Sox. They have already cycled through five shortstops without finding a permanent answer, so the need is obvious. The question is how aggressive they’re willing to be.
Passan pointed to three possible targets for Boston: the Angels’ Zach Neto, the Marlins’ Otto Lopez and the Nationals’ CJ Abrams.
"The biggest name to drop outside of Skubal could be one of the shortstops who are marginally available, and the Red Sox are the biggest threat to land one of them," Passan wrote. "Zach Neto, Otto Lopez... even CJ Abrams-- the Red Sox have the pieces for any of them, and teams are hoping to be the beneficiary of Boston's aggressiveness. Because all are excellent and controllable for multiple years, though, the asks are exorbitant."
Neto has come up most often in Red Sox chatter among position players, and he was a target for Boston in the offseason before the club traded for Caleb Durbin as a replacement for Alex Bregman. He would bring offense, though maybe not the highest upside of the three.
Lopez brings a different profile. He has the third-highest batting average in Major League Baseball and is the strongest defender at shortstop in this group. Miami’s recent losing streak has put the Marlins in sell mode, but moving a player under control through the winter of 2029 would be a steep decision.
Abrams is the only one of the three who can reach free agency after the 2028 season, which at least gives Washington a reason to consider it. He’s also been the hottest hitter in the sport since the All-Star break. The tradeoff is his defense, which is the weakest of the three, making him a tricky fit to project for both sides.
The biggest swing factor for Boston may be whether the club is willing to part with No. 1 prospect Franklin Arias. He would be the most likely shortstop of the future if the Red Sox decide not to make a move.
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