The Red Sox are expected to be active before Monday’s MLB trade deadline, and the clearest need on the board is shortstop. Boston has been running with Andruw Monasterio at the position while Trevor Story and Marcelo Mayer continue working back from injury, and even when those two return, the spot still looks shaky because of their uneven play this season.
With Jeremy Peña, CJ Abrams and Elly De La Cruz reportedly off the table for the summer, the market has narrowed. That leaves Craig Breslow and the Red Sox sorting through a smaller group of real possibilities, and a few names stand out.
One of the most intriguing is Otto Lopez of the Miami Marlins. ESPN’s Buster Olney reported earlier this week that Boston has shown interest in Lopez, who has turned into one of the season’s best surprises. The 27-year-old leads MLB in hits with 138 and doubles with 27, and he sits second only to San Francisco Giants infielder Luis Arraez in batting average at .329.
Lopez’s rise has been a winding one. The Toronto Blue Jays designated him for assignment before the 2024 season and sold his contract to the San Francisco Giants, and a few weeks later the Marlins claimed him on waivers.
Miami got immediate value out of the move: Lopez posted a 2.8 bWAR in 117 games in 2024, followed by a 3.6 bWAR in 2025. This year he has taken another jump, with career highs in hits, doubles and stolen bases, and he’s added nine homers and an .853 OPS, far above his previous best of .690 in 2024.
He also brings defensive flexibility. Lopez is a plus defender and can move to second base if needed, which matters if Boston wants to keep top shortstop prospect Franklin Arias.
In that scenario, Lopez and Arias would give the Red Sox a middle-infield pairing with real upside for years. Lopez is under team control through 2029.
Zach Neto is another name Boston has to consider, though he comes with a different profile. The Los Angeles Angels shortstop has real right-handed power, with 23 homers in 2024, 26 in 2025 and 19 already this season. That kind of swing would fit at Fenway Park, and he would clearly upgrade Boston’s current shortstop situation.
But Neto has his own issues. His strikeout rate is 31.3 percent, and his defense has been below average at -8 Outs Above Average.
A move to second base would not be a simple fix, either, because he has played shortstop exclusively in his four-year MLB career. According to Alex Speier of The Boston Globe, the Angels want Arias in any deal for Neto, who is under contract through 2029.
There are also two bigger-name possibilities, though both come with major complications. Francisco Lindor is part of a Mets team expected to sell off several key pieces, even with his contract looming large.
He is owed about $170 million over the final five years of his deal. Lindor has had a rough season, missing time with a calf strain and hitting .226/.316/.412 with eight homers and 23 RBI through 52 games.
Still, he made his fifth career All-Star team last year, so there’s at least some belief he could still have plenty left. For a deal to happen, the Mets would likely need to absorb most of the contract or take another bad deal back, and Lindor would have to waive his no-trade clause.
Willy Adames is in a similar bucket. The soon-to-be 31-year-old is in the second season of a seven-year, $182 million contract with the Giants, and he has a no-trade clause as well.
Through 103 games, he’s hitting .228/.282/.428 with 18 homers and 45 RBI. The power remains, but the glove has not.
His -12 OAA puts him among the worst defensive shortstops in the league this year.
Even so, Adames may be the simplest path if Boston wants a slugging shortstop without paying the kind of prospect price Lopez or Neto would require. San Francisco appears eager to move him, and his right-handed power could make sense at Fenway Park, especially since he pulls the ball often.
In Other News...
Red Sox Trade Idea Solves Two Problems For A Price Fans Will Hate
Bostons search for help behind the plate and around the infield has already turned toward the trade market, and one of the more intriguing possibilities comes with a familiar kind of deadline dilemma: solve more than one problem at once, but pay for it in a way that stings. ESPNs Jeff Passan has linked the Red Sox to a potential deal with Miami that would bring in Otto Lopez and Liam Hicks, a pairing that would give Boston immediate upgrades in two spots it has been monitoring heading into the 2026 deadline.
Lopez brings the kind of all-around production that makes him hard to pry loose, while Hicks has emerged as a useful bat with the flexibility to handle catcher and designated hitter duties. The appeal is obvious from Bostons side, especially if the club wants longer-term answers rather than a short-term patch, but the price tag is the part that could turn this from a smart fit into a fan debate fast. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Fans Finally Have A Reason To Revisit Kristian Campbell
Kristian Campbell has spent much of the 2026 season trying to dig out of a rough stretch, but the recent trend line has finally given Red Sox fans something to revisit. The right-handed-hitting outfielder has been trending up for weeks, and his .239/.373/.336 line as of July 27 reflects a player who has started to find a better rhythm after a difficult early summer.
The organizations decision to rework his swing appears to have helped, with the changes showing up consistently enough to matter over the past few weeks. Campbells July production has been especially encouraging, and the turnaround has been noticeable enough that people around the club have taken interest, even if the bigger question remains whether he can keep this version of himself going. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Quietly Emerge For A Catcher Target Who Could Change Everything
The catching market is starting to take shape, and Boston has at least checked into one of the more intriguing names available. The appeal is obvious: a young power bat at a position where impact offense is hard to find, plus the kind of long-term control that can make a trade feel more like a roster pivot than a rental gamble.
Colorado, though, is not in a hurry to move him, which means any team interested in prying him loose would have to come with a meaningful package. For the Red Sox, that creates the real question hanging over the pursuit - whether they see enough upside in the bat, and enough patience for the rest of the profile, to pay the price it would take to make this kind of move happen. [Read more 🡒]