The Red Sox have put themselves in a spot where the next few weeks could matter a lot, and the timing makes one possible target hard to ignore: Francisco Lindor.
Boston enters the All-Star break with a nine-game winning streak and a 46-48 record, sitting just a half-game out of a playoff spot. The first half is done, the trade deadline is now three weeks away, and the Red Sox have already shown enough to be viewed as buyers. Even with Garrett Crochet and Roman Anthony missing as the team’s No. 1 overall pitcher and No. 1 overall offensive weapon, Boston has forced its way into the conversation.
That’s why the Mets deserve a close look. The Red Sox just swept New York over the weekend, and the chatter around Lindor has only grown louder.
WFAN’s Mike Francesa said New York is "trying to trade him." The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal pushed back on that idea.
"With all due respect to Mike, he is not a beat reporter, and I haven't seen this from any of the beat reporters," Rosenthal said.
Lindor also drew attention after Sunday’s game, when he spoke to the media following a costly error that helped keep Boston alive in the ninth inning. Before the game, The Athletic’s Will Sammon noted that Lindor declined to comment when asked about whether he would use his trade veto power this summer if the Mets tried to move him. Joel Sherman of The New York Post also reported that Lindor declined to comment on the topic before the contest.
If there is any real opening, Boston should be all over it. Lindor is a five-time All-Star, he’s 32, and he still looks like the kind of middle-of-the-order force that changes a lineup.
After the 2026 season, he has five years left on his 10-year, $341 million contract, which works out to a little more than $32 million per year. Earlier in the summer, reports indicated the Red Sox were willing to take on money in a deal.
The numbers behind Lindor’s recent track record are exactly why he stands out. He was a 5.8-WAR player in 2025, a 6.8-WAR player in 2024, a 6.1-WAR player in 2023, and a 5.4-WAR player in 2022.
This season has been interrupted by an injured calf, but over the last four years in New York, he was as steady as they come. He never played fewer than 152 games in any of those seasons.
Over the last three years, he has posted at least 31 homers, 86 RBIs, and 29 stolen bases each year.
For a Red Sox team that is getting strong pitching and now has a real chance to buy, that kind of bat would fit cleanly into the picture. If Lindor is actually available, Boston should be right there at the front of the line. And if Crochet and Anthony make it back, the Red Sox wouldn’t just be chasing a playoff berth - they’d have the kind of roster that could start looking much bigger than that.
In Other News...
Giants Left Guard Battle Could Lead To A Surprising Camp Move
Jon Runyan Jr. has been the Giants primary left guard in practices, but his spot is no longer feeling locked in as training camp and preseason approach. The team is weighing its options along the interior line, and the conversation has widened beyond a simple depth chart check, with the possibility of a camp competition now hanging over a position that looked settled not long ago.
Daniel Faalele is among the names in the mix after joining the Giants, and the group of alternatives also includes Evan Neal and Lucas Patrick. For a line still trying to find the right combination, the question is no longer just who starts in Week 1, but whether the Giants are willing to make a bigger move before camp even gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Camp Already Has A Health Problem Fans Feared Most
The Giants are heading into camp with the kind of health concern no team wants to be talking about in July. After a spring that already included multiple notable injuries, the focus now is less on scheme and more on how quickly the roster can get through the early part of the summer without adding to the list. Head coach John Harbaugh said the team has added new monitoring technology to help track players, but he also made clear that injuries like these are hard to forecast and that the practice load itself has not changed.
For a club trying to sort out its depth chart, the timing is especially rough because the injury picture does not stop there. Malik Nabers is expected to open camp on PUP after a second knee procedure, Darius Slayton is still rehabbing core muscle surgery, and Cam Skattebo is on track for Week 1. Even before the pads come on, the Giants are already dealing with the kind of availability questions that can shape a season before it really starts. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Insider Just Cast Serious Doubt On One Young Defensive Lineman
Dan Duggan of The Athletic offered a pretty sober read on rookie defensive tackle Anquin Barnes Jr., and it was the kind of evaluation that usually gets attention in late summer. Barnes came to the Giants after stops at Alabama and Colorado, arriving as an undrafted free agent with the sort of profile that makes every practice rep matter, especially for a young lineman trying to carve out a place on a crowded roster.
For Barnes, the next few weeks may be less about long-term projection and more about earning every chance he gets in preseason action. The Giants still have room to sort through the back end of the defensive line, and Barnes will need to show enough to keep himself in the conversation for a 53-man spot, even as the questions around his college rsum continue to linger. [Read more 🡒]