As the Aug. 3 MLB trade deadline nears, the Boston Red Sox see Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto as a “strong fit,” per sources to Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic.
“The Sox, after expressing interest in the Los Angeles Angels shortstop last offseason, continue to view him as a strong fit, according to people briefed on their discussions but granted anonymity to speak freely.
“The talks between the Red Sox and Angels regarding Neto last winter did not progress to the point of exchanging names. John Mozeliak has since taken over as interim general manager of the Angels, replacing Perry Minasian. It is not clear how willing the team would be to trade Neto, who is earning $4.15 million this season and under club control for three additional years.”
Neto is hitting .238 (.771 OPS) with 19 home runs, 46 RBI and an American League-leading 69 runs.
The news on Neto arises as Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story continues his rehab from a sports hernia that landed him on the 60-day injured list on June 4.
It’s unclear when Story would return, but he is hoping for an August rehab, per Ian Browne of MLB.com on Monday.
“Yeah, we’re still playing it by ear here, but sometime in August is in play for sure,” Story said.
As Browne noted, a position player is given a maximum of 20 days for a rehab assignment.
“Yeah, we’ll see. It’s about just how the body responds,” Story said when asked about how long the rehab would be. “I think [how I’m feeling] from day to day is going to be the main thing, and we’ll see about the at-bats when it comes time for that. But yeah, more about just letting the body feel good and then get back in there.”
Boston just won 15 straight games before falling 5-1 to the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday. The Red Sox currently hold the third and final American League wild card spot, and they also remain in the AL East division race, seven games back of the Tampa Bay Rays.
So the Red Sox should obviously look to make moves prior to the deadline. With Story out for an undetermined amount of time, adding a shortstop makes sense.
The 25-year-old Neto is under team control for three-plus seasons before he’s eligible for free agency after the 2029 campaign. He’s been one of the Angels’ better players this season, and in theory, Los Angeles could keep him in town and hope for brighter days soon enough.
The Angels are currently 41-62, last in the AL West and very likely to finish outside the playoffs. So it makes sense for them to be sellers at the deadline and build for the future.
Ultimately, we’ll find out soon enough what the Red Sox do to add to their team and whether Neto is part of their plans with the deadline just 10 days away.
