The Boston Red Sox made it through their best trade deadline of the Craig Breslow era. The additions of Adley Rutschman and Erik Miller will go a long way and Curtis Mead will hopefully be impactful when he's off the injured list in a few weeks.
The Red Sox traded two of their top pitching prospects, a top outfield prospect, plus rookie Connelly Early and depth pitcher Tyler Uberstine to make their moves. Boston managed to address a premier position of need without trading its No. 1 prospect, Franklin Arias, but that doesn't mean other teams didn't ask about him.
According to Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic, an anonymous source said some teams asked the Red Sox about a deal including Arias but that none of the offers were "worth discussing" (subscription required). This report is especially noteworthy given some of the teams Boston had confirmed contact with in the leadup to the deadline.
A few days before the trade deadline, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reported that the Los Angeles Angels sought a package headlined by Franklin Arias in exchange for Zach Neto. "Section 10" podcast host Jarred Carrabis made an "educated guess" that the Miami Marlins requested Arias in exchange for Otto Lopez, and when the Red Sox declined, they pivoted to asking for fellow top prospect Justin Gonzales. Naturally, Boston declined that request, as well, if Carrabis is correct.
Red Sox didn't consider any trade packages containing Franklin Arias 'worth discussing'
It's not hard to see why Craig Breslow would deny such requests. Arias has grown in to a triple-threat as he's gotten closer to the big leagues — he suddenly hits for power to go with his high average and on-base skills, and he plays excellent defense.
Arias is too close to the majors to sacrifice for someone with Neto's skillset. Sure, Neto can slug from the right side and he's knocked 19 home runs this year, but he's not a good defender (nine outs below average) and great defense has been a defining factor of the Sox's success this year. Neto has also struck out an American League-leading 155 times this season with a strikeout percentage that ranks in the sixth percentile in the league.
Lopez is a high average hitter (.321/.354/.479) with a keen eye, like Arias. But he doesn't take walks and doesn't often leave the yard, with just nine home runs on the year (he has hit 28 doubles, however). Lopez is a skilled defender at shortstop (eight outs above average, six defensive runs saved), but so is Arias.
Arias is too close to the major leagues to justify trading him for either Neto or Lopez. Not only is he a more well-rounded player than both of them (as far as we can tell, since he still has no major league experience), the Red Sox have more years of control over Arias. There is no advantage to trading Arias for either Neto or Lopez besides immediate offensive help, which Boston found elsewhere in Rutschman and Mead. If Elly De La Cruz were on the line, it'd be a different story, but Neto nor Lopez is the kind of player the No. 7 prospect in baseball gets dealt for, which the Angels and Marlins very well know.
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