Red Sox's surprise Curtis Mead trade could crush Zach Neto deadline dreams

The Boston Red Sox have been repeatedly linked to Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto during this transaction cycle, and for good reason. Neto's right-handed pop (19 homers so far in 2026) would play well at Fenway Park and give Boston's lineup the added juice it needs while solving a major issue at shortstop.

However, the Red Sox did surprise a bunch of people on Saturday night by trading for another right-handed bat/infielder in Washington Nationals' Curtis Mead. Some fans took this as Boston's "big move", thus ruling out a Neto pursuit. After all, Boston did give up one of its most promising young players (Connelly Early) to acquire Mead. some might say it was a bit of an overpay, but only time will tell.

But hold on a second. It sounds like Craig Breslow and the Red Sox front office is still intent on cooking. USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported on Sunday morning that Boston is still eyeing Neto and Jeremy Peña.

The Red Sox may not have given up on trade pursuit of Zach Neto

Nightengale isn't the only source hinting at more moves coming from Boston. When reporting on the Mead deal, ESPN's MLB insider Jeff Passan said that, "The Red Sox are not expected to stop with this deal, either, continuing to consider larger deals for another bat, sources said.” Interesting!

It was Nightengale (among others) who predicted days ago that the Red Sox would be "aggressive buyers" at the deadline, and aggressive turned out to be the correct word, especially if Breslow goes out and gets another bat.

But who could the Red Sox offer for Zach Neto at the trade deadline?

With Early now off the board and Boston unlikely to trade another MLB starter (such as Jake Bennett, for instance), it feels like a Neto trade would involve a position player plus prospects ... something like the Marcelo Mayer package proposed by BoSox Injection's Hunter Noll.

The rise of Anthony Seigler gives the Red Sox another reason to feel okay about moving on from Mayer. Tsung-Che Cheng has been solid, and Trevor Story is on his way back (what Chad Tracy will do with him, we're not sure). The point is that the Red Sox have plenty of infielders. Acquiring Neto without sending an infielder out in the trade would be sort of clumsy from a depth-chart standpoint.

News of the Red Sox continuing to hunt for offense, even after the Mead trade, shows that Breslow and Boston's brass is keeping their foot on the gas. The Red Sox clearly have a "why not us?" mentality about the American League crown this season, and there's no reason they shouldn't. There's no doubt they have other aspirations, but trading Early certainly impacts their ability to add a controllable young player like Neto, especially with how struggling teams value cost-effective pitching.

Whatever the case, the Sox have momentum, a stellar pitching staff, and an improving offense. And the AL doesn't have a lot of good teams. Go for it, even if it means trading another valuable asset or two.

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