The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 MLB Trade Deadline.
How far does chief baseball officer Craig Breslow want to go to leave his mark on this resurgent Boston Red Sox team? Would he buck the franchise’s recent deadline history and trade one of the game’s top prospects to land the controllable shortstop the Red Sox seek?
Those are the decisions confronting the Red Sox before Monday’s 6 p.m. ET trade deadline. Franklin Arias, their 20-year-old shortstop, ranked the No. 4 prospect in baseball per The Athletic’s Keith Law, could help the team land a major leaguer at his position under multiple years of club control, sources close to the situation told The Athletic. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they’re not authorized to comment publicly.
Arias is a popular trade target, but the Red Sox have not yet found a deal worth discussing, a person with knowledge of the situation but not authorized to discuss it publicly said. Breslow declined comment on the availability of any specific players.
One rival executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity to be candid, said he believes the Red Sox might only trade Arias for the Washington Nationals’ CJ Abrams. The Red Sox are not necessarily as high on other shortstops who’ve been linked to the team, such as the Los Angeles Angels’ Zach Neto and Miami Marlins’ Otto Lopez. Abrams is under club control for two additional seasons, Neto and Lopez for three.
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Abrams, 25, is third in the majors in slugging (.563) and sixth in OPS (.930), and he would add power that Boston lacks outside of Willson Contreras. The Red Sox acquired infielder Curtis Mead from the Washington Nationals, believing his offensive transformation this season is real. They might view Abrams in the same light. However, Abrams’ defensive ratings at short are not good (-13 outs above average), potentially giving the Red Sox pause despite his offensive production.
The under-the-hood offensive numbers for Neto and Lopez are not as strong as Abrams’. Neto’s expected batting average of .203 is in the third percentile, and his expected slugging percentage (.403) is in the 50th. Lopez is tied for the league lead in doubles but has a .353 batting average on balls in play, fifth highest in the league, up almost 90 points from last season. The Red Sox might fear he is bound to regress.
Arias debuted at Triple-A Worcester this week and has already crushed two homers. In 75 games this season at Double A, where he was among the youngest players at that level, he hit .318 with 19 homers and a .994 OPS.
At Double A, Arias started 54 games at shortstop and five games at second base. But in seven games at Triple A, he has already started two at second, including consecutive games on Friday and Saturday.
The consecutive starts at second base are notable. The Red Sox could be hesitant to call up Arias in the midst of a postseason push. Internally, the club might also be debating whether it would be better to trade him for a more proven — but still young — shortstop.
Compared to the previous two deadlines, Breslow already has been more aggressive this season. In 2023, he added pitchers James Paxton, Luis Garcia and Lucas Sims, all of whom were hurt and didn’t contribute. Last year, after trading away Rafael Devers in June, he added pitchers Dustin May and Steven Matz, neither of whom contributed much. Breslow’s offseason trades have fared better than his deadline deals, but this deadline he appears to be making a stronger push.
Last weekend, Breslow sent an early message to a surging Red Sox group, acquiring Mead in exchange for a top young pitcher, Connelly Early. But Mead broke his wrist in his first game with the Red Sox, sending Breslow back to the drawing board.
The Red Sox (58-51) finished July with a 21-4 record, their best record in a calendar month in franchise history. They capped their run with a comeback 9-4 road victory Friday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, further cementing their legitimacy as a contender.
Thus, Breslow might be emboldened to keep pushing.
He fired Alex Cora and six coaches on April 25 after a 10-17 start, installing Chad Tracy as the interim manager. Breslow was proactive in making that leadership change, saying he believed in the club despite its brutal start. An impact deal before the trade deadline would only reinforce that sentiment.
Swaps including top prospects at the deadline, however, are rare. Baseball America, which currently ranks Arias as the No. 3 prospect, recently noted that there has only been one top-five prospect traded at the deadline since 2017: Shortstop Leo De Vries, who the San Diego Padres sent to the Athletics last season in a package for closer Mason Miller.
And while it may seem counterintuitive for the Red Sox to trade a top shortstop prospect for a more advanced player at his position, a quality major leaguer under multiple years of club control could be a short- and long-term difference-maker.
The Red Sox have filtered through shortstops this season, with Trevor Story out since May with a sports hernia and Marcelo Mayer and Isiah Kiner-Falefa both sidelined with forearm stress reactions. All three are undergoing rehab but are believed to be a month or more away from returning. In the meantime, Andruw Monasterio has filled in admirably at shortstop (.770 OPS in 69 games). Monasterio, though, is not a long-term solution.
Meanwhile, Story is under contract through 2027 but has only played one full season of his six-year deal due to injuries. The Red Sox would have to figure out what to do once he returns if they acquire a shortstop. He could move to second, but Mead is considered Boston’s second baseman of the future. Then there’s Mayer, who would also be blocked at second and short.
A trade of Arias could bring the Red Sox a player who would give them a postseason push while potentially offering a long-term solution at short.
