Red Sox's Perfect Hypothetical Zach Neto Trade Offer to Angels

What could Boston feasibly afford to give up?

Jul 22, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto (9) reacts after hitting a double during the third inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

We've heard a lot about the Boston Red Sox trading for Zach Neto from the Los Angeles Angels. But it's all just talk until an offer theoretically gets accepted.

Neto would be a serious offensive upgrade in the top half of the order in Boston, even if his glove is somewhat questionable at shortstop these days. He'd be under team control through the 2029 season, so he'd be a sustainable piece of the roster through what the Sox hope is a championship window.

So what could be an enticing enough offer to get the Angels to believe they were jump-starting their rebuild? We've got an idea, even if the final answer ends up being different or nonexistent.

Is this Red Sox's best hypothetical offer for Neto?

If the Red Sox are willing to give up No. 1 prospect Franklin Arias or No. 2 prospect Anthony Eyanson, the deal is probably done. But we saw the club hold on giving up any consensus Top 100 guys last year, and Craig Breslow's M.O. seems to be avoiding mortgaging the future in that respect.

So instead, let's craft a package around Marcelo Mayer, the former first-round pick, plus another couple of top prospects. If the Angels pass on this, it might well be reasonable for the Red Sox to walk away.

The Angels are perpetually hurting for starting pitching, which is why we're including Witherspoon, the 2025 first-round pick who has dealt with some serious struggles in his professional debut, over the slightly higher-rated prospect in Justin Gonzales. And that same concept might cause the Angels to push as hard as they can for Eyanson, who's been incredible coming from that same draft class.

Azocar is proving to be a name to watch in his own right, earning a promotion from Low-A to High-A in his age-19 season and spraying the ball all over the yard. He doesn't have one elite tool but there's not an obvious weakness to his game, either.

The odds of the Red Sox trading for Neto might sit somewhere between 10 and 30 percent. But that's a lot higher than the odds seemed a couple of weeks ago, so why not dream big?

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