What to Know About Red Sox Phenom Franklin Arias After Trade Deadline

The Boston Red Sox's future at the shortstop position is completely up in the air at the moment.

With Marcelo Mayer out the door, he no longer is an option, of course. When Mayer was drafted and worked his way through the minors, the thought was that he would be the shortstop of the future. He's still just 23 years old, but things didn't work out and Boston traded him to the San Francisco Giants.

Andruw Monasterio has gotten a lot of time at the position for Boston of late, but he's not the shortstop of the future for the club. Boston was linked to a handful of shortstops ahead of the trade deadline, including Zach Neto of the Los Angeles Angels, but opted against making a splash at the position. Trevor Story is working his way back from sports hernia surgery. Boston also has No. 1 overall prospect Franklin Arias just one step away from the big leagues down in Triple-A.

Before the trade deadline, Arias was talked about as a potential trade chip, especially when shortstops were mentioned, like Neto. But Boston opted to hold on. The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey reported that Boston didn't view the talks around Arias as "worth discussing."

The Red Sox Didn't Want To Move Franklin Arias

Boston Red Sox No. 1 prospect Franklin Arias meets with media inside the home dugout at Polar Park on July 24, 2026 after he was promoted to Triple-A Worcester from Double-A Portland. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

"One team source who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe trade talks noted that while they’d received inquiries on Arias, there had been nothing 'worth discussing,'" McCaffrey wrote.

Arguably, it was the right move to keep Arias. He's batting .310 on the season with 21 homers and 59 RBIs in 82 games across Double-A and Triple-A. That's not the type of production you want to trade away.

It's interesting to see the reporting that Boston didn't view the talks as anything worthwhile. It was shared that the Angels specifically wanted Arias in a deal for Neto, which Boston opted against. When the reports came out that the Angels wanted Arias in a deal for Neto, the asking price seemed absurd. Clearly, the Red Sox felt the same way about the young infielder.

The future of the shortstop position for Boston is up in the air. It could end up being Arias. But it's too early to put that pressure on him, especially after just trading Mayer away. On the bright side, Boston clearly views him highly and there's a chance he could help this team down the stretch.

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