Steve Drumwright

The Boston Red Sox may have narrowed their focus to one shortstop as Monday's 6 p.m. ET trade deadline approaches, but the price could be their top prospect. The discussion now is whether that is the proper price to pay to upgrade one of the most important positions on the field. Franklin Arias, Talk Sox's No. 1 prospect who was just recently promoted to play shortstop at Triple-A Worcester, is a big name being bandied about, although there are no discussions under way to acquire an MLB shortstop, Jen McCaffrey and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic wrote in an article posted Saturday. That same report, citing one MLB executive, said the only way Arias could possibly be included in a deal was for All-Star Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams. Seemingly that would rule out Zack Neto of the Los Angeles Angels, while Otto Lopez of the Miami Marlins has already been crossed off. The 25-year-old Abrams entered Saturday with a .290/.367/.563 slash line, with that .563 slugging percentage leading the NL. He has 28 homers and 21 doubles and 83 RBIs. All but the doubles are the best numbers of his career. Abrams is making $4.2 million this season and has two more years of club control. Arias played second base for the second consecutive game Saturday after having only played the position five times in 75 games at Double-A Portland. Saturday marked Arias' sixth game at Triple-A. View full rumor

While at first glance Seattle Mariners left fielder Randy Arozarena doesn't feel like a great fit in a crowded Boston Red Sox outfield, he does have one attribute that could be a boon to the offense. He hits right-handed. With the Red Sox skewed left-handed when it comes to hitters, Arozarena would help balance that out. Arozarena is having a nice bounce-back year in 2026 with the Mariners, posting a .280/.375/.447 slash line with 13 homers and 48 RBIs in 103 games entering play Saturday. That .280 average is the highest since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, when he hit .281 in 23 games. His power numbers are down from the 27 homers he hit last year, his first full season in pitcher-friendly Seattle, but that right-handed power would look good attacking the Green Monster at Fenway Park. Arozarena is making $15.65 million this year and is a free agent, so the cost to extract him from the Mariners might not be too great, although Seattle is still pushing for a postseason spot of its own. It also could be an opportunity to move an outfielder who may not fit the Red Sox's plans moving forward. View full rumor

If the Boston Red Sox are truly going to acquire controllable talent at the trade deadline instead of a two-month rental, it might hurt a little bit when it comes to prospect capital. One area the Red Sox would love to find a long-term solution is catcher—and the most popular name when it comes to a controllable player and production is Hunter Goodman of the Colorado Rockies. The 26-year-old is third in MLB with 31 homers, matching his 2025 total, and has a .254/.326/.545 slash line with 60 RBIs. While some might think he is just a product of the thin air at Coors Field, 18 of Goodman's homers have come on the road. While Goodman's defense has been questioned, that is something a team can work on. That type of right-handed power would look terrific at Fenway Park, right? But with the Rockies turning a corner under a new front office and actually looking competent, Colorado isn't necessarily in the mood to ship off a player the team can build around. Goodman is making $810,000, just above the MLB minimum, and has three more years of club control. So that makes the price a stiff one for competitors to pry away Goodman. Combine that with two other AL East rivals, the New York Yankees and first-place Tampa Bay Rays, also seeking a catcher before Monday's deadline, and the price increases that much more. According to several reports, the Rockies are looking at the very top of the prospect list if they are going to surrender their young star. For the Red Sox, that begins with shortstop Franklin Arias, who was just promoted to Triple-A Worcester and homered in his first plate appearance. The 20-year-old, Talk Sox's No. 1 prospect, entered play Friday with a .307/.393/.570 slash line in 79 games between Double-A and Triple-A this year. With a 15-game winning streak flipping the script on the Red Sox this month, would that price be worth it to not only guarantee a postseason spot but make a deep run to a World Series? View full rumor

The start of Curtis Mead's career with the Boston Red Sox lasted two plate appearances. Now the question is: How do the Red Sox replace the infielder? Mead, acquired Saturday in a trade with the Washington Nationals, was placed on the 10-day injured list Tuesday by the Red Sox with an injured left wrist. Mead told Boston media the wrist is fractured and he will fly to Boston to meet with a hand specialist, who will determine if he needs season-ending surgery. He was hit by a pitch in Monday's game against the A's. Infielder Nick Sogard will be called up from Triple-A Worcester. Due to Boston being in West Sacramento, Sogard is not expected to join the team until Wednesday. Mead was hit by a 95 mph four-seamer from A's right-hander Jack Perkins leading off the top of the fourth inning. He remained in the game until being replaced defensively to begin the bottom of the fifth inning. Initial X-rays did not show a break, according to interim manager Chad Tracy, but more testing Tuesday led the Red Sox to make the decision to sideline their new acquisition. Mead was picked up in a one-for-one trade for left-handed starter Connelly Early. Mead has a season slash line of .253/.353/.498 with 17 homers and 48 RBIs, hoping to provide a bit of extra power from the Red Sox's infield. View full rumor

As the Boston Red Sox continue their search for an upgrade at catcher, a few more paths could be open. One is the Miami Marlins and the other is the St. Louis Cardinals. According to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, the emergence of rookie catcher Joe Mack has prompted the Marlins to be open to trading Liam Hicks, who has seen more action at designated hitter than catcher in July while also spending a little time at first base this season. Hicks, who is under club control through 2030, is slashing .279/.358/.438 with 14 homers and 60 RBIs in 95 games for the Marlins, who Monday ended their franchise-record 12-game losing streak that switched their role from buyer to seller with Monday's trade deadline coming up. In addition to being 9½ games out of the NL East lead, the Marlins went from possessing the No. 3 wild-card spot to now being two games out, but having to surpass five teams to get back into that same position. Hicks has started 31 games behind the plate, 18 at first base and 35 at DH. If Hicks isn't who the Red Sox are looking for, they could head back to the Cardinals, who shipped right-handed starter Sonny Gray and first baseman Willson Contreras to Boston in separate deals with its former front-office boss Chaim Bloom. The Cardinals have the top catching prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline, in Rainiel Rodriguez, a 19-year-old who is at Double-A. But ahead of him yet on the Cardinals' depth chart are Pedro Pages and Ivan Herrera. Pages would be more attractive from a defensive standpoint as Herrera does a poor job of controlling the running game. But Pages' problem is offense. He has a .207/.248/.327 slash line with four homers and 11 RBIs in 60 games, while Herrera's slash line is .244/.365/.380 with 12 homers and 44 RBIs in 105 games. Herrera has made 40 of his 105 starts at catcher, with the rest as a designated hitter. View full rumor

The Boston Red Sox are definitely on the hunt for an upgrade at shortstop. One of their targets is Zach Neto of the Los Angeles Angeles Angels. According to Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic, Neto was on the Red Sox's radar last offseason, but not to the point where names of prospects or other assets were exchanged. Now, with John Mozeliak recently taking over the Angels' front office at least on an interim basis, the Red Sox have been back in contact. The Red Sox are suddenly buyers following a 15-game winning streak that took them from last place in the AL East to currently holding the third and final AL wild-card spot. Neto is making $4,150,000 this year and is under club control for another three years after that. Neto entered Thursday with a slash line of .238/.326/.446 with 19 homers, 46 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Injured starting shortstop Trevor Story is making $25 million this year and next year, with a club option for 2028. Story, out since May 14 due to surgery for a sports hernia, is not expected to start a rehab assignment until August. The Red Sox are currently getting by at short with a platoon of Andruw Monasterio and Tsung-Che Cheng. View full rumor

It is no secret that the Boston Red Sox, suddenly a contender with their 14-game winning streak entering play Tuesday, would love to upgrade the catching position. So how about snatching one from a fellow AL East team? One catcher out on the market, per ESPN's Jeff Passan, is Baltimore Orioles backstop Adley Rutschman. Once the darling of the Orioles' rebuild, Rutschman hasn't been the superstar they envisioned. Passan noted the Red Sox were one of the teams that would be a good fit for Rutschman. A switch-hitter, Rutschman has a career slash line of .254/.342/.414. He hit 20 and 19 homers in his second and third seasons in the majors, while drawing AL MVP votes in 2022, when he finished second in AL Rookie of the Year balloting, and 2023. But injuries in each of the last two seasons have slowed his production. In 90 games last year, Rutschman slashed .220/.307/.366 with nine homers and 29 RBIs. He has followed that up with a .251/.331/.433 with eight homers and 47 RBIs in 67 games this year before hitting the injured list for the third time this season Monday, this one for inflammation in his left wrist. Still, he represented the Orioles in last week's All-Star Game. That injury will keep him out until at least the weekend of the trade deadline, which is Aug. 3. The Orioles have struggled last year and this year and with Samuel Bassallo in the fold long term after signing an extension this year, making Rutschman not as valuable as he once was. Still an elite defender, Rutschman is also under club control through the 2027 season, so the Orioles won't be looking to dump him for just anything. And especially if the Red Sox come calling, the Orioles will make sure to extract a good price for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft. He would certainly be an upgrade over Carlos Narvaez and Connor Wong, the Red Sox's current catching tandem. View full rumor