Category: Baseball

It’s always nice to win a day game, especially when that win clinches the first team sweep of the season! Messick wasn’t as in control as he usually is today, but he still turned in 6.2 innings of quality baseball. His final line: 6.2 IP 4H 2R 7K 3BB. The only runs of the day came off a Zach Neto 2-run homer in the 5th.

The Guardians started off scoring quickly, with Angel Martinez hitting a leadoff homer.

Martinez had a great series, going 3/7 with 2 HR and 3 SB in the two games he played. Jose walked, DeLauter singled off the pitcher, and then Fry drove them in with an RBI groundout.

DeLauter drove in a run in the 3rd on a sac fly to center (which he smoked).

In the 6th, the Guardians tacked on an insurance run with a Daniel Schneemann RBI single.

Bullpen was great. Festa came on in relief of Messick in the 7th – with a runner on first – and got Adam Frazier (lol) to ground out. Sabrowski pitched the 8th, striking out 3. Cade got the save in the ninth striking out the side. He has been fantastic over the last month.

Relatively uneventful game today, but it ended in a W.

The Guardians welcome the Reds this weekend, where it’ll be Bibee against a presently unknown Reds pitcher.

The Yankees lost for the sixth time in their last eight games, falling to the Baltimore Orioles by a score of 7-0 on Wednesday afternoon. 

Here are the takeaways...

-- Max Fried never looked right on the mound. The lefty lasted just 3.0 innings before being pulled from the game, as he was seen heading down the tunnel with members of the training and coaching staff after the third. 

The team later announced that Fried exited with left elbow posterior soreness, and that he will be evaluated by team doctors and get imaging on Thursday, in what could potentially be a huge blow to the Yankees' rotation.

Fried was missing up and away to right-handed-hitters routinely, as just 34 of his 61 pitches went for strikes.

The lefty allowed three earned runs on five hits with one walk and two strikeouts in 3.0 innings pitched.

-- Paul Blackburn relieved Fried, and the right-hander allowed a two-run homer to Adley Rutschman in the bottom of the fifth inning. Spencer Jones nearly made a terrific play, but the ball hit off his glove and bounced over the wall for homer, making it a 5-0 game.

It wasn't a great day for the bullpen overall, as Blackburn and Ryan Yarbrough combined to allow four runs.

-- Anthony Volpe was back in the starting lineup for the first time this season. Called up on Tuesday with Jose Caballero going on the IL, Volpe came up in a big spot with runners on the corners and two outs in the fifth inning, but went down swinging to end the inning. 

Volpe went 0-for-3 with a strikeout, and also committed a fielding error on a routine ground ball in the eighth inning.

-- Kyle Bradish had a terrific afternoon on the mound for the O’s. The righty faced the minimum through the first three innings, allowing only a Trent Grisham walk. Jazz Chisholm Jr. finally notched a double with one out in the fifth to break up the no-hit bid, but Bradish shut the Yankees out over his 6.0 innings, allowing just one hit while striking out seven and walking three.

--That Chisholm double was the Yankees' only hit of the afternoon.Jones reach base twice on a pair of walks.

Game MVP

Blaze Alexander, who went 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored.

Upcoming schedule 

The Yankees are off on Thursday before beginning the Subway Series against the Mets on Friday night in Queens. 

Cam Schlittler will face Clay Holmes, with first pitch at 7:15p.m.

Usually when the San Diego Padres score four runs, they can eke out a win with their strong pitching staff. Tuesday night, that was not the case.

The Friars jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth inning. Unfortunately, that lead was immediately lost with starter Matt Waldron surrendering five runs to the Milwaukee Brewers in the bottom of the fourth. That might’ve been due to some bad luck, but it was a rough ending to an otherwise solid outing.

Waldron had been pitching much better lately, giving up only four runs across his previous 10 innings. That solid performance was made to look like a blip with his return to mediocrity yesterday. It seems more and more likely that newcomer Lucas Giolito will take Waldron’s spot in the rotation.

The offense turned a corner, with Miguel Andujar driving in two runs with a solo homer and an RBI double. If they can build on that production in tonight’s game, it would be a major turning point for San Diego.

Taking the mound

Jacob Misiorowski (MIL) v. Michael King (SD)

Misiorowski has been doing what he does best: throwing baseballs as hard as almost any human can. He’s been much more successful than last season, with his fastball run value going from ranking in the 63rd percentile (2025) to the 86th (2026). In his first eight games, he owns a 2.45 ERA and 0.95 WHIP.

The young phenom has anchored this Brewers rotation. He has been one of the best pitchers in the National League, giving Milwaukee a shot at staying in contention in the stacked NL Central division.

King has been just as much of an ace as he ever has been for the Friars. He’s pitched to a 2.76 ERA in 45 2/3 innings, with his sinker and changeup being his most valuable pitches.

He pitched a gem in his last outing against the St. Louis Cardinals, giving up one run across six innings. If he can do that again against a Brewers club that has struggled to score runs, tonight may turn out to be quite the pitcher’s duel.

Batter up!

Manager Craig Stammen made just about the most offense-focused lineup he could, putting Fernando Tatis Jr. at second base so Nick Castellanos could play right field, and having Andujar DH. That didn’t end up working out fully, with the Friars only scoring four runs in their loss.

1. Jackson Merrill, CF
2. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
3. Manny Machado, 3B
4. Miguel Andujar, DH
5. Xander Bogaerts, SS
6. Gavin Sheets, 1B
7. Ramón Laureano, LF
8. Sung Mun-Song, 2B
9. Rodolfo Durán, C

Andujar is the only player who’s faced Misiorowski and, though it’s a small sample size (two at-bats), he’s batting 1.000 with a 2.000 OPS. Duplicating that would go a long way toward a San Diego win.

The lineup knocked eight hits last night, but couldn’t take advantage of all of their opportunities. They’ll need to do a much better job tonight if they hope to force the rubber match tomorrow.

Relief corps

With Bradgley Rodriguez serving as an opener for Waldron, the Friars used three relievers to get through the game. It was basically a bullpen game with Waldron only going 2 2/3 innings. Wandy Peralta and Yuki Matsui combined to pitch 4 1/3 scoreless innings.

With that, the bullpen has plenty of options for tonight’s game. Jason Adam, Jeremiah Estrada, Ron Marinaccio, Mason Miller and Adrian Morejon will each be readily available for Stammen to turn to. All but Marinaccio are obvious high-leverage options for the Friars.

Yet another Met is set for an extended period on the sidelines.

Starting catcher Francisco Alvarez will undergo surgery for a right meniscus tear, Carlos Mendoza said Wednesday, and the manager hopes for his return in six to eight weeks.

The 24-year-old has become the latest Mets starter on the shelf — joining Francisco Lindor, Luis Robert Jr. and Jorge Polanco.

Mendoza added that a firmer timeline for Alvarez, who was initially placed on the 10-day IL, will be known after his procedure. The manager tipped Luis Torrens to get the bulk of the starts in the meantime, with call-up Hayden Senger filling in behind him.

“I don’t want to sit here and speculate,” the manager said. “All we know is we have to wait until they go in there and find what we got.”

Alvarez, who has played in all but four games this season, injured his knee during an awkward sixth-inning swing Tuesday against the Tigers. The Venezuela native lost his balance as he fouled a ball away and then limped off the field without facing another pitch.

He’ll be replaced behind the plate by Torrens, who has elite defensive instincts but just a .208 batting average.

Alvarez is the third Met to encounter a meniscus issue this year, following injuries to Mike Tauchman and Jared Young.

“We’re always looking, especially if guys continue to get hurt with the same injury,” Mendoza said of his team’s injury trend. “But it’s hard to pinpoint. There’s years where you’re dealing with hamstrings. … It seems like this is the year of the knee.”

For Alvarez, it’s the latest in a spate of injuries in his Mets career, after he missed significant time with hand and wrist injuries the past two seasons.

“You feel for him. You feel for the person, for the human,” Mendoza said. “When you feel like he’s getting time to develop, to continue to learn, play — he hasn’t had that run, playing every day, go through struggles, find a way to get through it and keep going.”

Robert (back) and Polanco (left Achilles and right wrist) seem a ways away from a return. Mendoza said Lindor, who strained his left calf April 22, underwent an MRI exam Wednesday.

Alvarez’s injury quickly quashed some of the excitement around A.J. Ewing’s tremendous debut start Tuesday.

“Guys got to step up. I’ll continue to sit here and say the same thing,” Mendoza said. “A lot of teams are going through adversity. A lot of teams are dealing with injuries, we’re one of them, but we got to keep going.”

For mere mortals, an off-day means an off-day, but for Shohei Ohtani, the definition of it is a bit different. For the fourth time this season, the Dodgers will take the field without Ohtani as their designated hitter. If the recent track record serves as an indicator, it’s one of those bad with him and worse without him moments for the Dodgers offense. In the two most recent games without the reigning back-to-back NL MVP hitting, the Dodgers have scored one run in each, wasting a pair of great Ohtani outings, as his performance on the mound has been second to none in the National League this season.

Held in check by the bottom of the Giants’ rotation over the first two games of this series, the Dodgers’ offense will have a far more difficult challenge this time around. One of the few bright spots of what’s been a melancholic season for the Giants, Robbie Ray will face the Dodgers for the first time this season, having missed them in the earlier series at Oracle Park. As they look for anything to be optimistic about, the Dodgers might rely on the fact they’ve seen Ray well in recent duels—in fact, the former Cy Young winner allowed a combined 10 runs in back-to-back losses against the Dodgers in September of last year, his last two starts of that campaign.

Dalton Rushing filled in as the Dodgers’ DH in the other three times Ohtani took a seat, as they all came against left-handers. However, with multiple righty platoon specialists on the bench, it’s unlikely that Rushing will retain that position even if a minuscule sample size actually has him faring well against southpaws, going five for 15 this season. Miguel Rojas is likely to start over Hyesog Kim in the infield, leaving the DH spot to either Alex Call or Santiago Espinal, with the advantage to Call based on their 2026 numbers.

Wednesday’s game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Giants
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
• Start time: 7:10 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez, who left Tuesday's game against the Tigers after injuring his right knee while swinging the bat, has been placed on the 10-day IL due to a meniscus tear.

Alvarez will be getting surgery as soon as possible, manager Carlos Mendoza said on Wednesday. Mendoza added that the hope is that Alvarez can return within six-to-eight weeks, but that the team will not know the specific timeline until after the surgery is performed. 

Luis Torrens will get the bulk of the playing time behind the plate in Alvarez's stead.

Hayden Senger, who was called up to replace Alvarez on the active roster, will serve as the backup.

Alvarez was having a slightly above average season with the bat, slashing .241/.317/.393 (.710 OPS) with four home runs and five doubles in 128 plate appearances across 37 games.

Defensively, Alvarez had been struggling a bit, especially when it came to blocking balls in the dirt -- he was in the ninth percentile in that category, via Baseball Savant. 

Alvarez is the fourth member of the Mets' regular lineup now on the IL, joining Francisco Lindor (calf), Luis Robert Jr. (back), and Jorge Polanco (Achilles).

Francisco Alvarez is out of the game after fouling a pitch off pic.twitter.com/vYFr6mtKpg

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 13, 2026

New York Yankees ace Max Fried left Wednesday afternoon's game in Baltimore after only three innings and 61 pitches due to left elbow posterior soreness, the team announced.

The left-hander was not particularly sharp in his outing, giving up three runs and five hits in his three innings of work before giving way to reliever Paul Blackburn in the top of the fourth.

The start of the game was moved up several hours because of storms forecast for the Baltimore area later in the day.

In nine previous starts this season, Fried has posted a 4-2 record and 2.91 ERA over 58 2/3 innings.

The biggest stories, every morning. Stay up-to-date on all the key sports developments by subscribing to USA TODAY Sports' newsletter.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Max Fried injury news and updates for Yankees ace's elbow issue

Last year, Dan and I recorded a pre-season podcast where we drafted spots for a Red Sox Bingo card that we never ended up making. I never ended up making. It was me. Despite that, we recorded a pre-season podcast this year where we drafted spots for a Red Sox Bingo card that I never ended up making. Thankfully, Jake Roy made it this year, about a month ago, in like an hour. I’m only now posting it for the same reason I didn’t make or post last year’s at all: I am very irresponsible!

And yet I am creative, and thanks to Dan and Jake for help bringing this to light. For those of you who listened to and remember the podcast, it should be noted that I edited some of our entries to account for new information and to clean up the “uncs just riffing” vibes. Enough chitchat tho, here it is:

The first thing you might notice about this is that some items have already happened. The center square, for instance, and Jarren Duran having a fan incident. They’re not the only ones. But the first person to reply “Bingo!” to any OTM-related account when they have one wins a prize, not that I know what it is. But I’ll buy it. Play and win! At least there’s something left to play for, amirite?

Max Fried only lasted three innings on Wednesday afternoon in Baltimore, indeed seeming to take himself out of the game after the third frame. Down 3-0, the lefty immediately went down the tunnel followed by members of the training staff, and pitching coach Matt Blake tapped Paul Blackburn to come in for longman’s work.

Fried has had blister problems before, affecting him for about five starts last season. I’m not a doctor, but I want to look at Fried’s pitch chart:

Look at the top of the zone, specifically how many cutters and four-seamers Max missed, and missed badly. These are pitches he wants at the letters, and you get that ball down with pressure on top of the baseball — first and middle fingers on four seams, then first finger on top and thumb on the side of the cutter pressing in. A blister or hotspot would affect your ability to apply pressure to the baseball, therefore it won’t sink the way you want it, and instead of starting with a cutter at the letters for a strike, you have an easy take and you’re behind 1-0.

To compensate, you’re going to speed up your arm action, and that throws off your regular pitching mechanics. Fried multiple times fell off the mound more violently than we’re used to, which once again makes me think there’s a hotspot. Break out the pickle juice.

That Fried left the game so decisively is actually a cause for optimism from me, since he seemed to recognize the problem rather than needing imaging or some other kind of diagnosis. Still, given this has been an issue in the past, and the Yankees don’t look great right now, a quick fix would be more than welcome.

Update

Welp. That’s worse than blisters. Even with Gerrit Cole due back soon from his Tommy John surgery rehab, Fried needing tests on his own elbow is, of course, awful news. Lovely.

BALTIMORE — The most consistent and healthy part of the Yankees so far this season just took its first hit.

Max Fried left Wednesday’s game against the Orioles with left elbow posterior soreness, the team said, after just three innings and 61 pitches, replaced by Paul Blackburn.

Fried will be examined by Dr. Christopher Ahmad and undergo imaging in New York on Thursday.

Fried was not his sharpest on Wednesday, giving up three runs on five hits and a walk while striking out two.

Typically a terrific fielder, Fried also committed a throwing error on a bunt down the third base line in the third inning.

The left-hander was coming off a rough start against the Brewers last Friday, when he got tagged for five runs on six hits and three walks.

The Yankees’ rotation has been the backbone of the club’s strong start to the season, with Fried carrying a 2.91 ERA into Wednesday’s start.

Yankees starter Max Fried exited Wednesday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles after just three innings. 

Following his third inning of work, Fried was seen going down the tunnel with trainers and members of the coaching staff. 

The team later announced that Fried left the game with left elbow posterior soreness, and he will be evaluated by team doctors and undergo imaging on Thursday. 

Fried threw 61 pitches, but never really looked comfortable on the mound, consistently missing high on the arm side. He also looked down at his landing spot on the mound more than once. 

Fried allowed three earned runs on five hits while striking out two and walking one.

He was relieved by Paul Blackburn to begin the fourth inning.

More to come...

The Atlanta Braves pulled off a win against the National League Central-leading Chicago Cubs in yesterday’s matchup and are now looking at rookie JR Ritchie to continue their winning streak to capture an early series win.

Ritchie, who’s boasting a 3.63 ERA and 1.50 WHIP, didn’t appear in his usual rotation during the Los Angeles Dodgers series. His last start was against the Seattle Mariners, where he walked six batters during his stint. He remarked in an interview that he was going to study film to see what specific things were wrong with his approach to correct for his next outing.

Well, now the time has come for him to put his studying to the test. Already an impressive young flame-thrower, getting his fourth start on the mound with a veteran-heavy team behind him to hold down the offense, should lead to an entertaining showdown against the split-finger master and the Cubs.

Speaking of which, Shota Imanaga, holding a 2.28 ERA with a 4-2 record so far this year, is out to lead the team to their comeback of the night. Coming off a dominant win against the Reds on May 7 ( 6 IP/ 6 H/ 1 ER/ 3 BB/ 10 K), Imanaga will want to capitalize on the Braves’ lack of offensive power (despite their game one win) from the night before, and get ahead of them early to set the tone for the Cubs.

Two of the top MLB teams are looking to come out with their own versions of success. The Braves are finding ways to win, even through downsides, clinching the MLB-best once again. The Cubs…they want to put an end to their streak.

It’s all going down tonight at Truist at 7:15 p.m. EDT.

Game Info

Game Time: Wednesday, May 13th, 7:15 pm EDT

Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA.

Watch: BravesVision

Radio/Audio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan

Last week, in the space of fewer than 24 hours, Jake McCarthy hit a grand slam and drove in five runs as the Rockies beat the Mets 6-2, and Alek Thomas was designated for assignment. In the short-sightedness of many fans (no judgment; I’m in this category sometimes as well) this meant that we had traded away the wrong outfielder.

It’s impossible to know that, because we do not know what the return for Thomas would have been, but it’s also important to note that while results are the only thing that makes a difference in wins and losses, Thomas was fantastically unlucky at the plate this year. All of his expected stats exceeded the results, some by a substantial margin. His xwOBAcon (this takes into account quality of contact and also sounds delicious) exceeded his wOBA by an astounding 110 points. His barrels, launch angles, and hard hit rates were improved on last season. McCarthy, meanwhile, has one of the lowest hard hit rates in the game, although he has also improved his launch angles. But his xwOBAcon is .385 while Thomas’s is .359, a difference not entirely attributable to playing in Coors Field, but which is certainly helped by that. Thomas is also the superior defender. The Diamondbacks designated Thomas for assignment just as much because of roster crunch as because of performance; given his improved launch angles, they surely hope he clears waivers and can go to Reno. If he does not and he suddenly starts hitting above replacement level for another team, it’s not that they suddenly fixed him so much as it is the fixes the Diamondbacks already gave him having better luck.

But anyway, this isn’t about which light hitting outfielder the Diamondbacks should have traded. It is about the overlooked player the Diamondbacks got for McCarthy.

Josh Grosz was an 11^th round selection of the Yankees in 2023, five picks after the Mariners drafted Brandyn Garcia. With the Diamondbacks’ own pick of Casey Anderson, he is the third member of the 11^th round in 2023 in the organization. (That 2023 draft is looking pretty solid this year. Anderson seems to be finding his feet as a reliever in AA, Philip Abner has already reached the major leagues, and Tommy Troy and LuJames Groover are both knocking on the door. Caden Grice is finally healthy, and Jack Hurley looked to be turning things around at AAA.) These are just interesting facts that have no bearing on the discussion, which is the return for McCarthy.

Grosz starred at East Carolina, a “mid-major” school but one with a top-level (but extremely snake bitten) baseball program. They hold the record for most NCAA tournament appearances without ever making to Omaha, and only two teams are even halfway to their 35: South Alabama (alma mater of Turner Ward, Matt Peacock, and some guy named Luis Gonzalez) with 28, and Stetson. He entered the starting rotation in 2022 and started the game that looked to break the schneid. He gave up two runs (one earned) and the Pirates built a 7-2 lead in the seventh inning. But Texas came back to win and dominated the following day. He was a regular in a rotation that included Trey Yesavage in 2023, with mixed results. (East Carolina has produced some excellent pitching in recent years. In addition to Yesavage, Carson Whisenhunt and Gavin Williams both starred in Greenville post-COVID.)

He signed with the Yankees and got good results, performing well enough to get a spot start in AA. He was even better in 2025, but struggled after being traded to the Rockies in the Ryan McMahon deal. He was a bit unlucky; his xFIP- was 100, indicating that he would have been expected to get average results rather than the poor results he got.

The raw numbers of a 4.12 ERA and a 1.322 WHIP at Amarillo make it look like his luck has turned. That’s not accurate. Jose Cabrera leads the Soddies in WHIP at 0.862. His xFIP- is 75. Jonatan Bernal leads the Soddies in ERA at 1.32. His xFIP- is 63. Grosz’s xFIP- of 55 is closer to Kade Anderson’s than Cabrera’s. Kade Anderson was in line to be the top pick in the draft last year and has an ERA of 0.60 and a WHIP of 0.667 as a starting pitcher in the Texas League. His xFIP- is 46. (Lower numbers are better for minus stats, while higher numbers are better for plus stats, but the meaning is basically the same, with 100 average.) Grosz is allowing a .395 BABIP, which is substantially above his career numbers and is certain to come down. (All statistics are through Sunday, May 10.)

Since it’s not luck, how has he improved so much? It basically comes down to two stats which xFIP absolutely loves. He’s striking out more batters and getting more ground balls. And not by a small margin. He’s faced enough batters for his strikeout rate to mean something, and he’s striking out 40% of the batters he faces. In addition to the strikeout rate, he’s getting more than twice as many ground balls as fly balls.

It is imperative to note what I am not saying here. I am not saying that Josh Grosz is a future ace, or even a guaranteed future rotation piece. Strikeout rate is the only statistic that is really meaningful at this point, and players with strikeout rates like his tend to already be or eventually become relievers. I am not even saying that Josh Grosz would have success in the big leagues. But I do think he’s cracked the code to be a successful pitcher at Amarillo and Reno, if he can keep it up. Strike out batters, make the others hit the ball on the ground, and you can get good results, even at Hodgetown.

Grosz isn’t getting quite as many whiffs as one might like, but he’s still quite good in that department. He’s getting swinging strikes on 14.2% of pitches. For context, Seth Hernandez has the highest rate in the minors at 25%, Rio Britton has the highest rate in the organization at 18.1% (which is in the top-20 across the minors), Mason Miller has the highest in the majors at 26.5% (minimum 10 innings pitched) and Juan Morillo has the best in the organization at 16.1%. One would expect that to drop moving up levels, but it doesn’t always; Morillo is getting more whiffs in the big leagues than he did at AA.

Grosz’s ceiling is mid-rotation starter, and will most likely wind up as a reliever. We’ll likely never know if he would have been the return for a theoretical Thomas trade, but there’s a very good chance that the Diamondbacks wind up on the better side of the McCarthy trade in the end.

Here are the other pitchers who have faced 70 batters and struck out more than 30%. Sanchez and Aracena are the only other ones starting some of the time, and Aracena has also appeared in relief. 

It’s interesting that none of these were signed as highly regarded prospects. The Diamondbacks signed Mercado last year after he went undrafted out of Oregon in 2024; he initially didn’t find any takers among the thirty big league organizations and signed with Idaho Falls in the Pioneer League. Rio Britton also attended Oregon once upon a time, but transferred to NC State and went undrafted. The Diamondbacks pounced quickly in his case and signed him in 2023. Aracena may be a prospect now, but he signed for just $70,000, while Sanchez and Santana do not have listed signing bonuses, meaning that they were almost certainly below $50,000. While there have been plenty of complaints (including from me) about the organizational failures in pitching development, there are a few success stories as well, but mostly on the bullpen side.

Jose Cabrera may be having the best season of any of the pitching prospects thus far, but he just missed the 30% cut. Brian Curley and Chung-Hsiang Huang are two starting prospects who have done well to keep walks down while striking people out in the 25-30% range. And pitchers in the complex haven’t faced enough batters yet to form any judgment. Dean Livingston had a solid debut, and Modesto Vargas can be added to the list of potential future bullpen arms who can reach triple digits, but it’ll be at least a few weeks before much more can be said.

Why Zach Neto, not Mike Trout, is the Angels player Red Sox should pursue originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Red Sox should consider acquiring a right-handed slugger from the Los Angeles Angels, but it isn’t Mike Trout.

Michael Felger of 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Felger & Mazz sparked the Trout-to-Boston rumors on Tuesday, citing a “loose” source that told him “don’t be surprised” if the Red Sox end up with the three-time MVP.

“They think he’s a better leader than (Alex) Bregman and will hit a bunch of home runs at Fenway Park,” Felger relayed from his supposed source. “And L.A. likes (Jarren) Duran and (Brayan) Bello.”

The chances of such a deal are slim to none. Trout’s contract, which pays him $37.1 million per year through 2030, includes a full no-trade clause. While he could choose to waive it, the 34-year-old has been incredibly loyal to the Angels. It’s unlikely he suddenly opts to leave L.A., especially for a last-place Boston club at this stage of his 16-year MLB career.

If Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow calls Angels general manager Perry Minasian about a potential trade, shortstop Zach Neto makes more sense.

Almost a decade younger than Trout at 25 years old, Neto is coming off back-to-back seasons with a 5.1 bWAR. The 2022 first-round draft pick notched 23 homers with a .761 OPS in 2024 and 26 homers with a .791 OPS in 2025.

Boston’s lackluster lineup desperately needs that kind of pop, particularly from the right side. Neto has also been a solid defender for most of his four MLB seasons, though he has had some uncharacteristic mental miscues this year.

It’s been an odd season all around for Neto, who entered the campaign as one of MLB Network’s top 10 shortstops and widely considered one of the league’s most underrated talents. Through 43 games, he’s slashing .216/.322/.386 with six homers, 18 RBI, and 62 strikeouts. He leads all American League shortstops with six errors.

None of that should dissuade Boston from pursuing Neto, who’s under team control through 2029. He may benefit from a change of scenery, because as bad as the Red Sox have been so far this season (17-24), the Angels have been even worse (16-28). They haven’t had a winning season since 2015.

Neto offers far more upside than current Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story, whose early-season struggles have once again sparked DFA debates. The 33-year-old has offered zero value at the plate so far in 2026, and his defense has rapidly declined over the last three years.

According to Sean McAdam of MassLive.com, the Red Sox inquired about Neto during the offseason, but the Angels set a “very high bar” when it came to the return. Perhaps his recent struggles, and what appears to be another lost season for L.A., will bring down the cost. If it’s true that the Angels are eyeing Duran and Bello, that’s a good place to start.

Neto wouldn’t solve all of Boston’s problems this season, but he’s an exciting young talent who would give Sox fans something to be excited about long-term. Breslow should be operating like his job is on the line, and a big splash for Neto is the kind of move that could buy him more time.