Down a rabbit hole of things that didn’t happen, the Red Sox apparently made several attempts to acquire Zach Neto from the Angels before pivoting and trading with the Brewers for Caleb Durbin. This was confirmed by Sean McAdam earlier this week, and from there, Tyler Milliken was asking the right question.
Neto is one of the best defensive shortstops in the games, posting a +11 and +13 Defensive Runs Saved from the position the last two seasons. The only reason you trade for a guy like that is to put him at shortstop, which means that in that scenario, Trevor Story gets moved back to second base and Marcelo Mayer plays third.
This is intriguing because from just last winter we already know the Red Sox have no problem acquiring a guy for a position they already seem to have filled. While Story’s defense at short certainly isn’t bad, it is declining and at some point they may need to make a move.
Looking at things from a different angle, this is also where Marcelo Mayer comes into the conversation. Is he a shortstop long-term? If that’s the plan, shouldn’t he be there sooner rather than later? Do the Red Sox not want to make the move for now because Mayer’s been so injury prone he hasn’t played 100 games in a season in his career yet?
At some point, the Red Sox are going to have to decide if Mayer’s a shortstop or not, and if the answer to that question is yes, it creates a very tricky timetable with Trevor Story. Even though the Red Sox didn’t land Neto, their willingness to do so suggest they may also have a willingness to move Story off shortstop.
