The Boston Red Sox have somehow, some way worked their way back into the American League playoff picture after a horrendous start to the season.
The Red Sox are still just 41-48, but in the AL, that’s good enough to be three games back in the loss column of the final Wild Card spot.
The general expectation a couple of weeks ago was that Boston would be sellers at the MLB trade deadline, with names like Sonny Gray, Aroldis Chapman, Willson Contreras and Jarren Duran floated as potential trade chips. But now, things have turned.
In fact, the Red Sox may look to buy between now and Aug. 3, and Jackson Roberts of Red Sox on SI has floated a very interesting possible target for Boston: New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor.
The Mets have been one of the worst teams in baseball since last summer and sit in last place in the NL East by a rather wide margin. Just about all of their veterans outside of Juan Soto could be available for trade, and Roberts wonders if Lindor could be a fit in Beantown.
“Let’s not dismiss the wisdom of trading for Lindor offhand. He’s a potential Hall of Famer; this writer would argue he belongs there someday as long as the next few years aren’t a total disaster,” Lindor wrote. “And even if the Red Sox are unlikely to make the playoffs this season, he’d obviously be the projected starter at shortstop for the foreseeable future, which provides a plan for the end of Trevor Story’s run in Boston.”
Of course, the problem is Lindor’s contract.
The 32-year-old signed a 10-year, $341 million deal with the Mets upon being traded from the Cleveland Guardians in January 2021, and he is under contract through 2031.
The Red Sox used to be in the business of working with high payrolls, but in recent years, they have shied away from doling out big money most of the time.
Plus, Lindor is slashing just .210/.297/.355 over 155 plate appearances. He missed some time due to injuries, but it’s entirely possible that he could be declining.
Perhaps a team like Boston could get New York to pay down some of Lindor’s salary, but that would then increase the trade cost in terms of prospect capital.
The chances of the Red Sox actually completing a trade for Lindor seem very slim, but we’ll see if they get involved in trade discussions for the five-time All-Star in the coming weeks.
