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2 sneaky Red Sox’s 2026 MLB trade deadline targets to chase
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- 2 sneaky Red Sox’s 2026 MLB trade deadline targets to chase
2 sneaky Red Sox's 2026 MLB trade deadline targets to chase appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
Hold your horses, everyone! The Boston Red Sox are not out of it just yet. After sweeping the New York Yankees in a four-game series at Fenway Park and seeing a walk-off from Jarren Duran on Sunday Night Baseball, the Sox have momentum as July approaches.
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2026 has been one of the more disappointing years for this squad, but the Red Sox clearly have talent on the roster. Lots of it, in fact. Garrett Crochet , Sonny Gray , Ranger Suarez , Aroldis Chapman , Jarren Duran , Willson Contreras , Wilyer Abreu , Trevor Story , Ceddene Rafaela, and Roman Anthony are a great core to build around. Injuries have surfaced, and it has been hard for them to play through them.
The team is 36-46 with plenty of time to reach .500 and potentially even surpass it with a great month of July. The Red Sox will likely be sellers at the trade deadline, with players like Chapman, Duran, and Gray surfacing in numerous trade rumors . However, could they acquire major league talent as well?
Here are two players whom the Sox should target ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline at the end of July. These two third basemen could make the Sox' lineup much better for a postseason run.
Isaac Paredes
The Houston Astros could trade away Isaac Paredes amid a rough start to the season, though they are playing much better as of late. The Red Sox would have to blow the Astros out of the water with a trade proposal.
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Paredes is a third baseman who can also play second base and first base, and can obviously DH when needed. The Red Sox would be adding a solid power hitter with 11 home runs, 45 RBIs, 22 walks, and 16 doubles on the season. He is hitting .256 with a .779 OPS and 1.6 WAR. He is one of the hottest hitters in the game right now.
Boston could plug him into the lineup, hitting anywhere from 3-7. Paredes shows up in the postseason, also. He has a career .455 average and 1.045 OPS in four games. In those four games, he has five hits, one extra-base hit, and one walk.
Paredes would either play second base or Boston could move Durbin to second base while Marcelo Mayer is on the IL, then platoon them once he is back. There are many ways the Red Sox would make this work.
Matt Chapman
Matt Chapman might be the perfect piece to complete the infield for the Red Sox. The biggest issue before mentioning anything else is that he has a full no-trade clause. Chapman would have to waive the no-trade clause and want to go to Boston. With how bad the San Francisco Giants have been since he got there, there is a chance that he would accept a trade to a contending team. The issue is that right now, Boston is not a contender. That could change in a couple of weeks.
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Chapman is hitting .241 with seven home runs, 42 RBIs, and 18 doubles on the season. His OPS sits at .709. Caleb Durbin is the third baseman right now, and Chapman is a better defender, but not by a wide margin. Chapman is known to lock down the hot corner, but Durbin is playing well enough to remain in the lineup. This move would mean that the Red Sox are erring on the side of defense, but Chapman could end up loving Fenway Park with his right-handed power.
The Giants must trade away some of their talent, given how poor their season has gone. You could say the same about Boston, but this team has a much better chance of figuring things out in the AL East than SF does in the NL West.
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