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The trade deadline has officially come and gone, and the Minnesota Twins walked away with three new arms to bolster their pitching staff. But while those were the moves that ultimately got done, there was another name that generated plenty of buzz throughout deadline day. It just never crossed the finish line.
According to Bob Nightengale, the Twins were "all over" Angels shortstop Zach Neto leading up to the deadline. It was an interesting report considering there had been very little linking Minnesota to Neto in the days and weeks beforehand.
On the surface, it's easy to understand why fans would've been excited. Neto is a young, controllable shortstop with legitimate power and speed, and adding a player of that caliber would've been one of the biggest splashes the Twins could've made. But as intriguing as the idea sounded, I think Minnesota dodged a bullet by not completing that trade.
There's no denying Neto has developed into a quality major league player with the Angels. Across 476 career games, he's put together a .754 OPS and a 110 OPS+, while launching 77 home runs and stealing another 75 bases. That combination of power and athleticism has helped him quickly establish himself as Los Angeles' everyday leadoff hitter. Players capable of contributing 20-plus home runs while also providing impact on the bases don't exactly grow on trees. That's the appeal.
But once you dig a little deeper into his profile, some pretty significant concerns begin to appear. The biggest issue comes with his approach at the plate. His whiff rate and strikeout rate both rank in the ninth percentile or lower among all qualified major league hitters. That's an alarming combination, especially for someone expected to be setting the table near the top of a lineup. His chase rate sits in the 14th percentile, meaning he's consistently expanding the strike zone and offering at pitches he probably shouldn't. Even though he's already hitting just .230 this season, the underlying metrics suggest things could actually be worse. His expected batting average sits all the way down at .202.
Now, to be fair, expected batting average isn't everything. Neto intentionally sells out for pull-side power, and hitters with that approach often see their expected numbers suffer because they're trading contact quality for home run production. But it also reinforces a larger point. Neto isn't a particularly well-rounded offensive player. When the power is there, he's an exciting player to watch. But when the extra-base hits aren't coming, there isn't much else in his offensive profile to fall back on.
The concerns don't stop once he takes the field, either. Despite possessing above-average athleticism and solid quickness, Neto's defensive metrics have consistently graded out poorly. He ranks in just the second percentile in Outs Above Average this season, making him one of the least effective defensive shortstops in baseball by that metric. More importantly, this isn't simply a down year. He's ranked in the bottom tenth of the league defensively during each of his three full major league seasons. There's certainly arm strength there, and that has led some to believe third base could ultimately be his best long-term position. But that brings us to perhaps the biggest issue of all: the acquisition cost.
Neto is only 25 years old and remains under team control through the end of the 2029 season. Players with that combination of age, production and years of control don’t come cheap. Yes, the Twins have built one of baseball's deeper minor league systems, but even organizations with strong farm systems have to be careful about which prospects they move. Trading away one of your top prospects for a player with clear offensive flaws, below-average defense and a hefty acquisition cost is far from a slam dunk - especially when two of those top prospects are also shortstops. That's an unnecessary gamble, and judging by the fact a deal never materialized, it may have been one the Twins ultimately weren't comfortable making.
Would adding Zach Neto have created plenty of excitement on deadline day? Absolutely. He's a recognizable name, he's young, and he's capable of producing highlight-reel moments. But excitement doesn't always equal the right baseball decision. When you weigh the swing-and-miss concerns, the defensive limitations and, perhaps most importantly, the likely prospect package it would've taken to get him, the risk starts to outweigh the reward.
The Twins certainly improved their roster at the deadline by strengthening their pitching staff. And while some fans may wonder what could've been had Neto ended up in Minnesota, there's a strong argument that the best move the front office made was the one it didn't make. Passing on Zach Neto may not have generated the biggest headlines, but in the long run, it might prove to be one of the smartest decisions the Twins made all week.
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