BOSTON -- Zach Neto had his name surface in trade rumors ahead of this year’s Trade Deadline, and the Red Sox were often mentioned as a potential match because of their need for a long-term solution at shortstop.
But much like they did with the surging Reid Detmers, the Angels decided to hold onto Neto, who has put up strong numbers since the Aug. 3 Deadline and ultimately made Boston pay on back-to-back nights at Fenway Park. After going 4-for-5 with a homer and a double in Tuesday’s 6-1 win, he went 2-for-3 with a three-run blast in the 6-4 series-finale victory on Wednesday. It helped the Angels complete their first series win since taking two out of three in Houston from Aug. 18-20.
“It's great,” Neto said. “We’re trying to spoil people's seasons and playoff hopes if we can't get in. It’s a great team on the other side, but we did a pretty good job of maintaining and playing our game of baseball, and we got the series win.”
The trade talks seemed to affect Neto, who admitted shortly after the Deadline that he felt relieved not to be moved by the Angels, though he hadn’t been told any guarantees about his future. But he does remain under team control for three more years, so there is no real sense of urgency to move a franchise player like Neto, especially with new ownership looming in early 2027.
Since the Trade Deadline, Neto has looked much more like his old self, slashing .288/.338/.500 with six homers, eight doubles, a triple, five stolen bases and 25 RBIs in 32 games. He’s now hitting .244/.324/.443 with 25 homers, 29 doubles, 19 stolen bases and 72 RBIs in 141 games, which isn’t too far off his .257/.319/.474 slash line in 128 games last year. He’s also cut down his strikeout rate to 26 percent during his recent hot stretch after it was an untenable 31.8 percent through his first 109 games.
“I'm not swinging as much,” Neto said. “The more I chase, the more swings in the game I have to take. I go up there hunting for a pitch that I want to hit. If I have to take a strike, I take a strike. Just keep battling, and once I get my pitch, try not to miss it.”
He still has a few milestones within reach, as he’s aiming to get to 30 homers for the first time in his career and is one stolen base away from becoming the third Angel with at least three career seasons with at least 20 homers, doubles and stolen bases, joining Mike Trout and Don Baylor. He also is fourth in the AL with 91 runs scored and is looking to become the first Angels shortstop to score 100 runs in a season since Orlando Cabrera did it in 2007.
“He's controlling his strike zone,” manager Kurt Suzuki said. “That’s been the biggest thing. And really not trying to do too much. It’s good at-bats, it's staying inside the baseball, it's using the whole field. It's all of those things.”
Neto set the tone against Red Sox lefty Jake Bennett, ripping a leadoff single to open the game before he connected on a three-run blast over the Green Monster to give the Angels the lead in the third. It came on a 3-2 fastball after Neto successfully won a challenge to reverse a strikeout.
It jump-started the offense, as Trout followed with a double before Jose Siri crushed a two-run blast to right-center field. Rookie Denzer Guzman added a solo blast in the fourth.
“He's kind of that catalyst for us,” Suzuki said. “The last month, he's been the guy that gets us going and everybody kind of follows suit.”
It supported rookie right-hander Ryan Johnson, who has also been on an impressive run since the start of August. He went six innings, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk with five strikeouts while throwing a career-high 103 pitches.
Over his last seven starts, Johnson has posted a 2.11 ERA in 38 1/3 innings to lower his ERA on the year to 5.12 in 84 1/3 innings.
“It's awesome,” Johnson said. “When you get help like that, it totally changes the atmosphere, the environment of the game. It doesn't take the pressure off. You still have to go out there and execute your pitches and compete. They still put some good swings and fought back a little bit, but it definitely makes it a little bit more comfortable.”