The Boston Red Sox added Curtis Mead in a trade with the Washington Nationals, but he was not the only player they inquired about.
Mead is under contract through the 2030 season, so the Red Sox have already established they don't mind adding players who will be more than rentals. They have simply not gotten enough out of second base and shortstop this season, and Craig Breslow may be ready to look for some longer-term solutions.
There are reports that the Red Sox have inquired about Jeremy Peña, CJ Abrams and Zach Neto as well. It's clear that they are not shying away from big names, and now Jon Heyman is reporting that they called the San Francisco Giants about Matt Chapman as well.
Chapman is set to make over $25 million for the next four years and plays third base. The Red Sox could have slotted Chapman into the hot corner and moved Caleb Durbin to shortstop. Durbin has experience at shortstop, but very minimal in the big leagues. He played over 40 games as a shortstop as a minor leaguer.
Chapman is a candidate to be dealt this week, but his contract complicates things. The Giants would have to be willing to eat some of the money associated with him to convince a team to take him. The Red Sox are not out of play just yet for him either. Reports suggest that the team is looking for a "long-term" option at shortstop. If they feel that Durbin is a capable defender at shortstop, he could be that option, opening the door to explore the third base market.
Chapman is hitting .235 this season with a .692 OPS. His OPS in the previous two seasons was .781, so he has clearly declined. Perhaps a chance to play for a winning team again will get his bat going again.