The Boston Red Sox acquired Curtis Mead recently, but lost him to a wrist injury.
Mead could miss a significant amount of time, but he is under contract for the next few years, so he was never going to be a rental. He can still make a huge impact for the Red Sox moving forward at second base. Given that Trevor Story and Marcelo Mayer are both still hurt and were never playing well this year in the first place, the Red Sox are reportedly looking at adding a shortstop.
Not only are they looking at shortstops, but they are looking at controllable shortstops. They reportedly have interest in Otto Lopez of the Miami Marlins, but according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, Will Sammon and Katie Woo, they are also interested in Xavier Edwards.
Edwards has quietly become one of the better second basemen in baseball. If not for the fact that the National League is loaded with elite second basemen, he would have been an All-Star. He is hitting .292, and has set a career high in home runs this season. He is not a huge power bat, but has great bat-to-ball skills and is great on the bases.
Edwards has played second base this season, but with Mead on the roster, he would not play there if the Red Sox landed him. He has experience at shortstop, so he could slide back over there and man the middle of the infield with Mead for the next few years.
Like any shortstop addition the Red Sox make, Story and Mayer would be at risk of losing their jobs. However, adding a controllable shortstop also complicates things for Franklin Arias.
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