Bleacher Report’s ‘wild trade’ idea for Dodgers completely disregards Mookie Betts

Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts followed up a career-worst campaign in 2025 with an ugly first half this year. Betts got scorching hot down the stretch, and finished this past season with a 114 wRC+ and 3.7 fWAR. While that's strong production in a vacuum, it's rather pedestrian by his standards and hardly worth the $30-plus million he's making annually.

But it feels rather premature to suggest the Dodgers need to start thinking about the future of the shortstop position. Betts continues to play a remarkably well defensively (7 Defensive Runs Saved in 2026) for someone who was long revered as a superlative outfielder, and you're not going to find many middle infielders who possess his track record at the plate.

Yet Bleacher Report doesn't believe the organization should be satisfied at the six just because they have Betts patrolling the area. A proposed trade suggests that the Dodgers should make a spirited offseason push for Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto.

Zach Neto is an excellent trade target, but there are factors working against the Dodgers

From a logistical standpoint, Neto certainly fills the youth quota the front office is trying to target this winter. He's only 25 years old and has three years of team control remaining. Neto is entering his second year of arbitration, with a projected 2027 salary of $9.8 million. That would put him outside the top-10 in terms of salary if he landed in LA.

Neto's been worth more than 5.0 bWAR in each of the past three seasons. While strikeouts remain an unalienable part of his game (30.5% strikeout rate), he produces at a level rarely seen from major-league shortstops. As an added bonus, Neto is also a good-enough defender (35 DRS for his career) to justify displacing a stalwart like Betts.

As great of a fit as that all sounds, it's going to be tough to get him to Los Angeles proper. The Angels understandably don't love doing business with the Dodgers, and you can be sure that'll continue under new owner Stan Kroenke. The Halos are also going to request a king's ransom for their best player in trade talks; Bleacher Report suggests that price would Justin Wrobleski, Dalton Rushing, and Roki Sasaki.

That's something the Dodgers could afford, but it's a steep price for a player who will soon need an expensive contract extension and might not be a seamless fit on the roster. Betts has always proven willing to do whatever it takes to help the team win, but unless he (or Max Muncy, at third base) is open to changing positions again, Neto might be more of a pipe dream than a realistic target.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow