Red Sox land Francisco Lindor from Mets in deadline blockbuster

BOSTON — The Red Sox have acquired shortstop Francisco Lindor from the Mets, according to people with knowledge of the agreement, ending a week of escalating talks between two clubs headed in opposite directions and delivering Boston the everyday infielder it has chased since spring.

New York receives four players: infielder Diego Salas, the No. 2 prospect in Boston's system; right-handers Cole Brantley and Owen Rask; and left-hander Ellis Ward, who has spent the season at Double-A Portland. The Red Sox take on the remainder of Lindor's contract, which runs through 2031 at $34.1 million a year, without financial offset from the Mets.

Both clubs declined to comment before the trade is formally announced. Lindor was scratched from Tuesday's lineup in Atlanta and left the ballpark before the first pitch.

Why Boston moved now

The Red Sox entered Tuesday two games back in the East and a game up in the wild-card race, with the worst production from the shortstop position of any contender in the league — a .218 average and four home runs across 101 games. Lindor answers that in one stroke, and he answers it for five more seasons.

He is hitting .273 with 24 home runs and 71 RBIs, and his defensive metrics remain among the best at the position in either league. Boston's front office has spent two winters trying to add a middle-infield anchor without surrendering the top of its farm system. This time it surrendered the top of its farm system.

What the Mets get back

Salas, 21, is the centerpiece and the reason New York engaged at all. He has hit .294 with 19 home runs at Double-A this season, plays a competent shortstop and is expected to arrive in the majors sometime next summer. Brantley, 23, has the higher floor of the two right-handers: a starter's frame, a mid-90s fastball and control that has held up through two levels.

For a club 11 games under .500 with an aging roster and a payroll it has publicly promised to bring down, the return is the point. Moving Lindor's remaining $170 million clears the way for a winter the Mets have signaled will be about pitching.

The rest of the deadline

The move is likely to force the hand of at least two teams above Boston in the standings, both of whom had checked in on Lindor within the past ten days. One rival executive, told of the agreement, needed a moment before responding: "That changes our week."

Boston is expected to keep Lindor at shortstop and slide its incumbent to second base. The team plays 16 of its next 22 games against division opponents.