This team has some holes to fill this offseason, and signing some free agents will likely be a big part of it. Home runs plummeted for this team this past year, and despite an offense that ranked pretty high in the league, it was too inconsistent and bad at situational hitting.
Obviously, we also need plenty of pitching, but that is for another thread. This one is about hitters that we might sign.
If we bring back Xander then I think we will still need to add 2 more bats. Not necessarily star hitters or big names, but guys with some pop who aren’t defense-first types. If X leaves, then we need 3 more, IMO. For me, the first priorities for the offseason would be working out contracts for Xander and Devers. If they do that, then things become a lot clearer and simpler. If not, then it gets chaotic.
MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract for Xander: 7 years, $189 million.
This is intended to be a quick overview of position players who are free agents that the Red Sox might be interested in signing. I'm sure I left some out, feel free to add them.
EDIT: Updated with Qualifying Offer news, and MLB Trade Rumors free agent predictions.
Outfielders:
Regardless of what Xander does, we could really use an outfield bat, possibly 2.
Aaron Judge: Forget it, he’s not signing here. If some you think that he might you can go ahead and talk about him, but I'm not wasting time on that.
Brandon Nimmo: LHB, CF, will be 30 this season. Career numbers of 269/385/441, with a 130 OPS+. That’s way better than I thought. He is a CF who can also play the corners. Seems like he would be a really good addition, but will probably cost more than we will pay in money and years. Sure would be nice to add that OBP to our lineup though. Career .780 OPS against lefties, so no platoon issues. Career .802 OPS at home, .850 on the road, so moving to Fenway should help him a bit, though might cost him some HRs. Only 31 career PAs in Fenway, 1 HR, .878 OPS. Opinion on his defense: “Public metrics unanimously had him as an above-average center fielder in 2021. Those estimators were more divided in 2022, with DRS pegging him a few runs below average while Statcast had him as six runs above par. At the very least, he looks like an adequate defensive center fielder, and some teams might see him as a plus. Nimmo is somewhat quietly one of the better outfielders in the sport, and he could be rewarded for his excellent platform season with a nine-figure deal. He’ll receive and reject a QO.” Some tweet says “The Rockies are looking to sign Brandon Nimmo to a five-year contract worth around $115-$120 million, per @psaundersdp”. Yikes. $24m per year is a LOT for this guy who is a good player, but… EDIT: He got a QO, so he will cost draft picks and international money too.
Nicknames per baseball reference: Nimms or Tater. I would call him Captain Nimmo, especially if he slumped and his batting average was 20,000 leagues under the sea. MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 5 years, $110 million.
Mitch Haniger: RHB, corner OF. How the hell is this guy going to be 32 years old next year?? I thought he was like 28. I also thought he had an awful year at the plate, but actually not: he hit an okay 246/308/429 this year, which was good for a 114 OPS+ in that home ballpark. Was injured and only had 247 PAs. Career 261/335/476, 123 OPS+. Hit 39 HRs in 2021. Career splits: .795 OPS vs. RHP, .853 vs. LHP. .796 at home, .826 on the road. Nicknames per baseball reference: Meetch or Hammer. No baseball player should be nicknamed Hammer if they aren’t Henry Aaron. Call him Haniger Schlemmer or something. MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 3 years, $39 million.
Joc Pederson: LHB, will be 31 in April. Pretty much a lefty masher platoon guy more than a full-timer. Hit .274/.353/.521 this year in 433 PA, with 23 HR. Only 57 PA vs. lefties this year but did fine, with a .742 OPS, but for his career only hits .642 vs. lefties. Could be a good pickup to play OF/DH vs. RHP if he is cheap enough. He might want to sign somewhere he could play full-time? He got offered a QO from the Giants, so he will likely accept that. We wouldn't want him at $20m a year anyway.
B-R nicknames: Dizzy or King. I wonder if he would be better or worse if he spelled his name Jacques Peterson.
Jurickson Profar (player option): Switch hitter, will be 30 next year. .243/.331/.391 in 658 PA this year, 111 OPS+. Came up at age 19 and didn’t hit his first few years. Since turning 25, he has hit solidly for a utility guy: .241/.326/.403, 101 OPS+. He only played LF this season, despite playing all over the infield and OF in previous years. Does he still have that coveted positional versatility? Will he choose to stay in SD for $10m next year? If not, he’s going to want more money than he’s probably worth. Given name: Jurickson Barthelomeus Profar. B-R nickname: El Patron. He either is a father figure in the clubhouse or loves tequila. Possibly both? Oh yeah, well the Jurickson Store called, and he’s all out of YOU! MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 2 years, $20 million.
Michael Conforto: LHB, will be 30 in March. Missed all of this past season, so who knows what to expect or how much he will cost? I guess the team that signed James Paxton should not be ruled out of signing this guy. Hit 88 HRs in the 3 years before the pandemic-shortened season. Career .255/.356/.468, with a 124 OPS+. Platoon split of .873 OPS vs. RHP, .695 vs. LHP. His nickname is Scooter, for some reason, instead of Comfort Toe. MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 1 years, $15 million.
Joey Gallo: Do not want. LHB, will be 29 years old. Hit .160/.280/.357, 79 OPS+ in 410 PAs this year. Whiffed 163 times with 56 walks. King of the 3 Boring Outcomes. Adding all those whiffs to the lineup would make this team even more excruciating to watch. Do not want.
Andrew Benintendi: LHB, turns 29 midseason. .304/.373/.399 this year. Surprisingly has never played an inning in RF in the majors. Everyone knows Benintendi from his time here. Seems to have become a guy who hits for average but not power. What will his market be like? Hard to see him coming back unless it was for cheap. MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 4 years, $54 million.
Adam Duvall: RHB. 34 years old. 213/276/401 this year in 287 PA. Struck out 101 times in 315 PA. No thanks.
Wil Myers (club option): RHB, will be 32 this year. IB/OF. SOSHers have long wanted us to take on his bad contract and make the Padres give us a good prospect to do so. Never happened. SD will definitely pay him the $1m buyout rather than $20m for his last year. Hit .261/.315/.398 this year in 286 PA. Career 111 OPS+, 122 the past 3 years combined.
AJ Pollock (player option): RHB, will be 35 next year. Hit .245/.292/.389 this year in 489 PA, 91 OPS+. Was good in 2020 and 2021 with the Dodgers (.290/.342/.547 combined in 632 PA) but not this past year, and he is old. Hard to imagine him turning down the $10m option for free agency. Named after a fish but his nickname is Pollo, which means chicken.
Tommy Pham (mutual option): RHB, will be 35. We got a look at him after the trade deadline. Hit .672, 86 OPS+ for us. He’s probably not the same guy who with 21 HR and stole 25 bases for Tampa in 2019. Sox have a mutual option for next year at $6m or owe him $1.5m buyout. Still an exciting player, in that you never know who he might get into a fight with. B-R nickname: Phamtastic. 90% chance he gave himself that nickname.
(added after he was mentioned below):
Masataka Yoshida: LHB, will turn 30 in July. For his career in Japan, he has walked 421 times and struck out only 300. 81 walks to only 41 Ks this past season in 508 PA. Hit .335/.447/.561 this year with 21 HR. Career slash of .327/.421/.539. He likely wouldn't hit for a lot of power after switching to the US, based on how most hitters have fared here. But that OBP! Way more walks than Ks!
View: https://twitter.com/GaijinBaseball/status/1587056728067264512
He reportedly wants to play for the Phillies. He named his dog after Bryce Harper. No word on whether the interest is mutual. Or whether the dog's name is Bryce or Harper.
(Edit: wait, I should have kept scrolling-- it's Harper. Better name for a dog than Bryce.)
DH:
With JD hitting free agency, we will need to sign a good bat. But not necessarily a fulltime DH. Bloom loves position versatility, so it seems like he’d be more interested in someone who can play the field at least part time.
JD Martinez: RHB, will turn 36 in August. Had a disappointing year, but still had a 117 OPS+. The team went into the season hoping he could play outfield about as often as he did in 2021 (36 games) but he instead played 0 innings in the field, likely due to back issues. He hit well in the early season, then was abysmal in July and August, when he seemed to be playing hurt. Bounced back with an .889 OPS, .284/.352/.537 with 5 HR in September/Oct. Was that a dead-cat-bounce contract drive, or was his back feeling better? No idea how the market will be for him. No one will give him even close to the money he made this year, but he will have offers. MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 2 years, $30 million.
Michael Brantley: LHB, will turn 36 in May. Hit .288/.370/.416 in 277 PA, 125 OPS+. Played 29 games in LF and 35 at DH, then was hurt and had season-ending surgery in his non-throwing arm. Has been a consistently good hitter even after turning 30, with a 122 OPS+ since 2017. He’s kind of a LH JD Martinez. Made $16m this past year, won’t get near that this time but will have offers. MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 1 year, $15 million.
Andrew McCutcheon: RHB, just turned 36. Played 50 games in the OF, though nowhere near the level he used to. Hit .237/.316/.384 for the Brewers in 580 PA. OPS+ of 99 was the first time he’s been under 100. Made $8.5m last year, will have to take less now.
Matt Carpenter: LHB, will be 37 next year. Had to take a minor league deal, got cut, picked up by the Yankees and of course immediately turned into Babe Ruth for them, hitting 15 HR in 154 PA, .305/.412/.727, 217 OPS+. Used to be the poster boy for the coveted positional versatility, but is old now. Played 15 games in OF, 5 at 1B, 2 at 3B. He got hurt in August and missed the rest of the regular season. His deal with Satan apparently only covered the regular season, as he went 1-12 with 9 Ks in 6 playoff games. Wears a stupid-looking porn stache now. Will probably re-sign for NYY for almost nothing and hit great for them again. If we did sign him, there’s no doubt he would be terrible for us.
Trey Mancini (mutual option): RHB. Will be 31. Hit well for Baltimore, but not for Houston after the trade. Overall .239/.319/.391 in 587 PA, 101 OPS+. Great to see him come back from cancer so well. Has had a poor postseason so far. Played 39 games in the OF, 39 at 1B this year, so he has more of the coveted positional flexibility than most DH types. Career 113 OPS+. Made $10 million last year and his option for next is $10m again, so he will probably be a free agent. Nickname: Boom-Boom.
Carlos Santana: Switch hitter, 1B/DH, will be 37 next year. .202/.316/.376 last year. .789 vs lefties, .655 vs. righties, but 16 of his 19 HR were against RHP. Good clubhouse reputation. Career .861 OPS at Fenway in 158 PA. Got paid $10.5m last year, will have to take a lot less this time. Nickname should be Black Magic or Oye Como Va.
Jesus Aguilar: RHB, will turn 33 in June. Can play 1B. .235/.281/.379 in 507 PA. Career .254/.324/.449, 106 OPS+. Got cut in August, signed with the Orioles. Always been a better hitter on the road than at home-- .835 OPS on the road, .708 at home. Could he be decent in a ballpark that fits him better? Might have to take a minor league deal.
Catchers:
McGuire and Wong did fine after the trade deadline, but neither is an experienced starter. We could go for a more established bat at this position to help the offense.
Willson Contreras: RHB, turns 30 in May. Mostly a catcher but has played LF. Hit .243/.349/.466 in 487 PA with 22 HRs, 128 OPS+. Been HBP 52 times in the last 3 seasons. Could help the offense for sure, but how much will het get offered? Opinion on his defense: “He owns a solid arm, but public pitch framing metrics have never been enamored with his work. Reports leading up to the trade deadline suggested some teams were wary of adding him midseason, questioning his ability to adapt to and manage a new pitching staff on the fly. That’s perhaps not as concerning for teams considering a free agent pursuit—Contreras would have part of the offseason and Spring Training to connect with his pitchers, but there was ostensibly enough worry about his game-calling acumen that no team met the Cubs lofty asking price this summer. How much one should read into Contreras not being traded is tough to tell, but it will have a tangible effect on his free agent market. He’s now eligible for the qualifying offer, which he’ll surely receive and reject.” MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 4 years, $84 million.
Edit: The Athletic has the details of how signing Contreras would affect the Red Sox:
Mike Zunino: RHB, will be 32. Strikeout machine—career 34.7% K percentage. Was terrible in 115 PA in 2022 before being injured and out for the season with thoracic outlet syndrome. Had a couple good years with Seattle, then was bad, then had a miracle year with Tampa in 2021, with 33 HRs. Career numbers: .200/.271/.410, 88 OPS+. Probably won’t cost much, but thoracic outlet, yikes.
Gary Sanchez: RHB, will be 30. Caught 91 games for the Twins this year, but um, not known for his defense. Hit .205/.282/.377 in 471 PA, 89 OPS+. Put up an .846 OPS through age 26 with NYY, but .681 in 3 years since then. B-R nicknames: The Kraken or The Sanchize. No one here would call him either of those, we'd go with Dirty Sanchez.
Christian Vazquez: RHB, will be 32. We all know Vazquez. .274/.315/.399 99 OPS+ this year. Not a bad hitter for a catcher, solid defensively. Highly regarded in the clubhouse. Not a good baserunner. Made $7m this year. MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 3 years, $27 million.
1B/DH:
Jose Abreu: RHB, turns 36 in January. Still plays 1B a lot, not just DH. Hit .304/.378/.446 in 679 PA, 133 OPS+. Only 15 HR, one less than JD Martinez. Can’t be offered a QO. Still a good hitter and could have a role here as a DH who also plays some first base against lefties. Who knows what his market will be at his age though? B-R nicknames: Oso, Yogi, Mal Tiempo or Pito. MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 2 years, $40 million.
Anthony Rizzo (opt out): LHB, will be 34 in August. Can choose to stay with NY for $16m next year. If he opts out, will obviously want more than that. Hit .224/.338/.480 in 548 PA, 131 OPS+. Still a good hitter. Wish we had never traded him in the Gonzalez deal, but what’s done is done. Interesting note about him this year: “Personal-worst .212 average on balls in play. A pull hitter who has been shifted on over 84% of his at-bats this season, per Statcast, he’s likely to be among the top beneficiaries of the forthcoming shift limitations. Even a slight uptick in his ball in play results could help Rizzo regain his peak form, since he’s still hitting the ball hard and is difficult to strike out.” Not a great fit with the 2023 Red Sox, with Casas as a LHH 1B. Could obviously be a DH though. Got a QO from the Yankees.
MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 2 years, $36 million.
Josh Bell: switch hitter, will be 30 until mid-August. Hit .266/.362/.422 in 647 PA, 128 OPS+. Didn’t hit well after the trade to SD. Career numbers: .262/.351/.459, 120 OPS+. Has played 26 games in the OF in his career, but probably won’t play many more there. Maybe you could stick him in LF in Fenway 15 to 20 times a year and get away with it? Has been a streaky hitter, which is risky when bringing in a new bat in this market—any new big money signing who starts slowly could get buried by the fans and media. Can’t be offered a QO. Could slot into a DH/IB role here. MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 4 years, $64 million.
Brandon Drury: RHB. Will be 30 until mid-August. Played 3B, 1B, and 2B this year. Also played 127 games in OF in his career, so he has that coveted positional versatility. Hit well this year, 28 bombs, .263/.320/.492 in 568 PA, 122 OPS+. Hit well the past 2 years, but was terrible in the AL East in previous stints with NYY and Toronto. MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 2 years, $18 million.
Miguel Sano (team option of $14m): RHB, turns 30 in May. Only 60 at-bats this year, was horrible and injured. 77 HR and 121 OPS+ the 3 previous seasons. His option won’t be picked up, and who knows what kind of offers he will get. Has lots of power but whiffs a lot and is a bat-only guy who did nothing this year. Could be interesting if he was cheap enough.
2B/3B:
At this point, we don’t really need players at these positions, with Devers at third and Story at 2B. This could change of course, but until it does, we won’t be signing starters to play these positions.
SS:
The Xander question. If we don’t sign Xander, we would need another bat, in addition to the ones we already need, and there are some SS stars on the market.
Trea Turner: RHB, will be 30 in June. In 708 PA, hit .298/.343/.466, 121 OPS+. Career 122 OPS+. Put up nice counting stat baseball card numbers this year: 21 HR, 27 SB, 100 RBI, 101 runs scored. Last year led the league in total bases, hits, batting average, and stolen bases. Seems durable, leading the league in PA and AB in 2018 and 2022. Played 26 games in CF in 2016, 91 games at 2B in his career, but seemingly will want to stay at SS. Been a consistently good hitter pretty much every year, great baserunner, fun to watch. He’ll have a qualifying offer attached to him, and I doubt the Dodgers let anyone outbid them. MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 8 years, $268 million.
Carlos Correa: RHB, will still be 28 most of next year. .834 OPS, 140 OPS+ this year in his make-good contract year with the Twins. Already opted out of 2 more years at $35m to go to free agency. Everybody knows about him. He is really good but I don’t like him. He’s going to get a ton of money, and I’d rather keep Xander than pay this guy, but who knows what will happen. MLB Trade Rumors says “His previously Platinum Glove-winning defense fell to merely above-average, per DRS and UZR. (Notably, OAA pegged his glovework as actually slightly below average.) Twins brass has spent much of the year lauding Correa’s glovework, leadership and clubhouse presence. There’s surely some genuine interest in keeping him, but doing so would require eclipsing Joe Mauer’s $184MM guarantee for the largest contract in franchise history—likely by a rather large margin.” I hope the Twins keep him. YMMV. B-R nicknames: The Captain, Showrrea, and I Am Groot. MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 9 years, $288 million.
Dansby Swanson: RHB, will be 29 in February. He’s from Georgia, played his whole big league career with Atlanta, and he should stay there IMO. .776 OPS, 115 OPS+ 25 HR this year, much better than his career numbers of .738, 95 OPS+. Let’s just extend Xander instead of paying for these guys. Got a QO so he will cost draft picks and international money. MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 7 years, $154 million.
Jose Iglesias: RHB, will be 33 in January. .292/.328/.360, 90 OPS+. If X leaves, he could be a cheap option. Always a slick fielder, has no power but hits for average decently for a SS. You wouldn’t want him to be handed a starting job, but if we are going to cheap out at SS, he is fun to watch in the field. Nickname: Candelita (in English: Little Candle).
After looking at all these guys, I became more interested in some guys who hit better than I realized, like Pederson, Abreu, and Haniger, depending on their prices. Trea Turner would be a great addition, but I assume he wants to play SS and the Dodgers will spend big to try to keep him. Nimmo is a good, consistent player but he will probably cost more than Bloom will want to pay. Josh Bell being a switch hitter is interesting. I've become less interested in Correa and Contreras because of their defensive questions, and Zunino because of his injury questions.
For all of them though, it comes down to the price.
We will have a lot of holes to fill and getting more production at a value price will be important for spending money on pitching. Especially if we keep Xander and Devers. If either of them leave, then we will have even more money to spend and even more holes to fill, but value priced bats will be helpful either way.
Obviously, we also need plenty of pitching, but that is for another thread. This one is about hitters that we might sign.
If we bring back Xander then I think we will still need to add 2 more bats. Not necessarily star hitters or big names, but guys with some pop who aren’t defense-first types. If X leaves, then we need 3 more, IMO. For me, the first priorities for the offseason would be working out contracts for Xander and Devers. If they do that, then things become a lot clearer and simpler. If not, then it gets chaotic.
MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract for Xander: 7 years, $189 million.
This is intended to be a quick overview of position players who are free agents that the Red Sox might be interested in signing. I'm sure I left some out, feel free to add them.
EDIT: Updated with Qualifying Offer news, and MLB Trade Rumors free agent predictions.
Outfielders:
Regardless of what Xander does, we could really use an outfield bat, possibly 2.
Aaron Judge: Forget it, he’s not signing here. If some you think that he might you can go ahead and talk about him, but I'm not wasting time on that.
Brandon Nimmo: LHB, CF, will be 30 this season. Career numbers of 269/385/441, with a 130 OPS+. That’s way better than I thought. He is a CF who can also play the corners. Seems like he would be a really good addition, but will probably cost more than we will pay in money and years. Sure would be nice to add that OBP to our lineup though. Career .780 OPS against lefties, so no platoon issues. Career .802 OPS at home, .850 on the road, so moving to Fenway should help him a bit, though might cost him some HRs. Only 31 career PAs in Fenway, 1 HR, .878 OPS. Opinion on his defense: “Public metrics unanimously had him as an above-average center fielder in 2021. Those estimators were more divided in 2022, with DRS pegging him a few runs below average while Statcast had him as six runs above par. At the very least, he looks like an adequate defensive center fielder, and some teams might see him as a plus. Nimmo is somewhat quietly one of the better outfielders in the sport, and he could be rewarded for his excellent platform season with a nine-figure deal. He’ll receive and reject a QO.” Some tweet says “The Rockies are looking to sign Brandon Nimmo to a five-year contract worth around $115-$120 million, per @psaundersdp”. Yikes. $24m per year is a LOT for this guy who is a good player, but… EDIT: He got a QO, so he will cost draft picks and international money too.
Nicknames per baseball reference: Nimms or Tater. I would call him Captain Nimmo, especially if he slumped and his batting average was 20,000 leagues under the sea. MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 5 years, $110 million.
Mitch Haniger: RHB, corner OF. How the hell is this guy going to be 32 years old next year?? I thought he was like 28. I also thought he had an awful year at the plate, but actually not: he hit an okay 246/308/429 this year, which was good for a 114 OPS+ in that home ballpark. Was injured and only had 247 PAs. Career 261/335/476, 123 OPS+. Hit 39 HRs in 2021. Career splits: .795 OPS vs. RHP, .853 vs. LHP. .796 at home, .826 on the road. Nicknames per baseball reference: Meetch or Hammer. No baseball player should be nicknamed Hammer if they aren’t Henry Aaron. Call him Haniger Schlemmer or something. MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 3 years, $39 million.
Joc Pederson: LHB, will be 31 in April. Pretty much a lefty masher platoon guy more than a full-timer. Hit .274/.353/.521 this year in 433 PA, with 23 HR. Only 57 PA vs. lefties this year but did fine, with a .742 OPS, but for his career only hits .642 vs. lefties. Could be a good pickup to play OF/DH vs. RHP if he is cheap enough. He might want to sign somewhere he could play full-time? He got offered a QO from the Giants, so he will likely accept that. We wouldn't want him at $20m a year anyway.
B-R nicknames: Dizzy or King. I wonder if he would be better or worse if he spelled his name Jacques Peterson.
Jurickson Profar (player option): Switch hitter, will be 30 next year. .243/.331/.391 in 658 PA this year, 111 OPS+. Came up at age 19 and didn’t hit his first few years. Since turning 25, he has hit solidly for a utility guy: .241/.326/.403, 101 OPS+. He only played LF this season, despite playing all over the infield and OF in previous years. Does he still have that coveted positional versatility? Will he choose to stay in SD for $10m next year? If not, he’s going to want more money than he’s probably worth. Given name: Jurickson Barthelomeus Profar. B-R nickname: El Patron. He either is a father figure in the clubhouse or loves tequila. Possibly both? Oh yeah, well the Jurickson Store called, and he’s all out of YOU! MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 2 years, $20 million.
Michael Conforto: LHB, will be 30 in March. Missed all of this past season, so who knows what to expect or how much he will cost? I guess the team that signed James Paxton should not be ruled out of signing this guy. Hit 88 HRs in the 3 years before the pandemic-shortened season. Career .255/.356/.468, with a 124 OPS+. Platoon split of .873 OPS vs. RHP, .695 vs. LHP. His nickname is Scooter, for some reason, instead of Comfort Toe. MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 1 years, $15 million.
Joey Gallo: Do not want. LHB, will be 29 years old. Hit .160/.280/.357, 79 OPS+ in 410 PAs this year. Whiffed 163 times with 56 walks. King of the 3 Boring Outcomes. Adding all those whiffs to the lineup would make this team even more excruciating to watch. Do not want.
Andrew Benintendi: LHB, turns 29 midseason. .304/.373/.399 this year. Surprisingly has never played an inning in RF in the majors. Everyone knows Benintendi from his time here. Seems to have become a guy who hits for average but not power. What will his market be like? Hard to see him coming back unless it was for cheap. MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 4 years, $54 million.
Adam Duvall: RHB. 34 years old. 213/276/401 this year in 287 PA. Struck out 101 times in 315 PA. No thanks.
Wil Myers (club option): RHB, will be 32 this year. IB/OF. SOSHers have long wanted us to take on his bad contract and make the Padres give us a good prospect to do so. Never happened. SD will definitely pay him the $1m buyout rather than $20m for his last year. Hit .261/.315/.398 this year in 286 PA. Career 111 OPS+, 122 the past 3 years combined.
AJ Pollock (player option): RHB, will be 35 next year. Hit .245/.292/.389 this year in 489 PA, 91 OPS+. Was good in 2020 and 2021 with the Dodgers (.290/.342/.547 combined in 632 PA) but not this past year, and he is old. Hard to imagine him turning down the $10m option for free agency. Named after a fish but his nickname is Pollo, which means chicken.
Tommy Pham (mutual option): RHB, will be 35. We got a look at him after the trade deadline. Hit .672, 86 OPS+ for us. He’s probably not the same guy who with 21 HR and stole 25 bases for Tampa in 2019. Sox have a mutual option for next year at $6m or owe him $1.5m buyout. Still an exciting player, in that you never know who he might get into a fight with. B-R nickname: Phamtastic. 90% chance he gave himself that nickname.
(added after he was mentioned below):
Masataka Yoshida: LHB, will turn 30 in July. For his career in Japan, he has walked 421 times and struck out only 300. 81 walks to only 41 Ks this past season in 508 PA. Hit .335/.447/.561 this year with 21 HR. Career slash of .327/.421/.539. He likely wouldn't hit for a lot of power after switching to the US, based on how most hitters have fared here. But that OBP! Way more walks than Ks!
View: https://twitter.com/GaijinBaseball/status/1587056728067264512
He reportedly wants to play for the Phillies. He named his dog after Bryce Harper. No word on whether the interest is mutual. Or whether the dog's name is Bryce or Harper.
(Edit: wait, I should have kept scrolling-- it's Harper. Better name for a dog than Bryce.)
DH:
With JD hitting free agency, we will need to sign a good bat. But not necessarily a fulltime DH. Bloom loves position versatility, so it seems like he’d be more interested in someone who can play the field at least part time.
JD Martinez: RHB, will turn 36 in August. Had a disappointing year, but still had a 117 OPS+. The team went into the season hoping he could play outfield about as often as he did in 2021 (36 games) but he instead played 0 innings in the field, likely due to back issues. He hit well in the early season, then was abysmal in July and August, when he seemed to be playing hurt. Bounced back with an .889 OPS, .284/.352/.537 with 5 HR in September/Oct. Was that a dead-cat-bounce contract drive, or was his back feeling better? No idea how the market will be for him. No one will give him even close to the money he made this year, but he will have offers. MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 2 years, $30 million.
Michael Brantley: LHB, will turn 36 in May. Hit .288/.370/.416 in 277 PA, 125 OPS+. Played 29 games in LF and 35 at DH, then was hurt and had season-ending surgery in his non-throwing arm. Has been a consistently good hitter even after turning 30, with a 122 OPS+ since 2017. He’s kind of a LH JD Martinez. Made $16m this past year, won’t get near that this time but will have offers. MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 1 year, $15 million.
Andrew McCutcheon: RHB, just turned 36. Played 50 games in the OF, though nowhere near the level he used to. Hit .237/.316/.384 for the Brewers in 580 PA. OPS+ of 99 was the first time he’s been under 100. Made $8.5m last year, will have to take less now.
Matt Carpenter: LHB, will be 37 next year. Had to take a minor league deal, got cut, picked up by the Yankees and of course immediately turned into Babe Ruth for them, hitting 15 HR in 154 PA, .305/.412/.727, 217 OPS+. Used to be the poster boy for the coveted positional versatility, but is old now. Played 15 games in OF, 5 at 1B, 2 at 3B. He got hurt in August and missed the rest of the regular season. His deal with Satan apparently only covered the regular season, as he went 1-12 with 9 Ks in 6 playoff games. Wears a stupid-looking porn stache now. Will probably re-sign for NYY for almost nothing and hit great for them again. If we did sign him, there’s no doubt he would be terrible for us.
Trey Mancini (mutual option): RHB. Will be 31. Hit well for Baltimore, but not for Houston after the trade. Overall .239/.319/.391 in 587 PA, 101 OPS+. Great to see him come back from cancer so well. Has had a poor postseason so far. Played 39 games in the OF, 39 at 1B this year, so he has more of the coveted positional flexibility than most DH types. Career 113 OPS+. Made $10 million last year and his option for next is $10m again, so he will probably be a free agent. Nickname: Boom-Boom.
Carlos Santana: Switch hitter, 1B/DH, will be 37 next year. .202/.316/.376 last year. .789 vs lefties, .655 vs. righties, but 16 of his 19 HR were against RHP. Good clubhouse reputation. Career .861 OPS at Fenway in 158 PA. Got paid $10.5m last year, will have to take a lot less this time. Nickname should be Black Magic or Oye Como Va.
Jesus Aguilar: RHB, will turn 33 in June. Can play 1B. .235/.281/.379 in 507 PA. Career .254/.324/.449, 106 OPS+. Got cut in August, signed with the Orioles. Always been a better hitter on the road than at home-- .835 OPS on the road, .708 at home. Could he be decent in a ballpark that fits him better? Might have to take a minor league deal.
Catchers:
McGuire and Wong did fine after the trade deadline, but neither is an experienced starter. We could go for a more established bat at this position to help the offense.
Willson Contreras: RHB, turns 30 in May. Mostly a catcher but has played LF. Hit .243/.349/.466 in 487 PA with 22 HRs, 128 OPS+. Been HBP 52 times in the last 3 seasons. Could help the offense for sure, but how much will het get offered? Opinion on his defense: “He owns a solid arm, but public pitch framing metrics have never been enamored with his work. Reports leading up to the trade deadline suggested some teams were wary of adding him midseason, questioning his ability to adapt to and manage a new pitching staff on the fly. That’s perhaps not as concerning for teams considering a free agent pursuit—Contreras would have part of the offseason and Spring Training to connect with his pitchers, but there was ostensibly enough worry about his game-calling acumen that no team met the Cubs lofty asking price this summer. How much one should read into Contreras not being traded is tough to tell, but it will have a tangible effect on his free agent market. He’s now eligible for the qualifying offer, which he’ll surely receive and reject.” MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 4 years, $84 million.
Edit: The Athletic has the details of how signing Contreras would affect the Red Sox:
Losing a second rounder, a 5th rounder, and a million in international bonus money, on top of the big money he will get, likely makes Contreras unattractive to Bloom. At least I hope so.
Mike Zunino: RHB, will be 32. Strikeout machine—career 34.7% K percentage. Was terrible in 115 PA in 2022 before being injured and out for the season with thoracic outlet syndrome. Had a couple good years with Seattle, then was bad, then had a miracle year with Tampa in 2021, with 33 HRs. Career numbers: .200/.271/.410, 88 OPS+. Probably won’t cost much, but thoracic outlet, yikes.
Gary Sanchez: RHB, will be 30. Caught 91 games for the Twins this year, but um, not known for his defense. Hit .205/.282/.377 in 471 PA, 89 OPS+. Put up an .846 OPS through age 26 with NYY, but .681 in 3 years since then. B-R nicknames: The Kraken or The Sanchize. No one here would call him either of those, we'd go with Dirty Sanchez.
Christian Vazquez: RHB, will be 32. We all know Vazquez. .274/.315/.399 99 OPS+ this year. Not a bad hitter for a catcher, solid defensively. Highly regarded in the clubhouse. Not a good baserunner. Made $7m this year. MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 3 years, $27 million.
1B/DH:
Jose Abreu: RHB, turns 36 in January. Still plays 1B a lot, not just DH. Hit .304/.378/.446 in 679 PA, 133 OPS+. Only 15 HR, one less than JD Martinez. Can’t be offered a QO. Still a good hitter and could have a role here as a DH who also plays some first base against lefties. Who knows what his market will be at his age though? B-R nicknames: Oso, Yogi, Mal Tiempo or Pito. MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 2 years, $40 million.
Anthony Rizzo (opt out): LHB, will be 34 in August. Can choose to stay with NY for $16m next year. If he opts out, will obviously want more than that. Hit .224/.338/.480 in 548 PA, 131 OPS+. Still a good hitter. Wish we had never traded him in the Gonzalez deal, but what’s done is done. Interesting note about him this year: “Personal-worst .212 average on balls in play. A pull hitter who has been shifted on over 84% of his at-bats this season, per Statcast, he’s likely to be among the top beneficiaries of the forthcoming shift limitations. Even a slight uptick in his ball in play results could help Rizzo regain his peak form, since he’s still hitting the ball hard and is difficult to strike out.” Not a great fit with the 2023 Red Sox, with Casas as a LHH 1B. Could obviously be a DH though. Got a QO from the Yankees.
MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 2 years, $36 million.
Josh Bell: switch hitter, will be 30 until mid-August. Hit .266/.362/.422 in 647 PA, 128 OPS+. Didn’t hit well after the trade to SD. Career numbers: .262/.351/.459, 120 OPS+. Has played 26 games in the OF in his career, but probably won’t play many more there. Maybe you could stick him in LF in Fenway 15 to 20 times a year and get away with it? Has been a streaky hitter, which is risky when bringing in a new bat in this market—any new big money signing who starts slowly could get buried by the fans and media. Can’t be offered a QO. Could slot into a DH/IB role here. MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 4 years, $64 million.
Brandon Drury: RHB. Will be 30 until mid-August. Played 3B, 1B, and 2B this year. Also played 127 games in OF in his career, so he has that coveted positional versatility. Hit well this year, 28 bombs, .263/.320/.492 in 568 PA, 122 OPS+. Hit well the past 2 years, but was terrible in the AL East in previous stints with NYY and Toronto. MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 2 years, $18 million.
Miguel Sano (team option of $14m): RHB, turns 30 in May. Only 60 at-bats this year, was horrible and injured. 77 HR and 121 OPS+ the 3 previous seasons. His option won’t be picked up, and who knows what kind of offers he will get. Has lots of power but whiffs a lot and is a bat-only guy who did nothing this year. Could be interesting if he was cheap enough.
2B/3B:
At this point, we don’t really need players at these positions, with Devers at third and Story at 2B. This could change of course, but until it does, we won’t be signing starters to play these positions.
SS:
The Xander question. If we don’t sign Xander, we would need another bat, in addition to the ones we already need, and there are some SS stars on the market.
Trea Turner: RHB, will be 30 in June. In 708 PA, hit .298/.343/.466, 121 OPS+. Career 122 OPS+. Put up nice counting stat baseball card numbers this year: 21 HR, 27 SB, 100 RBI, 101 runs scored. Last year led the league in total bases, hits, batting average, and stolen bases. Seems durable, leading the league in PA and AB in 2018 and 2022. Played 26 games in CF in 2016, 91 games at 2B in his career, but seemingly will want to stay at SS. Been a consistently good hitter pretty much every year, great baserunner, fun to watch. He’ll have a qualifying offer attached to him, and I doubt the Dodgers let anyone outbid them. MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 8 years, $268 million.
Carlos Correa: RHB, will still be 28 most of next year. .834 OPS, 140 OPS+ this year in his make-good contract year with the Twins. Already opted out of 2 more years at $35m to go to free agency. Everybody knows about him. He is really good but I don’t like him. He’s going to get a ton of money, and I’d rather keep Xander than pay this guy, but who knows what will happen. MLB Trade Rumors says “His previously Platinum Glove-winning defense fell to merely above-average, per DRS and UZR. (Notably, OAA pegged his glovework as actually slightly below average.) Twins brass has spent much of the year lauding Correa’s glovework, leadership and clubhouse presence. There’s surely some genuine interest in keeping him, but doing so would require eclipsing Joe Mauer’s $184MM guarantee for the largest contract in franchise history—likely by a rather large margin.” I hope the Twins keep him. YMMV. B-R nicknames: The Captain, Showrrea, and I Am Groot. MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 9 years, $288 million.
Dansby Swanson: RHB, will be 29 in February. He’s from Georgia, played his whole big league career with Atlanta, and he should stay there IMO. .776 OPS, 115 OPS+ 25 HR this year, much better than his career numbers of .738, 95 OPS+. Let’s just extend Xander instead of paying for these guys. Got a QO so he will cost draft picks and international money. MLB Trade Rumors predicted contract: 7 years, $154 million.
Jose Iglesias: RHB, will be 33 in January. .292/.328/.360, 90 OPS+. If X leaves, he could be a cheap option. Always a slick fielder, has no power but hits for average decently for a SS. You wouldn’t want him to be handed a starting job, but if we are going to cheap out at SS, he is fun to watch in the field. Nickname: Candelita (in English: Little Candle).
After looking at all these guys, I became more interested in some guys who hit better than I realized, like Pederson, Abreu, and Haniger, depending on their prices. Trea Turner would be a great addition, but I assume he wants to play SS and the Dodgers will spend big to try to keep him. Nimmo is a good, consistent player but he will probably cost more than Bloom will want to pay. Josh Bell being a switch hitter is interesting. I've become less interested in Correa and Contreras because of their defensive questions, and Zunino because of his injury questions.
For all of them though, it comes down to the price.
We will have a lot of holes to fill and getting more production at a value price will be important for spending money on pitching. Especially if we keep Xander and Devers. If either of them leave, then we will have even more money to spend and even more holes to fill, but value priced bats will be helpful either way.
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