Impact Infielder Made Available; Red Sox Would Be Strong Fit After Impressive Season
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Will the Boston Red Sox make one more notable addition to their position player group ahead of Opening Day?
While most of the effort has been placed on improving the pitching staff, there was plenty of offseason discussion about adding an impactful right-handed bat with positional versatility.
A player who matches the aforementioned description has become available and would make sense for the Red Sox to pursue.
"J.D. Davis has been placed on waivers after the Giants couldn’t find a taker on the trade market (teams also knew San Francisco had no spot for him after signing Matt Chapman and Jorge Soler)," the New York Post's Jon Heyman wrote Saturday. "His $6.9 million salary after arbitration win isn’t unreasonable."
Davis hit .248 with 42 extra-base hits including 18 home runs, 69 RBIs and a .738 OPS (103 OPS+) in 144 games last season.
The 30-year-old is a career .261 hitter with a .775 OPS (113 OPS+) across seven seasons. Davis has spent the majority of his time at third base but has logged 94 career games in left field and 48 at first base.
Boston does not have a clear-cut starting role for the slugger with Rafael Devers at third base, Triston Casas at first base and a slew of outfielders competing for spots.
With that said, the Red Sox do not have a set plan laid out for their corner infield depth and could always use an extra power bat off the bench.
As it stands now, the battle for the backup corner infield role has come down to Bobby Dalbec, C.J. Cron or to expand the responsibilities of utility men Pablo Reyes and Rob Refsnyder.
Cron is an intriguing power bat with upside but can only play first base and has yet to get in the race with only a few weeks until Opening Day.
Dalbec has proven time and again why he does not deserve a roster spot and the utility men are far from typical corner infield builds. Davis would be a starting-caliber player and strong bat off of the bench who could find regular time down the road when injuries inevitably occur across a 162-game season.
The Red Sox should be all in on this move considering all they have to do is place a waiver claim and absorb a very affordable contract.
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