Red Sox Reportedly Acquire Intriguing Speedster Shortstop To Replace Xander Bogaerts
Boston Red Sox reportedly have a new shortstop in town.
The Red Sox reportedly completed a trade for former Kansas City Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi on Tuesday afternoon, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.
Mondesi certainly is an intriguing new option for Boston. The 27-year-old made his Major League Baseball debut with the Kansas City Royals in 2016 as a 20-year-old. At one point Mondesi seemed poised to become one of the league's bright young studs at shortstop, but injuries have seriously altered his career. Mondesi has only played over 100 games in a season one time in seven years.
Although he hasn't been able to stay on the field, Mondesi has shown exceptional speed -- even leading the league in steals with 24 in the COVID-shortened 2020 60-game campaign -- Mondesi nabbed 43 bases a year prior in 2019 while playing in just 102 games and leading the league with 10 triples.
Speed and defense have been the top two components of Mondesi's game so far throughout his career. It's unclear what he will exactly look like in 2023 after tearing his ACL last April.
Boston reportedly dealt left-handed reliever Josh Taylor to the Royals in exchange for the speedy shortstop, according to MLB Insider Mark Feinsand.
With Mondesi now reportedly in the mix for Boston, this now makes it likely that Enrique Hernandez may move to second base after the team's recent signing of outfielder Adam Duvall. Hernandez has played a bit of second base in each of his two seasons so far in Boston and certainly is capable of holding the position down until Trevor Story returns from elbow surgery if the team opts to go that route.
If Boston chooses to move Hernandez to shortstop, it could move Mondesi to second base. The former Royal saw time at second base with the team at points from 2016-2018.
Mondesi certainly won't completely fill the void left by Xander Bogaerts after his signing with the San Diego Padres, but he is interesting. The infielder will be an unrestricted free agent ahead of the 2024 campaign, which may give Boston's top prospect Marcelo Mayer enough to make a jump to the big leagues by then.
At the end of the day, Boston now has more options in the infield.
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