Red Sox Reportedly Could Land All-Star Slugger To Bolster Lineup
The Boston Red Sox have two clear areas of need with just a couple of weeks until players start to report to spring training -- starting pitching and an impactful right-handed bat to replace Justin Turner.
Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow does not seem to have much of ownership's money at his disposal which has complicated matters but there still are clear fits remaining on the free-agent market.
While most of the national media has taken time to rightfully bash the Red Sox's idiotic approach to the winter, there have been some reporters who believe there's still a glimmer of hope that Boston could make a splash.
The USA Today staff took a stab at free-agent predictions for the winter and a pair of writers backed Boston as a landing spot for one of the best bats remaining.
"The Red Sox have been relatively quiet all winter (with the only noise being the fanbase screaming for action) but the unrest should at least be momentarily subdued with a (Jorge) Soler signing," Bob Nightengale wrote Wednesday.
Nightengale was joined by colleague Scott Boeck, who predicted Soler to Boston as well.
The 31-year-old hit .250 with 60 extra-base hits including 36 home runs, 75 RBIs and a .853 OPS (128 OPS+) in 137 games for the Miami Marlins last season.
The 6-foot-4, 235-pound power-hitter has everything you'd want out of a slugger -- elite exit velocity, barrel rate, hard-hit percentage -- but is not the stereotypical masher.
Soler posted a 24.3% strikeout rate, league average is 22%. He also posted a highly impressive 10.5% walk rate, which was in the 83rd percentile of qualified hitters.
The New York Post's Jon Heyman still expects the Red Sox to make a notable move ahead of Opening Day and the fanbase's unrest has certainly increased the likelihood of ownership caving and making a splash to save its reputation.
The Red Sox making zero moves of note remains the most likely path forward but with so many marquee players available this late, Breslow would be wise to bring in some additional talent.
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