The most notable development during Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow’s short tenure was the trade of outfielder Alex Verdugo to the rival New York Yankees.
Although starting pitching remains the Red Sox’ biggest concern, adding a right-handed outfielder has certainly moved up the priority list.With that in mind, the Red Sox have reportedly shown the most interest in one of the best hitters on the free agent market.
According to baseball expert Moises Fabian, Teoscar Hernández received calls from the Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels and Toronto Blue Jays. He says the Red Sox have been the most persistent so far. Sure, this source carries much less weight than a report from one of the bigwigs, but this move would make a lot of sense.
The 31-year-old hit .258 with 57 extra bases, including 26 home runs, 93 RBI and a .741 OPS in 160 games for the Seattle Mariners in what was his worst offensive season since his rookie year. With a career 118 OPS+, he would probably bat in Boston, but he would do so with a fair amount of strikeouts.Hernández has a poor reputation defensively due to some bad seasons as a junior, but has worked his way up to becoming a league-average defender. However, I would be very reluctant to trust him with the right field at Fenway Park.
The slugger will have a much different offensive approach than Verdugo, but should have higher overall power and can easily be considered a mid-range impact bat.The loss of Verdugo will be significantly reduced if the Red Sox acquire Hernández this winter and likely move Masataka Yoshida to the everyday designated hitter role.Boston has also reportedly expressed interest in former Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who would be a much better defensive player with similar offensive skills.
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