Ex-Red Sox Slugger 'Could Come Back' To Give Boston Right-Handed Power

Boston could use the offensive firepower

Scott Neville | Nov 20, 2023

Ex-Red Sox Slugger 'Could Come Back' To Give Boston Right-Handed Power /

In this story:

Boston Red Sox

Will the Boston Red Sox bring back an old friend while attempting to fix their lack of right-handed bats in the everyday lineup?

The Red Sox could explore reunions with Justin Turner, J.D. Martinez, Hunter Renfroe or Adam Duvall to aid their cause, and likely will be in the mix for most of the aforementioned sluggers. The best fit might just be an outfielder who was on the roster last season.

"Duvall performed well for the Red Sox last season, belting 21 home runs with an .834 OPS in 92 games," MLB.com's Mark Feinsand wrote Sunday. "Given the left-handedness of Boston’s outfield -- especially if the Red Sox trade Alex Verdugo this winter -- Duvall could come back to give the team a righty power bat in the outfield."

Duvall hit .247 with 47 extra-base hits including the aforementioned 21 homers, 58 RBIs and a 119 OPS+ in 2023 despite missing a good chunk of the season due to a wrist injury.

The 35-year-old slugger has a suitable swing for Fenway Park and would be an affordable option to balance the lineup and provide right-handed power. As Feinsand noted, he'd also balance the outfield group and possibly allow Masataka Yoshida to move to the designated hitter role for the majority of the season -- which would improve the team's overall defense.

Duvall played well enough to warrant another contract in Boston, though you'd hope Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow would spend bigger in the starting pitching market if he plans on saving money on the offensive improvements.

More MLB: Red Sox's Newest Trade Acquisition Could Provide Notable Boost To Bullpen

Published Nov 20, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu