Ex-Red Sox Utility Man Signs Overseas After Opting Out Of Deal With Boston

The versatile position player chose Korea over Worcester

Scott Neville | Jul 11, 2023

Ex-Red Sox Utility Man Signs Overseas After Opting Out Of Deal With Boston /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox lost a solid depth piece to open the month, and the versatile position player has now decided to make a major move.

"Niko Goodrum is coming to Korea," Yonhap News' Jeeho Yoo tweeted Tuesday. "Signed with the Lotte Giants at $400,000 for the rest of this season. Goodrum is replacing Zach Reks."

Goodrum hit .280 with 18 extra-base hits including eight home runs, 36 RBIs and an .888 OPS in 65 games for Triple-A Worcester this season. Defensively, he played first base, second base, third base and right field prior to opting out.

The 31-year-old slugger would have been more-than-capable of handling the utility role for Boston while players like Pablo Reyes, Yu Chang and David Hamilton rotated in and out of the infield. However, the Red Sox did not call Goodrum up at any point despite his experience in the big leagues and success with the WooSox.

Opting out of the Red Sox's contract made sense for Goodrum but the mid-season move to the KBO is quite a shock.

It's possible that the switch-hitter is aiming to find regular playing time so that he can prime himself for a big-league deal next season, and found a way to do so while essentially studying abroad for a semester.

Most people make the move overseas when it's clear that they cannot get an opportunity or hang in Major League Baseball. Goodrum appeared plenty talented to play stateside this season, making this one of the more peculiar moves in recent memory.

Either way, he'll be someone to root for in Korea and follow this offseason.

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Published Jul 11, 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