Red Sox Reportedly Among 'Serious Suiters' For All-Star Outfielder

Boston could make their first big move

Scott Neville | Dec 1, 2022

Red Sox Reportedly Among 'Serious Suiters' For All-Star Outfielder /

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Could the Boston Red Sox be just moments away from announcing their first big move of the offseason?

It appears as if Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and company are engaged in a bidding war for one of the most coveted outfielders in the free-agent class.

"Red Sox and (the Texas) Rangers among the most serious suitors for free-agent outfielder Mitch Haniger," MLB Networks Jon Morosi tweeted Thursday.

The 31-year-old former Seattle Mariner missed the majority of the 2022 season due to a high-ankle sprain, but has had enough sustained success over the course of his six-year career to warrant a semi-notable contract.

Last season, while hampered, Haniger hit .246 with 19 extra-base hits including 11 home runs, 34 RBIs and a .736 OPS in 57 games.

The season prior, Haniger hit .253 with 64 extra-base hits including 39 home runs, 100 RBIs and a .804 OPS in 157 games. His performance was strong enough to receive MVP votes, landing at No. 20 in the American League.

The veteran outfielder is a career .261 hitter and has been just below that mark in recent years, but has serious pop in his bat and could fill an important role as a right-handed slugger, something the Red Sox outfield has not boasted since they traded away Hunter Renfroe.

Given Bloom's reported desire to land first baseman/designated hitter José Abreu earlier in the offseason and now Haniger reportedly being a top target, it appears that a right-handed power bat is on Boston's shopping list.

It would make a lot of sense to add Haniger to an outfield that displayed a season-long power outage in 2022. The four outfielders currently on the 40-man roster -- Alex Verdugo, Kiké Hernandez, Rob Refsnyder and Jarren Duran -- combined to hit just 26 home runs last season. Haniger will almost certainly exceed that tally by himself next season.

In other words, the Red Sox would be wise to add Haniger, and finally get the ball rolling on this offseason (no offense to left-handed reliever Joely Rodriguez of course).

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Published Dec 1, 2022

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