Red Sox Reportedly Could Land All-Star Slugger To Bolster Lineup

Boston could use the extra firepower

Scott Neville | Jan 31, 2024

Red Sox Reportedly Could Land All-Star Slugger To Bolster Lineup /

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Boston Red Sox

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.

More MLB: Red Sox Reportedly Turned Down Reunion With Fan Favorite Slugger

Published Jan 31, 2024

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