Red Sox Reportedly Leading Candidate For All-Star Outfielder Post-Alex Verdugo Trade

Boston could use some more firepower

Scott Neville | Dec 7, 2023

Red Sox Reportedly Leading Candidate For All-Star Outfielder Post-Alex Verdugo Trade /

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Boston Red Sox

The most notable move of Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow's short tenure was the trade of outfielder Alex Verdugo to the rival New York Yankees.

While starting pitching remains the top concern for the Red Sox, adding a right-handed hitting outfielder certainly has jumped up the priority list.

With that in mind, the Red Sox reportedly have shown the most interest in one of the top sluggers in the free-agent market.

Teoscar Hernández has received calls from the Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels and Toronto Blue Jays according to baseball pundit Moises Fabian. He claims that the Red Sox have been the most persistent thus far.

Admittedly, this source carries far less weight than a report from one of the big guns but the move would make a lot of sense.

The 31-year-old hit .258 with 57 extra-base hits including 26 home runs, 93 RBIs 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'd likely mash in Boston but do so with a hefty amount of strikeouts.

Hernández has a bad reputation defensively due to some poor seasons as a young player but he's worked his way into a league-average fielder. Still, I would be very hesitant to trust him to handle Fenway Park's right field.

The slugger will have a very different offensive approach than Verdugo but should have a higher total output and can be safely deemed an impact, middle-of-the-order bat.

The loss of Verdugo will be lessened substantially should the Red Sox acquire Hernández this winter and likely move Masataka Yoshida to an everyday designated hitter role.

Boston reportedly also has shown interest in former Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who would be a much better defensive player with similar offensive output.

More MLB: Red Sox's Rafael Devers Alludes To Boston Nearing Deal With Gold Glove Winner

Published Dec 7, 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