Red Sox Target Reportedly Is Seeking Deal In Boston's Range After Strong Season

Boston needs an impact right-handed bat

Scott Neville | Jan 10, 2024

Red Sox Target Reportedly Is Seeking Deal In Boston's Range After Strong Season /

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Boston Red Sox

Will the Boston Red Sox make a notable addition to the lineup before spring training next month?

It's hard to envision any marquee players coming to Boston after new chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has come up short on just as many free agents as his predecessor in years past.

If there is one silver lining, it's that some of the remaining free agents are aiming for short-term deals, which the Red Sox appear more willing to invest in.

"(Jorge) Soler is going to get two years from a team not named the (Miami) Marlins," Miami Herald's Craig Mish reported Tuesday. "If he wants to play in Miami at a hometown discount of one year with a solid average annual value he can play again here. Otherwise, he will be somewhere else."

Soler hit .250 with 60 extra-base hits including 36 home runs, 75 RBIs and a .853 OPS (128 OPS+) in 137 games for the 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 free swinger. Soler posted a 24.3% strikeout rate, league average is 22%. He also posted a highly impressive 10.5% walk rate, which is in the 83rd percentile of qualified hitters.

There has been speculation that the Red Sox do not want to sign deals longer than two years -- though Lucas Giolito's contract could technically become three years under an odd set of circumstances.

Soler would bring thunder to a lineup that could use some power from the right side. For the Red Sox to have any chance at competing next season, they'll need an impact bat as well as a notable starting pitcher addition -- the latter appears to be unlikely at this juncture.

It could be as simple as adding Soler and then going big for Jordan Montgomery -- but that would make too much sense for the inept Red Sox ownership group.

More MLB: Red Sox Reportedly Lose Bidding War To Cubs For Premier Starting Pitcher

Published Jan 10, 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