Red Sox Utility Man Elects Free Agency After Solid Start To Season

Boston lost a depth piece over the holiday weekend

Scott Neville | Jul 5, 2023

Red Sox Utility Man Elects Free Agency After Solid Start To Season /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox lost another depth piece with big-league experience due to a contract stipulation that allowed him to be free.

Just a month after the Red Sox lost catcher Jorge Alfaro due to an opt-out clause in his contract, utility man Niko Goodrum has done the same.

"Unsurprisingly, Niko Goodrum opted out of his contract over the weekend and is now a free agent," Sox Prospects' Chris Hatfield tweeted Monday. "Had been a key part of the Worcester lineup, but clearly never was a consideration for a call-up."

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 switch-hitter has played at a high level and deserves a shot in the majors. The Red Sox continually elected to use younger talent or waiver-wire adds over Goodrum when needing to fill out the big-league roster.

The youth movement probably was the correct path given that Boston is using the bulk of this season to look toward the future but they lost a quality player in doing so.

Not long after Alfaro departed, catcher Reese McGuire went on the injured list for an oblique strain, and Boston had to call up an inexperienced Caleb Hamilton to split time with Connor Wong.

Thankfully, the Red Sox have much more utility depth, plus both Yu Chang and Pablo Reyes are expected to return in short order.

It would have been nice to keep Goodrum in the organization but it appears that his departure was the best move for his career.

More MLB: Red Sox Could Take Shot On Recently Released Reliever To Bolster Bullpen

Published Jul 5, 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