Red Sox's Adam Duvall Details How Front Office, Players Recruited Him To Boston

Boston had a full-press effort to bring in their center fielder

Scott Neville | Jun 7, 2023

Red Sox's Adam Duvall Details How Front Office, Players Recruited Him To Boston /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox endured a hefty roster overhaul after a slew of stars walked in free agency this winter.

Without shortstop Xander Bogaerts, designated hitter J.D. Martinez, and right-handed starting pitchers Nathan Eovaldi and Michael Wacha, the team needed to replenish the roster with seasoned veterans.

One of Boston's offseason targets was center fielder Adam Duvall and they seemingly pulled out all of the stops. I asked the 34-year-old slugger about the recruiting process on Tuesday and he explained Boston's all-hands-on-deck approach.

"It was pretty cool," Duvall said. "I've been a free agent twice now and I've never had as many people from an organization reach out as I did from the Red Sox as far as players, coaches, (Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom) and just people around the Boston area -- even in different sports markets. It was pretty cool, it was pretty unique as far as the recruiting process went from that standpoint."

Duvall went into detail on which factors played a role in his decision-making.

"Just being able to hop on Zoom calls and be able to talk through their ways of doing things, how they play the game, how they teach playing the game and different scouting reports and things like that," Duvall said. "That was really the big reason why I chose Boston. I felt like it was going to be a good fit and I was excited to play in front of this fanbase and with these guys on the team."

After hearing about the approach Boston took to recruiting Duvall, I asked him which players reached out directly.

"There were several," Duvall said. "I know Justin Turner was one of them, Kiké Hernández, Robert Refsndyer, Christian Arroyo, it was quite a few guys and it was pretty cool because when you're getting ready to join a team you never know what the comradery is like, what the clubhouse is like. Just being able to talk to those guys and get a feel for what they liked about the Red Sox and (seeing) that sense of comradery was pretty cool."

Duvall signed a one-year, $7 million deal to become the Red Sox's primary center fielder after a successful pitch from the club. He fractured his wrist in his eighth game with Boston after a torrid start to the season and is expected to make his triumphant return Friday against the New York Yankees.

More MLB: Red Sox's Adam Duvall 'Couldn't Be Happier' With Wrist Fracture Recovery

Published Jun 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