Red Sox showing interest in veteran coming off frustrating season

Red Sox showing interest in veteran coming off frustrating season.

The Red Sox have shown interest in free-agent infielder Gio Urshela, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive. Cotillo tipped his hat on X to other uses on that site, @iTalkStudiosYT and @GlenielGarcia2, but he downplayed the situation more than those outlets. Cotillo noted that no deal was close and that the Sox haven’t done anything to separate themselves from other interested clubs like the Yankees, Mets, Angels and Marlins.

Urshela, now 32, is coming off a frustrating season with the Angels. He hit just two home runs in 62 games before suffering a pelvic fracture that ended his season prematurely. Nonetheless, plenty of clubs have been interested in him based on his previous work, where he combined a bit of pop, low strikeout rates and defensive versatility.

From 2019 to 2022, he hit 54 home runs in 435 games while getting punched out in just 19.3% of his plate appearances. His 6.3% walk rate was subpar but he nonetheless managed to hit .290/.336/.463 over those years for a wRC+ of 119, indicating he was 19% better than league average. He has spent most of his career at third base but has also lined up at the other three infield spots and has one inning in left field.

The Sox have a set infield right now with Rafael Devers, Trevor Story, Vaughn Grissom and Triston Casas lined up left to right, but there would be some sense in adding a quality multi-positional infielder like Urshela. Neither Devers nor Cases are considered especially strong defensively. Story has missed significant time in the past two seasons due to elbow surgery. Grissom has just 64 games of major league experience.

If Urshela were added, he could occasionally spell someone in that group or push them to the designated hitter slot. The club plans to use Masataka Yoshida as the DH fairly regularly but he can play the outfield on occasion as others get a rest.

Despite the logical fit, Cotillo downplays the urgency of a deal getting to completion, which suggests the Sox aren’t desperate to add him. If they don’t get something done with Urshela, their in-house options for a depth infielder are Enmanuel Valdéz, Bobby Dalbec, Pablo Reyes, David Hamilton and Romy González.

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