Red Sox need to decide on third base solution before MLB Trade Deadline
The Boston Red Sox have some thinking to do on what to do at third base. Do they trade for a third baseman or do they stay with the guys they have?
It is pretty obvious that the Boston Red Sox are in some trouble at the third base position.
Pablo Sandoval has yet to prove himself as a reliable option for the Sox. People are questioning Deven Marrero’s bat. Rafael Devers is too young. Jhonny Peralta needs to decide if this is the end. Tzu-Wei Lin still needs to get some more at-bats.
So, what do the Sox do? Do they try to make a trade before the deadline to get a third baseman or do they just stay put with the guys they have?
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Marrero has proven himself as a reliable infielder; fielding about anything coming his way. What people are questioning is his bat. But, recently Marrero has raised his batting average to .225 and has been hitting the ball pretty well. He has done a lot to make himself a serious contender for the third baseman job. If I were manager John Farrell, I would have no problem whatsoever with him being the Red Sox third baseman. We will see what happens.
The Red Sox recently added Peralta to their Triple-A Pawtucket roster. Peralta is a three-time All-Star who has had a pretty solid MLB career. If he gets rolling, my guess is the Sox would call him up in a heartbeat. But, Peralta hasn’t done great in the minors this season. He has only driven in 2 RBIs in 58 plate appearances. He has a .232 batting average which needs improvement. Peralta still has room to improve and has time to do so.
Tzu-Wei Lin has just recently been playing and honestly, he has been doing pretty well. He’s a decent fielder and has been hitting the ball pretty well. He has a .313 AVG through 32 plate appearances, which is good for a guy that hasn’t had a whole lot of big league experience. He has some room to grow.
So, if everything falls through and nobody works out for the Sox, who do they target at the deadline? Some big names include Mike Moustakas from the Kansas City Royals and Todd Frazier from the Chicago White Sox. Either of those guys would be a good fit in Boston. The Red Sox could use either of those guys’ bats. Frazier is hitting .216 with 16 home runs. Boston could really use Moustakas’ bat. He is hitting .275 with 25 home runs and 54 RBIs.
Another rumor going around that is growing more popular is Martin Prado from the Miami Marlins. Prado is batting .282 with 12 RBIs on the season. Any one of these guys would be a blessing to the Red Sox at third base.
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The Boston Red Sox have some serious thinking to do. They only have a few weeks to decide. Are they going to trade for a third baseman? Are they going to stay put with the guys they have? A big decision has to be made soon.