The Red Sox have added some left-handed help to their current crop of outfielders, acquiring the powerful Carlos Peguero from the Rangers in exchange for cash considerations.
Peguero, a former top prospect for the Mariners, has never shown any shortage of power in his professional career. Now 28 years old, he is the owner of a career .274/.336/.512 slash line in his minor league career and has brought prodigious power even during his time in the major leagues, sporting an impressive .193 isolated power and 13 home runs in 99 career major league games.
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Peguero signed with the Rangers this offseason and has played 30 games with Texas thus far in 2015, hitting .186/.310/.414 in 84 plate appearances. But though Peguero has displayed his trademark raw power at the plate, he has struggled significantly at reaching base. He does have an impressive 14.3% walk rate (well above his career rate), but it’s still not close to balancing out his atrocious strikeout rate of 42.9% this season.
It’s unclear exactly where Peguero fits into Boston’s plans this season. Recently designated for assignment and acquired for mere cash considerations, he’s hardly a big name acquisition and may begin his Red Sox tenure in Triple-A Pawtucket.
However, the Red Sox have been starved for power recently and, aside from the lackluster Daniel Nava, have no left-handed outfielders. Despite Peguero’s strikeout troubles this season, he has provided much more production than Nava and his ugly .159/.250/.190 slash line, actually sporting an OPS above league average.
At this point in Peguero’s career, it’s unlikely that he’ll ever develop much of a major league career. However, he has power in spades and that can be a useful asset for a bench player. Don’t expect Peguero to play much right off the bat, but he could become a handy addition if one of Boston’s other outfielders goes down with injuries. If nothing else, we can all dream on Peguero’s monster power potential.