Red Sox sign outfielder Carlos Quentin to minor league deal
By Sean Penney
The Boston Red Sox have signed Carlos Quentin to a minor league deal and are expected to allow him to compete for a reserve outfield spot this spring.
Carlos Quentin is getting another shot at extending his baseball career. The 34-year old outfielder has signed a minor league deal with the Boston Red Sox, according to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports.
If Quentin reaches the big leagues he will earn up to $750,000, or a prorated portion of that if he’s not with the team all season.
Quentin hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2014, when he played 50 games for the San Diego Padres. He spent spring training last year with the Minnesota Twins, but ended up playing in the Mexican League last season. The previous year he was with the Seattle Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma.
The right-handed hitter owns a career .252/.347/.484 slash line, but saw his production steadily decline over his last few injury-plagued major league seasons.
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His best years came with the Chicago White Sox, where he was a two-time All-Star. The highlight of his career came in 2008, when he hit 36 home runs, drove in 100 RBI and finished fifth in MVP voting.
There’s little reason to believe that Quentin will ever regain anything resembling his peak form, but he’s worth a look from a Red Sox organization that is thin on major league ready outfielders in their farm system.
Bryce Brentz and Steve Selsky, who was claimed off waivers from the Cincinnati Red last month, are the only outfielders on the 40-man roster currently expected to begin the season in Triple-A Pawtucket.
Rusney Castillo and Allen Craig both have big league experience playing in Boston, but their bloated contracts would make the Red Sox hesitant to add them back to the roster even if they do perform in the minors. Brian Bogusevic and Junior Lake round out the non-roster invitees that Quentin will compete with for a spot.
The Red Sox may have the best starting outfield trio in the majors, but it’s important to have depth. Brock Holt, Chris Young and Blake Swihart are all capable replacements if one of the team’s star outfielders were to fall to injury, but someone else would then need to step in to fill their backup role.
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Quentin has the most accomplished resume among the non-roster invitees, but his injury history and inability to crack a big league roster the past two years makes him a long shot to make it to Boston.