Red Sox Rumors: Trevor Plouffe a potential third base upgrade

By Sean Penney |

May 18, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics third baseman Trevor Plouffe (3) chats with Boston Red Sox first baseman Mitch Moreland (18) during the middle of the first inning at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Red Sox may take a look at third baseman Trevor Plouffe, who is reportedly being designated for assignment by the Oakland A’s.

Anytime a player potentially hits the market at a position of need, expect the Boston Red Sox to take notice.

That may be the case with Trevor Plouffe. The Oakland A’s are reportedly prepared to designate the veteran third baseman for assignment in order to call up top prospect Matt Chapman, reports the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser.

Oakland will presumably shop Plouffe around hoping to find a team willing to take him off their hands, even if it means swallowing a portion of the remaining $3.13 million on his contract. This presents a team like the Red Sox an opportunity to potentially improve their major league roster without surrendering any of their best prospects.

Boston could also gamble that the A’s won’t find a trading partner and hope Plouffe clears waivers, in which case they can attempt to sign him to a pro-rated portion of the league minimum through season’s end.

Now the question remains, would Plouffe be an upgrade for Boston? It would be difficult for him to be any worse. Red Sox third basemen are collectively 14th in the American League with a .203 batting average and dead last with a .582 OPS.

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Plouffe is in the midst of his worst season since a brief major league debut in 2010. He’s hitting .214 with a .634 OPS, seven home runs and 14 RBI through 58 games in Oakland. Those are putrid results for most hitters, although Red Sox third baseman may look at those numbers with envy.

The numbers Plouffe has put up this season are comparable to what Pablo Sandoval has produced in 28 games. The Panda is hitting .217 with a .647 OPS, four home runs and 12 RBI in a season limited by a stint on the disabled list.

From 2012-15 with the Minnesota Twins, Plouffe batted a combined .248/.312/.426 with 74 home runs (an average of 18.5 per season or 23 homers per 162 games played). Last year he hit .260/.303/.420 with 12 home runs in 84 games. Red Sox Nation isn’t going to get overly excited about those types of numbers but it’s hard to imagine Sandoval doing much better.

The big difference is the defense. Plouffe is at least serviceable at the hot corner, ranking sixth in the league with 2 defensive runs saved. Sandoval is near the bottom of the league with -6 DRS despite playing half as many games. It’s not easy costing your team that many runs in such a short period of time.

Boston’s options at the moment include Sandoval’s horrendous defense or recalling Deven Marrero to put his empty bat back in the lineup. Offense or defense, you can have one but not both. Josh Rutledge is passable at the plate and in the field, yet he’s also the only backup the team has at any infield position while Brock Holt remains sidelined. Hard to stick him at third base every day when they need to rely on his versatility.

This is why adding a low-cost option like Plouffe makes sense. He’s not going to light it up at the plate but he has as much upside as Sandoval without the defensive limitations. If nothing else, his presence would push Sandoval to fight for his job, lighting a spark under him that could be just what he needs.

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If the Red Sox have the chance to scoop Plouffe off the scrap heap for next to nothing then they have to consider it. It’s not like they can do much worse.

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