Red Sox: Two unlikely players have made the difference

Red Sox add Eduardo Nunez to add a punch to infield

One team that wasn’t pulling their players back off the block was the San Francisco Giants. The Sox wanted a guy that could at the very least play third base. Nunez was in the midst of resurgence after a slow start in 2017. Much like Sandoval did not like Boston, Nunez did not like San Francisco. A change of scenery might have been just what he needed.

Nunez in San Francisco this season slashed .308/4/31/18 in 76 games. He had the ability to play second base, third base, shortstop, and the corner outfield spots. Nunez also had the ability to hit for average, had a good arm and had speed. At the very least, the Sox were getting a three-tool player with the ability to play multiple positions. Dombrowski decided to pull the trigger adding the quick right-handed hitter sending two pitching prospects to the Giants.

Nunez in Boston so far has been remarkable. In 12 games representing the boys from Beantown, he’s slashing .400/4/12/3. He’s hit the same number of home runs in a little more than 1/6th of the time with Boston. Nunez also added a multi-homer game in just his second game with his new team which also coincidentally happened to be the first of his career.

The Sox were expecting to get someone who could hit for average with excellent speed. They ended up getting someone who could do that and a bonus of hitting for power. Can the power numbers last? Possibly, although not very likely.

It certainly is nice seeing someone carry the team even if he’s only been with the team for a short while. This does not forgive the rest of the team for not hitting for over a month. The Red Sox are going to need each player to carry their own weight.