Red Sox: What if Boston never signed Mitch Moreland?
Exploring what the Boston Red Sox could have been had they not added Mitch Moreland prior to the 2017 season
Before the 2017 season started, the Boston Red Sox made a few big moves. One of which helped out huge this year and the other one which completely backfired. Dave Dombrowski was both an evil genius and a complete loon. After all, who in their right mind would trade the teams future stars in Michael Kopech, Yoan Moncada, in addition to a third player and then in a separate move, send Travis Shaw along with a package of three for another? Who does that?!
Dave Dombrowski did it. The first big move was in sending Kopech and Moncada to the Chicago White Sox for Sox ace Chris Sale. The second big move, which may go down as one of the biggest “oops” moves by a General Manager, was trading for Tyler Thornburg by giving away three prospects and Shaw, who had a career year this season. With the open position at first base, the Sox needed to go out and get a stop gap player capable of doing the job.
Who did the Red Sox call? None other than Mitch Moreland. The Sox didn’t have many options at first. Hanley Ramirez was not going to be the answer. Ramirez did well in his first season playing first base but still wanted to be at a different position. He made it very apparent that he wanted to be the next David Ortiz and not play in the field, he wanted to be the DH. Moreland had a reputation for being a decent power hitter and great with a glove so why not give him a chance?
Moreland was also a guy that had experience in the Post Season. In his first two seasons in the league, the Rangers went all the way to the World Series. Having that experience is important with younger guys on the team. While his tenure wasn’t the longest on the team having leadership qualities added to his value. The more and more you thought about it, the more it seemed like the perfect fit. Boston and Moreland could work very nice together.
While the regular season has come to an end the “What If” series is far from over. We explore what Moreland has meant to the club this season and if a 2018 future can exist.
Getting to know Mitch Moreland
Few players started off this slow but Moreland managed to start the season going 0-for-9 including five strikeouts. In his defense, two fly balls could have been home runs if not for the large dimensions at Fenway Park. Center field and right field can be tough on hitters lacking power. Wind also played a factor in not seeing the hefty first baseman get a pair of round trippers in his first series with his new club.
More from Red Sox News
- Why Red Sox fans should be rooting for Carlos Correa’s Mets deal to go through
- Red Sox exec claims Mookie Betts loss changed management style, but actions say otherwise
- How realistic are the Boston Red Sox/Chris Sale trade rumors?
- Giants’ desperation post-Carlos Correa debacle highlights Red Sox’ lack of urgency
- Dave Dombrowski reunites with former Red Sox ace on Phillies
Since the beginning, the Red Sox knew what they were getting. Before joining, Moreland was a first baseman who spent his first seven years in the bigs playing for Texas. At 30 years old the Sox were gambling on a guy but not at a huge cost. Moreland was getting $5.5 million for one year of work in Boston. It was a slight pay cut from his last contract in Texas but he had something to prove and it was going to take a good year to make his future worth it.
If he played his cards right, this was the type of guy who would eventually sign a bigger deal after showing that he can consistently get the job done. Moreland could, assuming he doesn’t return, follow the same path as Adrian Beltre who left after one year. Beltre then signed a 5-year deal worth $80 million. This was a guy capable of hitting 20+ doubles and 20+ home runs after hitting the mark in three of his last four seasons. Could he get the job done in Boston?
Fans all certainly hope that he’s the answer until the next generation of baby Sox takes over.
Moreland joins Sox and gets nickname
Moreland wasn’t hitting home runs straight out of the gate which wasn’t a big issue because less than 10 games into the season, Mitch was recognized for something else, hitting doubles. Mitchy-Two-Bags was born. Moreland hit eight doubles in a seven-game span and finished up the month of April with 12 two-baggers. Two days after the streak ended, Moreland smacked his first bomb on the season.
May brought even more success for Moreland who saw his doubles number disappear slightly but saw his home run and RBI totals increase. After two months of baseball, Moreland had 16 doubles 6 homers, 28 RBI’s and 27 runs scored. Mitchy was getting it done on all levels. Consistency was key and it paid off as he managed 24 hits in each of his first two months.
More from Red Sox News
- Why Red Sox fans should be rooting for Carlos Correa’s Mets deal to go through
- Red Sox exec claims Mookie Betts loss changed management style, but actions say otherwise
- How realistic are the Boston Red Sox/Chris Sale trade rumors?
- Giants’ desperation post-Carlos Correa debacle highlights Red Sox’ lack of urgency
- Dave Dombrowski reunites with former Red Sox ace on Phillies
Moreland walked 26 times over his first two months, making up just under half of his 2017 total. Still, he was making sure that anyone thinking that slow starts automatically translated to bad seasons was wrong. Players get hot and cold and this was no different. June saw success get even better in the home run department before a complete vacation in July when all numbers plummeted.
The month of August was by far his best slashing .342/6/18 with 7 doubles and 15 runs scored. If the season ended today, his batting average of .246 would be his best since he hit .278 with the Rangers back in 2015. He would also match his 22 home runs from last season and his 79 RBI’s would also be his best mark since 2015. Moreland’s 57 walks and 73 runs scored would both be career bests for him.
Who could forget his second career pitching performance against the Orioles on August 25? It was the second best job done that night by a Red Sox pitcher striking out one and allowing two hits. Before turning pro, Moreland was a closer at Mississippi State. Who’d a thunk it?
Does Mitchy-Two-Bags make an encore appearance next season for Boston? Time will tell but with the postseason just a few days away, now would be a great time to show the current club that you want to stay in Boston.
Verdict?
Say what you will but Moreland was one of the leaders on this team from the start. Since the beginning, he helped in delivering back-to-back American League East Division Titles for the Red Sox for the first time ever. We’ve seen what he can do in the playoffs and hope that he can deliver in clutch moments which are almost sure to happen. Let’s just hope we get 2010 World Series Mitchy and not 2015 ALDS Mitchy for the upcoming ALDS series against the Houston Astros.
Is it entirely possible that he comes back to play at Fenway next season? Sure. Are the odds in his favor? Not likely. Dave Dombrowski might let him walk in hopes that another team takes a chance on him. If another team were to sign him, the Sox would get draft compensation and who knows? Maybe the Sox make out again just as they did when they let Beltre walk away.
Could the Sox front office go two for two in compensation selections? When you think about it, you have to hand it to GM Dave Dombrowski who made a great decision in adding Moreland. Were the adds of Moreland and Sale worth it to offset the damage done by losing Shaw? Perhaps.
His glove was better last season than this season but still made some great plays. Moreland was called upon to man arguably one of the harder positions in the game especially when you take into consideration the major problems at 3rd base for the Red Sox almost all season long. Depending on how far the team goes, his value will rise during the offseason.
His value isn’t increased due to his ability to hit doubles, home runs, and field the ball well. His value is further increased because, in a pinch, Mitchy-Two-Bags might catch you looking at a 90 mile an hour heater. If this indeed was his only season in Boston, Sox fans salute you and will rise when you return back to Fenway. Thanks, Two-Bags. For everything.
Next: Red Sox: What if Boston never overpaid to sign David Price?
Stay tuned for the next “What If” article coming out in a few weeks!