BoSox Injection
Fansided

Red Sox free agent moves for FanSided’s faux GM simulation

By Sean Penney

BOSTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 18: Dave Dombrowski the President of Baseball Operations of the Boston Red Sox stands at home plate before a game against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park on September 18, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Red Sox won 5-4. (Photo by Rich Gagnon/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 18: Dave Dombrowski the President of Baseball Operations of the Boston Red Sox stands at home plate before a game against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park on September 18, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Red Sox won 5-4. (Photo by Rich Gagnon/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 28: Steve Pearce #25 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates his eighth inning home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Five of the 2018 World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 28, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 28: Steve Pearce #25 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates his eighth inning home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Five of the 2018 World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 28, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

Steve Pearce, 2-years, $14 million

You didn’t think I would leave out the World Series MVP, did you?

Pearce hit .279 with a .901 OPS, 7 home runs and 26 RBI in 50 games after the Red Sox acquired him from the Toronto Blue Jays in June. He was one of the team’s best hitters in the playoffs, hitting .289 with a 1.083 OPS, 4 home runs, and 11 RBI.

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Shortly after our simulation was complete, the Red Sox struck a one-year, $6.25 million deal with Pearce. It turns out my pretend offer wasn’t far off from the real one. Ideally, my offer would have been a one-year deal with a club option but the rules of our simulation didn’t allow for that.

The deal I offered is similar to the two-year, $13 million contract the Red Sox re-signed Mitch Moreland to last December. That sounds about right considering the pair will continue to platoon at first base. If you take Pearce’s production against lefties and Moreland’s against right-handed pitching, plus his Gold Glove caliber defense, you get a player who is a bargain at $13.5 million next season.

I thought Pearce’s performance on the World Series stage would entice other teams to jump into the bidding for his services yet I surprisingly was the only one to make an offer. I would have been disappointed to lose him considering what he meant to this championship run yet also couldn’t justify paying much more to a platoon player or handing more years to a 35-year old journeyman. Luckily, Pearce went overlooked and I managed to retain him for a fair salary.

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