Red Sox: 5 non-tender players to consider in free agency
By Sean Penney
Schoop was supposed to provide a power boost to the Brewers lineup when he was acquired in a mid-season trade from the Baltimore Orioles. Instead, he fell out of favor due to his poor production and wasn’t even seeing steady playing time by the postseason.
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He hit .202 with a .577 OPS in 46 regular season games with the Brewers. Schoop followed that with an 0-for-8 performance in the postseason.
There’s no doubt that Schoop is a flawed and sometimes infuriating player. He has a sub-.300 on-base percentage for his career, he strikes out too much and he’s an average defender at best.
What he does have is power. Schoop blasted a career-high 32 home runs and dove in 105 RBI in 2017 when he was an All-Star for the O’s. He won’t repeat the .293 batting average from that season but there’s no reason why the 27-year old can’t recapture that run production.
The Red Sox aren’t as starved for power as they were a year ago but they may have an opening at second base if Dustin Pedroia‘s knee doesn’t cooperate. They may be more inclined to bring back Ian Kinsler in that case, valuing his golden glove over the home run threat of Schoop. If Kinsler signs elsewhere and Pedroia is slow to recover then Schoop is a backup plan they may kick the tires on.