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Red Sox Rumors: Marcus Semien catching the eye of Boston for second

By Brendan Mizgala

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 06: Marcus Semien #10 of the Oakland Athletics fields ground ball to out Alex Bregman #2 of the Houston Astros at first during the fourth inning in Game Two of the American League Division Series at Dodger Stadium on October 06, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 06: Marcus Semien #10 of the Oakland Athletics fields ground ball to out Alex Bregman #2 of the Houston Astros at first during the fourth inning in Game Two of the American League Division Series at Dodger Stadium on October 06, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /
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Red Sox have interest in Marcus Semien for second base void

The Boston Red Sox may be getting one step closer to filling the vacuum that is the black hole at second base. The Athletic’s Peter Gammons reported and was later corroborated by MLBTR, that Boston “likes” free-agent Marcus Semien and would have designs of moving him to second base. Obviously, with the team having his more dominant positions locked down for the foreseeable future, he’d had to shift over to a spot he hasn’t played in since 2014.

A short while ago I wrote about the idea of approaching Semien to become the team’s new second baseman when it was reported that he and his agent would entertain offers for that very idea. Boston has had a nightmare of a time filling the gap in the lineup left by Dustin Pedroia but this could be the answer to the equation, at least until Jeter Downs is ready for the Majors. The longtime shortstop would need to get on the diamond ASAP to retrain himself on the footwork needed for second base.

This may seem like a totally unconventional move by the Red Sox but if it allows them to add another high-level player to an already powerful infield, I’m all for it. Gammons did mention that even though Boston had their sights pointed toward Semien it seems that the team isn’t sure how much they’d have to splash to sign him. Considering what the team just did in order to get back into the good graces of the CBT police, I don’t they’re going to be breaking any records with a contract.

Gammons did mention that Semien already has a tie to the Red Sox in Paul Toboni, Boston’s scouting director, as the two were roommates in college. As we saw with the recent signing of Matt Andriese, sometimes those relationships can open the door pretty wide for negotiations. If Chaim Bloom can leverage that relationship, for lack of a better word, and pique Semien’s interest in coming to the team, he would instantly make waves.

Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts are powerhouses at their respective positions and Bobby Dalbec showed he has some serious muscle in his short time with the club this year. But again, second base has been a major Achilles’ heel since Pedroia went down.

With a rotation of guys trying to plug the hole in the dam until a full-time replacement could be found. Semien offers a great fielding mind with a solid pop of the bat in a spot that could really use it.

In 2019, Semien played in all 162 regular-season games where he posted a .285/.369/.522/.892 line with 33 homers and 92 RBI, earning him a third-place finish in the MVP voting. He also led the entire Majors with 747 plate appearances and had a strong 87-102 BB/K ratio. 2020 saw a dip in the numbers but that’s nothing new for how this weird season played out. He finished with a .223/.305/.374/.679 slash with 7 homers and 23 RBI.

Even with the dip in production, I wouldn’t put it past the 30-year-old to rebound in 2021 when there’s more time to prepare and possibly more games to work with. It was reported a while back that the owners were pushing for a delay again this year to give everyone the COVID vaccine.

However, you can’t force the vaccine as the Union will surely argue and we’ll likely see players opt-out once again due to the virus. I’m sure the MLBPA and owners will once again be going to battle this winter to figure out just what next season is going to look like.

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For Semien, finding a new home ASAP would be a benefit to him as it’ll allow him to begin getting acclimated to his new teammates and coaches, even if by ZOOM call. It’ll also allow him to get into the mindset of a second baseman and kick his training regimen into high gear so he’s ready for Opening Day. The more time he has to switch his footwork and movements from being on the left side of the infield to the right, the better. If he’s able to work all winter on changing his gears then he can come out of the gates this spring firing on all cylinders.

When I previously wrote about the idea of Marcus coming to Boston I pitched a 3-year/$40M deal and still believe that could be a win-win. It’d keep his AAV right around what he was set to earn in 2020 had the full season been played while also buying the Red Sox time to get Downs moved-up through the developmental ranks. I’d much rather have three years of Semien in this thirties versus a cavalcade of randoms that have been running second base since 2017, that’s for sure.

Next. Non-roster invitees who can make an impact in 2021. dark

Marcus Semien is one hell of a player and would fit in really well not only on the field but off of it as well with this club. If the Red Sox truly do have their sights set on signing him then they need to make an offer that won’t insult the player while also not tanking their newly reset budget. His bat and glove will increase the quality of play at the position from day one and could be another piece of the puzzle to getting Boston back to October.

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