Red Sox add depth by signing Marwin Gonzalez
For a few weeks now there have been some rumors that the Red Sox were in the mix to sign free agent Marwin Gonzalez. Moments ago, that rumor became a reality as Boston has added to their depth by bringing in the utility man for the 2021 season. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported that the team had finally come to terms with the versatile player and their outfield may now be complete.
Gonzalez gets a one-year deal worth $3 million, per source. Deal also contains a little more than $1 million in incentives. #RedSox https://t.co/kGPpYYnCSn
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) February 12, 2021
Feinsand would also add that the deal is a one-year/$3M contract that contains just over $1M in incentives. This falls right in line with how Chaim Bloom has operated since getting to Boston and comes on the heels of the Red Sox trading away fan favorite Andrew Benintendi. Gonzalez is the epitome of a utility player having spent time at every position imaginable beyond pitching and catching.
This is the second utility signing that the Red Sox have made this winter and both players share a similar history. Kiké Hernandez was added to the roster a short while ago and will likely become Boston’s new everyday second baseman. Gonzalez will find himself rotating around the outfield as that area of the defense is beyond in flux at the moment.
That similar history that I mentioned? Both players have a connection to Alex Cora as Hernandez was a batboy for him back in Puerto Rico as a kid and Gonzalez played for him in Houston back in 2017. Bringing in two players that have ties to the current manager is a solid move by Bloom as it’ll allow pre-existing chemistry to carry over to a Red Sox club that could use a spark.
Having a familiarity with Cora will make his transition to a new team a bit easier as he gets accustomed to playing in Boston. With Jackie Bradley Jr. making his way to free agency and Benny now in Kansas City, the team was in desperate need of an outfielder and a left-handed bat. While I would’ve preferred that JBJ was re-signed, that dream seems like too much of a longshot at this point.
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Gonzalez isn’t just versatile in the field as he’s a switch hitter and will give AC plenty to work with no matter the pitching scenario. A career .261/.317/.413/.729 hitter, he saw a down year in 2020 and finished with a .211/.286/.320/.606 line with 5 homers and 22 RBI. Luckily for Boston, his down year wasn’t a massive departure from his past seasons and he can easily bounceback at Fenway Park.
Now, I’m sure some of you will not be a fan of this signing considering his past with the Astros and more importantly the time frame in which he played for the team. But we’ve gotta get this train moving and look towards 2021 and not back at 2017. Signing Gonzalez now completes Boston’s outfield after plenty of shuffling over the last two years. And with it only being a single year deal, if you’re not a fan then you can come on back in 2022.
At the end of the day, this is a good signing for the Red Sox as Marwin can bring some solid offense from the left side of the plate in a righty heavy lineup, while also adding strong defense at multiple positions. Having him for just a year won’t sink Boston long-term if it isn’t working out and if it is them Bloom can flip him at the deadline as we saw in 2020. Either way, Boston is most likely done making moves this winter and it’s now time to get ready for the upcoming season.