Boston Red Sox: Top three offseason additions to 2021 roster
Highlighting three key pieces the Red Sox added this offseason.
The Boston Red Sox front office was busy this offseason. While Bloom & Co. didn’t make any splashy signings or blockbuster trades, these moves should make the ballclub more competitive in 2021.
In baseball, getting your team the shiniest new toy in the winter doesn’t guarantee you lift the trophy in the fall (unless you sign Mookie Betts to the second-largest contract in league history because he’s a generational talent that deserves every cent. Why can’t the Red Sox get guys like that?). It’s more often the under the radar moves that fill roster holes and add depth and veteran leadership that prime a team for World Series contention.
Allow me to hearken back to a Red Sox team of yesteryear. After finishing at the bottom of the division in 2012, the Red Sox brought in a new manager and made several understated acquisitions. They acquired Mike Napoli, Jonny Gomes, David Ross, Shane Victorino, Stephen Drew, and Koji Uehara. Those players had a combined 48 years of MLB experience between them and just three All-Star nods. They didn’t command an exorbitant salary, nor were expectations for them particularly lofty, but all of them ended up being significant contributors to a World Series championship team that following season.
There are a lot of parallels to be drawn between the 2012 and the 2020 offseasons. The players acquired in recent months could be the missing pieces that have the team playing ball in October rather than packing their bags in September. Here are the top three additions to the Red Sox 2021 roster:
Red Sox acquire reliever Adam Ottavino
2020 team: New York Yankees
How the Red Sox got him: Traded to Boston from New York with Frank German for future considerations
Trades between the Red Sox and Yankees are few and far between. The exchange that brought Adam Ottavino to Boston along with a pitching prospect, Frank German, was the first between the two historic rivals since 2014 and just the second since 1997.
Ottavino brings some much needed assistance to a maligned Boston bullpen. Last year the Red Sox relief arms combined for the 4th highest ERA and 5th lowest WAR in the league.
Conversely, Ottavino has been one of the top relievers in the league in recent years. Over the last three seasons he ranks in the top 10 among relievers (min. 100 IP as RP) in strikeouts and ERA+.
His numbers in 2020 took a hit, largely due to a singular bad outing in which he gave up 6 runs and recorded 0 outs. In a shortened season in which he threw just 18.1 innings, that bad outing ballooned his ERA to 5.69 on the season. If you look past the peripheral numbers and dive a bit deeper, his 2020 season wasn’t all that different from his 2019 season. His FIP was nearly identical and his BB% and K% actually improved.
Ottavino’s 2020 is no cause for concern and Red Sox fans can be confident in his arm coming out of the pen.
Red Sox sign outfielder Hunter Renfroe
2020 team: Tampa Bay Rays
How the Red Sox got him: Signed a 1-year, $3.1 million contract
Hunter Renfroe is a switch-hitting corner outfielder who possesses middle of the lineup power and a strong arm. He ranked in the top five in outfield assists in two of the last four seasons. At the plate, Renfroe hammers lefties, amassing .573 SLG against LHP in his career.
He struggled to consistently produce offensively last season, slashing a meager .156/.292/.356 leading to his release by Tampa Bay earlier this offseason. His batting average dropped 60 points and his BABIP fell nearly 100 from 2019 to 2020 as Renfroe adjusted to a new team and a new league, leaving San Diego for Tampa Bay. He began pulling the ball less and hitting it to the opposite field more and his hard hit percentage fell as a result.
Whatever adjustments coaches in Tampa made to his swing clearly didn’t work. Renfroe is a self-proclaimed pull hitter saying, “No bones about it, I like to pull the ball. I feel like that’s where most of my power is, to left and left-center.”
That isn’t to say his swing was completely broken in Tampa, because when he found his stroke, the result was beautiful
Oh, Renfroe! pic.twitter.com/ueO0NzYlBO
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) July 28, 2020
If he can regain his consistency at the plate this season, he’s going to hammer a lot of baseballs off and over the green monster.
Red Sox acquire outfielder Franchy Cordero
2020 team: Kansas City Royals
How the Red Sox got him: Traded to Boston from Kansas City for Andrew Benintendi as part of a three-team trade
Franchy Cordero is another dynamic outfielder with a penchant for power. Also similar to Renfroe, his consistency is a concern. Cordero has been plagued by injuries in his young career. Over the last three seasons, he’s only appeared in a total of 87 games between the majors and minors.
When he’s healthy, he’s a sight to behold. Cordero possesses a rare combination of power and speed. He led the minors in triples in 2016 and 2017. Also in 2017, Cordero recorded the fourth fastest sprint speed at the major league level. The following season, Cordero blasted a home run 489 ft., the second longest hit recorded by any player in 2018.
Franchy Cordero tried to hit this one into oblivion. 489 feet later, he pretty much did. pic.twitter.com/WGthlTgBgU
— MLB (@MLB) April 21, 2018
As evidenced by the video above, when Cordero connects, he connects. Since 2017, Cordero ranks 9th among all major leaguers in average exit velocity (minimum 300 PA).
Next. Three contract extension candidates this spring. dark
But like a lot of guys who swing big, he misses big too. Over that same span Cordero ranks 9th in K% while barely coming in the top half (56th percentile) in walk percentage. If Cora gives him enough ABs towards the bottom of the lineup to continue developing his eye and get comfortable at the plate and Cordero can manage to stay healthy for a full season, he’ll be a real impact bat in the Boston lineup.