Red Sox free-agent target – IF Brad Miller
While the left side of the Red Sox is locked in for the foreseeable future, the right side is far more uncertain. Bobby Dalbec and Christian Arroyo both had their moments last year, but they each have had their struggles against right-handed pitchers.
Chrisitan Arroyo: Career .213 AVG against righties
Bobby Dalbec: Career .730 OPS against righties, .877 OPS against lefties
The Red Sox need a left-handed hitter to platoon at both the first base and second base position, and no free agent fits the bill more than Brad Miller. Miller’s plate discipline struggles and inability to hit lefties would likely get exposed as an everyday player, but he can provide significant value as a strong-side platoon option. He is a career .245/.329/.451 hitter against righties, well above both Dalbec and Arroyo. He is also coming off a season in which he homered 20 times in just 331 at-bats, a rate that would have been the best on the Red Sox last year.
Though no one would confuse Miller with a Gold Glover, he can provide defensive value with his versatility. He has over 100 career games at first base, second base, and shortstop, providing capable defense at each position. There are not many left-handed hitters who can play each of those three positions, and he is the perfect fit to fix that hole on the Red Sox roster.