Brock Holt could return to Red Sox in unexpected role in 2023

With their season long over, the Boston Red Sox have tried to get proactive by calling up several top prospects to essentially audition for next year’s team.

This week they appear to be auditioning someone else, too.

On Tuesday evening, fan-favorite Brock Holt joined the NESN studio broadcast for the pre- and postgame shows. He’ll do the same for Wednesday’s game, the second of a two-game set in Cincinnati.

A player who always made time for fans, Holt remains extremely popular and beloved in Boston. He’d be a welcome addition to the broadcasts.

While Holt isn’t technically retired yet, he hasn’t played in a regular-season game this year. After a brief debut season with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2012, Holt spent seven of his 10 big-league seasons with the Sox, playing almost every position and overcoming a concussion and vertigo that impacted his 2016 and 2017 seasons. He received Rookie of the Year votes in 2014, was an All-Star in 2015, and played on several postseason teams. In the 2018 ALDS, he became the first and remains the only player to hit for the cycle in a postseason game.

Since becoming a free agent at the end of the 2019 season, Holt has bounced around the league. He split 2020 between the Milwaukee Brewers and Washington Nationals and then spent 2021 with the Texas Rangers. He signed a minor-league contract with the Atlanta Braves back in March, but requested to be released less than two weeks later.

In addition to his defensive versatility, Holt endeared himself to the Fenway Faithful by truly immersing himself in Boston philanthropy. He served as the team’s Jimmy Fund captain for his entire tenure, and would regularly host Jimmy Fund families at home games. Holt’s devotion to the cause wasn’t for PR or attention, either; he and his wife Lakyn frequently went on their own to visit patients and families at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and remain affiliated with the organization. Next year, they both plan to run the Boston Marathon to raise money for the cause that remains so near and dear to their hearts.

Replacing Dennis Eckersley, who’s set to retire at the end of the season, is no small task. But fans used to love when Holt was mic’d up during games, so he’d be a welcome addition to game coverage.

Hopefully, Holt isn’t the only fan favorite the Sox bring back for next year…

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