The Boston Red Sox's signing of Isiah Kiner-Falefa certainly registered as unimpressive when it was announced, and for good reason.
With all due respect to the 30-year-old utility man, he simply doesn't have the hitting prowess to fill the team's wide-open hole at second base with any sense of regularity. Kiner-Falefa can run well and does a good job of putting his bat on the ball, but he almost never walks and his career high in wRC+ is 93. A suitable Alex Bregman replacement he is not.
However, he's a strong defender who has ample experience at every position on the diamond except for first base, including 586 innings at catcher from 2018-19. That kind of versatility makes him a perfect fit on Alex Cora's bench, which would also allow the team to play the option game with Nick Sogard, Nate Eaton, and David Hamilton.
And, in more good news from The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey, the Red Sox don't plan to hand the keystone reins to Kiner-Falefa right away (subscription required). There's hope from the front office that a bat-first addition could be on the horizon.
Ty France may suit Red Sox's desire for bat-first infielder
Shortly before IKF signed in Boston, Ty France was mentioned as a key free-agent target garnering interest from multiple teams... as a second baseman.
France, of course, is a superlative defender at the cold corner, having earned the American League Gold Glove at the position last year. He does have about 400 innings of experience at second and third base in his career, but the 31-year-old's primary value derives from his presence at first base.
He also hasn't been a "bat-first" player in some time; he has a 93 wRC+ across the past two seasons, a steep drop-off from the 128 mark he posted from 2020-22. He's also been below average at pulling the ball in the air since 2020, which is a problem for a prospective right-hander hitter in Fenway Park.
Still, his blue-chip skills at the plate (rarely whiffing and striking out) should age well, and what power he does wield comes from his pull side. Perhaps with an explicit goal to get the ball to left field more often, he could revert back to the 20-homer threat he was with the Mariners.
And, like IKF, he wouldn't need to play every day. Willson Contreras is also a strong defender at first base who figures to be a fixture in the lineup, but France's ability to play all over the infield would be valuable, especially on the days that Contreras needs a breather or wants to rest while DH'ing.
It's certainly not the ideal outcome at the keystone, but free agency and the trade block are both barren as spring training approaches. Now that Marcelo Mayer has been confirmed as the starting third baseman, the Red Sox may simply need to throw as much as they can at the wall to see what sticks.