The Boston Red Sox have spent much of the offseason courting a certain former Houston Astros third baseman to reinforce their offense.
While Alex Bregman remains out of reach of its budget, Boston signed a different former Astros infielder on Jan. 28. The Red Sox inked Abraham Toro to a minor league deal with an invitation to major league spring training, according to Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase.
Toro was taken by the Astros in the fifth round of the 2016 MLB Draft and played in the organization until the second half of the 2021 season when he was traded to the Mariners. He was MLB's No. 3 prospect in 2020 but has yet to live up to his previous hype. He's played for a different team each year since 2022.
The 28-year-old most recently suited up for the Athletics but was outrighted to Triple-A in late August. He's a career .220/.285/.353 hitter with a .638 OPS in the major leagues, which won't exactly solve Boston's right-handed offense issues. In fairness, he played 263 of his 365 big league games with Seattle and Oakland, which play half their games at the 30th and 25th-worst ballparks for hitters, respectively. Toro has a .278/.370/.465 with a .835 OPS over 498 career games in the minor leagues.
Red Sox sign switch-hitting infielder and former Astros third baseman Abraham Toro to a minor league deal
The Boston Red Sox have signed INF Abraham Toro to a minor league deal with an invitation to major league Spring Training, sources tell @ElExtrabase.
— Daniel Álvarez-Montes (@DanielAlvarezEE) January 28, 2025
Toro's 2024 season didn't end well with a tough cold streak from June to August, but he posted a few solid months at the plate in the big leagues. He clocked a .262/.311/.417 slash line over 26 games for the A's in April and batted .315/.351/.452 in 28 games in May.
Toro is often a league-average defender and could serve as a solid backup option in the infield if Boston's injury woes continue. However, if Kristian Campbell makes the Opening Day roster or is promoted early, he could also fill such a role, likely with better offensive production.