The Boston Red Sox are still looking for a new General Manager after several options turned them down, citing family reasons. Right now, the two leading candidates are Eddie Guerrero, currently in-house, and Craig Breslow, currently with the Chicago Cubs as the Assistant General Manager/Vice President and Director of Pitching. You’d have to expect a decision to be made before the World Series ends since Free Agency and Trades can start the day after it ends and be made official five days after. The rumors are swirling right now on who the Red Sox are interested in, with names such as Corbin Burnes, Dylan Cease, Aroldis Chapman, and Shane Bieber. The other day, I wrote about them being interested in Juan Soto due to the San Diego Padres having a fire sale to try to offload some contracts. Still, the name I’ve seen thrown around instead of Juan Soto, who I like more for the Red Sox, is Fernando Tatis, who played right field this season for San Diego and had a solid under-the-radar season.
Fernando Tatis By The Numbers
Tatis, in 2024, will be playing in his fifth major league season. In his career, he has played in 414 games and slashed .280/.353/.543 with a .896 OPS; he has 88 doubles, nine triples, 106 home runs, 273 RBI, 301 runs scored, 81 stolen bases, and 172 walks. In 2023, he slashed .257/.322/.449 with a .770 OPS; he had 33 doubles, one triple, 25 home runs, 78 RBI, 91 runs scored, 29 stolen bases, and 53 walks. He finished third in the MVP voting in 2021 and is an All-Star, winning two Silver Sluggers; he will be 25 on January 2nd, signed through 2034, and will cost less money than Juan Soto.
Bottom Line:
The Red Sox are loaded with left-handed bats in Rafael Devers, Tristan Casas, Masataka Yoshida, Alex Verdugo, Jarren Duran, Enmanuel Valdez, and Wilyer Abreu. Now Verdugo may be traded as the Red Sox have a crowded outfield with Verdugo, Abreu, Yoshida, Duran, and Ceddanne Rafaela; Adam Duvall is a free agent, but the Red Sox could potentially bring him back as well, so there will be trades potentially within the outfield so Tatis could be an outfielder. Still, he could also slide into second base, but adding his bat would be a considerable contribution. Imagine a potential lineup in 2024 of
LF Jarren Duran
RF Fernando Tatis
DH Masataka Yoshida
3B Rafael Devers
1B Triston Casas
SS Trevor Story
CF Ceddanne Rafaela
2B Enmanuel Valdez
C Connor Wong
That’s a scary lineup and has some balance with five lefties and four righties. Kyle Teel could also be an option to make the team and be the starting catcher, and that would provide some more pop to the lineup, assuming he produces like he has at every level of the minors.
PASS!