Red Sox add infield depth with free agent signing, Rule 5 pick

It would seem that the Red Sox are intent on having competition for second base next spring.

As the Winter Meetings wrapped in San Diego Thursday, the Red Sox signed their first free agent of the winter: infielder Jose Peraza.

According to a baseball source, Peraza will receive a $3 million salary plus incentives on a one-year deal. Peraza, 25, was non-tendered by the Cincinnati Reds earlier this month.

Peraza has played three full seasons in the big leagues, shifting mostly between shortstop and second base. He's also played some occasional outfield.

In 2019, Pereza played 78 games at second, a season after serving as the Reds' everyday shortstop. He had a down year at the plate (.239/.285/.346 with six homers and 33 RBI'). In the previous year, Peraza had a .742 OPS with 14 homers.

Over his career, he's hit .297 against lefties and could be a platoon candidate. The Sox have



a handful of candidates for second, including Michael Chavis, Tzu-Wei Lin, Marco Herandez and, nominally, Dustin Pedroia, who's intent on making yet another comeback from multiple knee procedures.

Earlier on Thursday, the Sox had added yet another infielder to their 40-man roster. Dipping into an area that they've traditionally avoided, the Sox selected a player in the major league phase of the Rule 5 Draft.

The Sox chose switch-hitting infielder Jonathan Arauz from the Houston Astros' organization. Arauz, like any player taken in the Rule 5 major league draft, will have to stay on the Red Sox' 26-man major league roster for all of next season — or, be placed on waivers or offered back to the Astros.

Arauz, 21, last season split time between High A and Double A, and posted a line of .249/.319/.388  with 11 homers and 55 RBI in 115 games. MLB.com slotted him as the Astros' 25th best prospect.

Originally signed out of his native Panama by the Philadelphia Phillies, Arauz was traded to Houston in 2014 along with Ken Giles. He also was handed a 50-game suspension in 2017 for testing positive for a banned substance.

Arauz has played three different infield positions in his career — third base, second base, and shortstop — and will conceivably be given a chance to win a spot as a utility infielder. That role has been largely filled with Brock Holt the last few seasons, but Holt is a free agent and, looking for a multi-year commitment, may have priced himself out of a return to the Sox, who are attempting to slash payroll.

Typically, the Red Sox have passed on making selections in the annual Rule 5, since the team has been in contention the last handful of years and finding a roster spot for an untested player can be problematic.

But the team has more potential jobs available as it enters something of a bridge year, to say nothing of some available spots on the organization's 40-man roster. The selection of Arauz puts the Red Sox at 37.

Two other factors may have contributed to the pick. MLB rosters will expand to 26 next season, providing an additional spot with which to play and devote to a young player still in need of development. Additionally, the arrival of new chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, who is known to be creative in his attempt to find talent, undoubtedly played a role.

The Sox also chose two players from the Triple-A Rule 5 draft — righthanded pitcher Raynel Espinal from the New York Yankees' organization and righthanded pitcher Jose Espada from the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Red Sox didn't lose any players in the major league Rule 5 draft, though the likes of Brian Johnson and Josh Ockimey were available.