On the face of it, outfield isn't an area of obvious or immediate need for the Red Sox.
They have more pressing concerns, not the least of which is their starting rotation, especially in the wake of Eduardo Rodriguez signing a five-year deal with the Detroit Tigers Monday. There's also the bullpen, which is in need of an upgrade.
But the expected availability of Japanese outfielder Seiya Suzuki has, according to an industry source, piqued the Red Sox' interest. At least two other teams, the Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants, are said to have made Suzuki a top priority this winter.
Suzuki is about to be posted by the Hiroshima Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball. No official posting date has been set -- or at least, not been made public. When he is posted, teams will have 30 days to negotiate with Suzuki and his agents.
(One possible complication in terms of timing is the expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement on Dec. 1. Major League Baseball and the Players Association have yet to agree on a new agreement and it's widely expected that MLB will lock out the players on Dec. 2 if no agreement is reached. The Athletic reported Monday that MLB was working toward an agreement that if a lockout occurred in the middle of the 30-day posting period, the clock would stop and then resume once a new CBA is reached).
Suzuki is 27 and is one of the best Japanese major leaguers in recent history, with the ability to slug and play above-average defense with three Gold Gloves to his credit. MLBTradeRumors.com projected that Suzuki would attract a five-year, $55 million deal. Teams would play a graduated posting fee based on a percentage of his total contract value. The signing team would owe the Carp 20 percent of the first $25 million, 17.5 percent of the next $25 million and 15% of anything beyond that.
Still, with a projected outfield of Alex Verdugo in left, Kiké Hernandez in center and Hunter Renfroe in right, where would Suzuki fit?
If the Sox were convinced that Suzuki could handle center field, it would enable them to shift Hernandez back to second base, where the Sox also have another potential hole, with injury-prone Christian Arroyo as the only other option for now on the major league roster.
Or, if the Sox weren't comfortable with Suzuki in center, they could play him in either corner spot and deal Verdugo or Renfroe. Renfroe is due for a big jump in salary through arbitration. Renfroe signed for a $3.1 million deal and earned another $600,000 in incentive bonuses. MLBTradeRumors.com has Renfroe standing to make $7.6 through arbitration, more than doubling his 2021 money.
Verdugo is eligible for arbitration for the first time and is expected to get $3.2 million through the process. The Sox control him for three more seasons, as compared to two years of control of Renfroe.
Suzuki, a right-handed hitter, has been a five-time All-Star in Japan and helped his native country capture its first gold medal in the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo. In 2021, Suzuki led the Central League in both on-base percentage and batting average. He's averaged nearly 30 homers over the last six seasons, including a career-best 38 in 2021.
Historically, over the last 20 years, the Red Sox have had success with Japanese pitchers, led by Daisuke Matsuzaka, whom they won in a fierce bidding war following the 2006 season. They've also deployed several Japanese relievers, including Hideki Okajima, Junichi Tazawa and Koji Uehara.
Matsuzaka, who had an inconsistent career with the Red Sox over six seasons (50-37, 4.52), nonetheless remains on good terms with the organization and attempted to help recruit Shohei Ohtani, who went through the posting system after 2017. Ohtani, however, preferred to pitch on the West Coast and wanted a smaller-market team, selecting the Angels.
Presumably, Matsuzaka would agree to fulfill the same role in the Sox' pursuit of Suzuki.
