The Red Sox, according to numerous reports, agreed with free agent outfielder Adam Duvall on a one-year deal Wednesday, setting in motion some position changes to follow.
Duvall, who will earn $7 million and could earn another $3 million in incentives, will serve as the Red Sox' starting center fielder. In turn, KikΓ© Hernandez, who had been tentatively set as the team's starter in center, will now move to shortstop, a position made vacant by the departure of free agent Xander Bogaerts and the subsequent injury to Trevor Story.
Following the news that Story will miss a significant amount of time after undergoing surgery on his elbow, the Red Sox were in the market for a middle-of-the-field player -- either in center or at shortstop. Had they signed or traded for a shortstop, Hernandez could have remained in center. As it is, landing Duvall means Hernandez will shift from the outfield to short.
The signing comes with some risk. Duvall, 34, won a Gold Glove for his play in right field in 2021 and is generally regarded as an above-average outfielder. However, he's played far less center field over a nine-year career, totaling just 75 games there.
Meanwhile, while Hernandez has been valued for his versatility, he's played just 100 games at short over the course of his career -- not nearly as many games as he's played in the outfield (517 games) or second base (258 games).
The signing, which requires Duvall to pass a physical before becoming official, nearly completes the Red Sox' roster with a month to go before the start of spring training. The Red Sox would still like to add a left-handed hitting infielder to provide insurance at second base, where Christian Arroyo is the projected starter. Arroyo has been injury-prone in his career, and the Sox would like some protection at the position, along with the ability to match-up with a lefty hitter.
BSJ Analysis
From an offensive standpoint, Duvall gives the Red Sox a righthanded power bat with the ability to provide homers. The Boston lineup, before the addition of Duvall, featured just one player who hit more than 15 homers last season -- Rafael Devers. In adding Duvall, the Sox get another power source -- as recently as 2021, his last fully heatlhy season, he hit 38 homers splitting time between Atlanta and Miami.
It marked the third time that Duvall had hit 30 or more homers in a season.
However, Duvall is a somewhat one-dimensional offensive piece, with a career OPS+ of 97, marking him as three percent below average when matched against other major leaguers. He has a lifetime batting average of .230 and batted just .213 last year. He's also prone to striking out, having fanned 101 times in just 287 at-bats last season.
At the start of the offseason, the Red Sox were prioritizing the need for more patient hitters to add to their lineup, unhappy that the offense was too aggressive at times. The signing of Japanese outfielder Masatake Yoshida and Turner, however, both of whom are known to work at-bats and grind out walks, helped address that need. Adding one hitter to the mix who's likely to be more free-swinging is unlikely to impact that emphasis.
A bigger question might be Duvall's ability to become, at 34, an everyday center fielder. It doesn't help that he'll be flanked by two corner outfielders -- Yoshida in left and Alex Verdugo in right -- who are considered below-average defenders.
"I think he can handle it,'' said one National League evaluator who knows Duvall well, "although he's going to need to work at it. He'll have to get used to the angle of the ball coming off the bat in center, but he can adjust. He goes back on balls pretty well. And it's not like (center field at Fenway) is so big -- there's not a lot of ground for him to cover, which makes (the transition) a little easier. He'll have to learn some of the nuances of the ballpark, like the triangle in center. But it's really just about the fundamentals, and getting comfortable with reads off the bat.
"He's got an above-average corner arm -- good carry, accurate, strong throwing mechanics and I think he'll be fine (throwing from center). The whole thing is asking a lot of him; I'm not trying to downplay what he has to do. But he's one of those players who, when you challenge him, he'll respond..And he's a great teammate. He's got a great work ethic and he'll put the work in. He'll be a good addition to that clubhouse. He's team-first. He's not selfish; he's just the opposite."