Kiner-Falefa will apparently be the Sox’ answer at second base after they lost Alex Bregman to freedom of choice. Boston created much greater opportunities in the trade and free agent markets (e.g Kettle Marte, Brendan Donovan, Isaac Paredes, Bo Bichette) but apparently couldn’t find a deal to their liking. They reportedly prefer to keep it Marcelo Mayer at third base and were looking for a quality defensive player to plug into the cornerstone position.
Kiner-Falefa, a former Gold Glove winner, qualifies on that front. He took home defensive honors at third base as a member of the Rangers in 2020. He is a plus defender at any second base, third base or shortstop. He has more experience on the left side of the infield, but has strong Defensive Runs Saved (+12) and Statcast (+2 Outs Above Average) numbers in nearly 600 career innings as a second baseman.
The downside is that Kiner-Falefa won’t bring much to the board. He puts the ball in play, but has some of the slowest exit velocities in the sport. He has never reached double figures in home runs in a season, nor has he posted a .700 OPS in any of his seven-plus years in the majors. Kiner-Falefa is coming off a .262/.297/.334 in 459 plate appearances between the Pirates and Blue Jays. He is a .262/.311/.349 hitter in over 3,300 trips to the dish over his career.
Second base was a weak point for the Red Sox last year. Kristian Campbell faded after a monster April and was back in Triple-A by the end of June. He put up disastrous defensive numbers and no longer appears to be an option at the position. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has suggested a few times that they view Campbell primarily as an outfielder. He’s a good athlete and has some promise as an on-court defender, but Boston’s crowded outfield won’t provide him with many opportunities until someone suffers an injury. The Sox used Romy González, Ceddanne Rafaela, David Hamilton And Nick Sogard there in the second half, hitting just .242/.292/.333 down the stretch.
There’s more to come.
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