John Tomase gets heated when discussing why J.D. Martinez’s decision to pick up his $19M option for next season is good news for the Red Sox and why the move shouldn’t hamper the club’s ability to improve this offseason.
The Boston Red Sox found success with a former Los Angeles Dodgers utility player last offseason, and it appears they have their sights on another player in that mold.
The Red Sox are among several teams interested in free-agent utility man Chris Taylor, MLB.com's Juan Toribio reported Wednesday.
Taylor, who rejected the Dodgers' one-year, $18.4 million qualifying offer Wednesday, is also drawing interest from the St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers, San Francisco Giants and Miami Marlins in addition to the Dodgers, per Toribio.
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The 31-year-old is coming off the first All-Star campaign of his eight-year career after hitting .254 with 20 home runs and a career-high 73 RBIs in 2021. He's also a stellar postseason performer -- four home runs and 12 RBIs in 11 games this postseason -- who played every position but first base and catcher for the Dodgers in 2021.
Taylor's profile should remind Red Sox fans of Kiké Hernandez, who posted career numbers in Boston this season and was a playoff monster after coming over from the Dodgers last winter. Boston's biggest need is at second base, and adding Taylor (who has played 124 career games at the position) could help fill that void while allowing Hernandez to remain in center field.
There's plenty of competition for Taylor, though, and he'd likely be much more expensive than Hernandez, who's on a two-year, $14 million deal with the Red Sox.