The Boston Red Sox have been busy the past few days adding several veteran players to their big league roster.
Over the weekend, utility man Enrique "Kike" Hernandez signed a 2-year, $14 million deal with the Bosox. Hernandez, 29, has spent the bulk of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers where he played in three World Series earning a ring last season. The Puerto Rican native's best overall season came in 2018 when he hit .256 with 21 HR and 52 RBI in 145 games played. He enters 2021 with 430 hits for a lifetime batting average of .240 with 71 HR and 227 RBI. Hernandez will likely be the Red Sox's everyday second baseman.
The Red Sox then landed another free agent in the form of pitcher Garrett Richards on a one year deal worth $10 million. A California native who was raised in Oklahoma, Richards was a first round draft pick of the Los Angeles Angels in 2009 making his big league debut in 2011.
Richards, 32, has been plagued with injuries in recent years. In 2014, Richards seemed to be having a Cy Young caliber season when he injured his left patellar tendon in his knee while pitching at Fenway Park. Richards rebounded in 2015 with a career high 15 wins. However, Richards has not pitched a full season since twice injuring his UCL and has won only 8 big league games since. He sought alternative treatment instead of Tommy John surgery in 2016 but would require the procedure in 2018. Richards signed as a free agent with the San Diego Padres prior to 2019. After only three appearances that season, Richards made 14 appearances with the Friars in 2020 including 10 starts going 2-2 with a 4.03 ERA. In 10 big league seasons, Richards is 47-41 with a 3.62 ERA along with 702 career strikeouts against 291 walks.
Should Richards pitch effectively and the Red Sox fall out of contention then expect him to finish the 2021 season in a different uniform.
The same could probably be said of Adam Ottavino who was acquired in a rare trade with the New York Yankees along with pitching prospect Frank German for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Ottavino, 35, spent the bulk of his big league career with the Colorado Rockies before signing as a free agent with the Yankees prior to the 2019 season. A Brooklyn native, Ottavino recorded a spectacular ERA of 1.90 in 73 appearances in 2019. However, his ERA shot up nearly four runs in 2020 (5.89). So which Ottavino will Boston get? Ottavino is no stranger to the Fenway have pitched collegiate ball at Northeastern University.
It will be interesting to see if the Red Sox see fit to add more veterans to their roster this off-season.
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