![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/red-sox-notebook-pitching-deja-vu-and-outfield-intrigue-hong-nhung.jpg\")
<\/p>\nAfter losing out on the Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes last week, the Red Sox are pivoting hard in a familiar direction.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As first reported by Rob Bradford of WEEI, the club has expressed a \u201cstrong interest\u201d in reuniting with James Paxton.<\/p>\n
The 35-year-old left-hander became a free agent in November following a two-year stint with the Red Sox that saw him missing his entire first season due to injuries. Paxton was recovering from April \u201921 Tommy John surgery when he signed a one-year, $10 million deal for \u201922 with both club and player options for \u201923. When the Red Sox declined to pick up his \u201923 option, he exercised his.<\/p>\n
After a slow ramp-up, the southpaw debuted on May 12. He was excellent in the first half of the season, posting a 2.83 ERA and striking out 31.1% of batters faced across 10 starts (56 innings) before the All-Star break. He earned American League Pitcher of the Month honors for June, and drew considerable interest before the trade deadline.<\/p>\n
Following the break, however, Paxton struggled mightily. He only pitched 40 innings over the remainder of the season, and over just nine starts, posted a 6.98 ERA and 6.16 FIP. Whereas he\u2019d pitched at least five innings in seven of 10 starts before the break, he failed to reach five complete frames in four of his second-half outings, including the final three. After allowing six earned runs in just 1 1\/3 innings on Sept. 1, he went on the injured list with right knee inflammation and his season was over.<\/p>\n
Overall, Paxton\u2019s stint in Boston amounts to a 4.50 ERA over 19 starts totaling 96 innings. He hasn\u2019t made it through a full season since 2019, when he made a career-high 29 starts for the Yankees.<\/p>\n
Throughout Chaim Bloom\u2019s four years helming Boston\u2019s baseball operations, he often drew criticism for his short-term deals to aging arms; Paxton, Corey Kluber, Garrett Richards, and Jake Diekman come to mind. The result was an oft-blighted rotation, overflowing injured list, and three last-place finishes in the past four seasons.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s that they say about doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?<\/p>\n
After unloading Alex Verdugo early in the month, the Red Sox have engaged in talks with Teoscar Hernandez.<\/p>\n
On Christmas Eve, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe wrote that things had progressed to the point of \u201cdiscussing potential contract parameters.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first-time free agent should be familiar to Red Sox fans. The outfielder spent six of his eight Major League seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays before they traded him to the Seattle Mariners last November.<\/p>\n
Hernandez, 31, brings durability and power to the equation. Since his first full MLB season in 2018, he\u2019s played 743 of 870 regular-season games, including a career-high 160 games this year, and homered at least 22 times in each of the last five 162-game seasons.<\/p>\n
Even in a down year in Seattle, Hernandez ranked in the 79th MLB percentile or better in expected slugging, average exit velocity, barrel rate, and hard-hit rate. He also offers above-average defense and speed; he finished the season in the 78th MLB percentile in arm strength, 88th in arm value, and 82nd in sprint speed.<\/p>\n
There is some concern about drop-off. His average and on-base and slugging percentages all fell considerably over the last three seasons. After hitting .296\/.346\/.524 with a 5.4% home run rate and 24.9% strikeout rate in \u201921, he slashed just .258\/.305\/.435 this year with rates of 3.8% and 31.%, respectively. He still homered 26 times, which would\u2019ve ranked second on the Boston roster, but also racked up 211 strikeouts.<\/p>\n
Hernandez\u2019s bat is also a questionable fit for Fenway Park\u2019s uniqueness. According to Baseball Savant\u2019s Expected Home Runs feature, which analyzes various ballpark dimensions and factors, only 17 of his 26 home runs this season \u2013 and 65 of 85 over the past three years \u2013 would\u2019ve been homers in Boston.<\/p>\n
MLB Trade Rumors projects Hernandez will command a four-year, $80M contract in free agency this winter. Does that length coupled with the above concerns fit the Red Sox, who already have several young, club-controlled outfield options and four more years of Masataka Yoshida?<\/p>\n
Perhaps. Signing Hernandez could be the prelude to a blockbuster starting trade, with one of said outfielders being shipped off for pitching.<\/p>\n
Several Red Sox players shared their holiday activities on social media. Here are some of the highlights:<\/p>\n
Wilyer Abreu, Brayan Bello, and Zack Kelly celebrated their first Christmas as fathers.<\/p>\n
Garrett Whitlock and his wife, Dr. Jordan Whitlock, PhD, announced earlier this month that they\u2019re expecting their first child, a boy.<\/p>\n
Brennan Bernardino and his family spent Christmas Eve ice skating at Wollman Rink in New York City\u2019s Central Park.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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