The Boston Red Sox have acquired infielder Adalberto Mondesi from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for LHP Josh Taylor.
In addition to Mondesi, the Red Sox will also receive future considerations in the form of a player to be named later or cash.
Mondesi, 27, led the league in stolen bases in the COVID shortened 2020 season with 24, while also swiping 43 bags in 2019, and 32 in 2018. The Los Angeles native brings some much needed versatility to the Sox lineup as he’s previously seen time at 2nd, 3rd and shortstop during his time with the Royals.
A switch hitter, Mondesi and Kike Hernandez will likely split time at shortstop and 2nd base to begin the season, as the club attempts to navigate the loss of Xander Bogaerts via free agency, and Trevor Story due to elbow surgery.
The 2015 World Series champion has started 241 games at shortstop, 64 games at 2B, and 20 at 3B. Hernandez meanwhile has seen more action at 2B (187 starts) than he has at shortstop (64 starts), though manager Alex Cora has yet to tip his hand as to who will slot in where ahead of spring training.
The son of former MLB player Raul Mondesi, Adalberto has been plagued by injuries for the better part of his career. Having suited up for only 358 games across 7 seasons makes him a high risk, high reward player for Chaim Bloom and the Boston front office. Though at this stage of the offseason, he also likely represents one of the few viable options remaining for the club.
When healthy, he can be a game changer with his speed. However large stretches of injury free baseball are becoming rare occurrences for Mondesi of late. His most recent trip to the IL was the result of a torn left ACL which ended his 2022 campaign only 15 games into the season.
According to reports, the Red Sox medical team believes the versatile infielder will be ready to return to full speed by spring training this year. Should the gamble not pan out, Boston will only be on the hook for Mondesi’s contract through the end of the year as the speedster is set to become a free agent this fall.
Heading the other way is another talented player with a chequered injury history in Josh Taylor. The left handed reliever sports a 3.69 ERA with 129Ks across 102.3IP with Boston, but missed all of last season with a back injury.
The 6’5” 30 year old enjoyed his most productive year with Boston in 2021 when he set career bests in virtually every statistical category. While back injuries tend to be something that can flare up again unexpectedly, Taylor is also expected to be ready to compete by the start of spring training as well.
Taylor will cost only $1.025M in 2023, and will remain under team control through the end of the 2025 season.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Minda Haas Kuhlmann. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.