Red Sox Find Their Shortstop, Trade For Adalberto Mondesi

The Purple Sox have spent many of the offseason with an enormous gap up the center of their infield. With Xander Bogaerts departing in free company, Boston had no true shortstop on the roster. Whereas Enrique Hernández and Christian Arroyo every made a handful of begins on the six on Bogaerts’ off days, neither is a real shortstop and each are wanted to man the opposite up-the-middle positions, the place the crew nonetheless lacks depth. Yesterday, the Purple Sox no less than partially stuffed that gap, buying and selling left-handed reliever Josh Taylor to the Royals for switch-hitting infielder Adalberto Mondesi and a participant to be named later.

A wholesome Mondesi is one among baseball’s most fun place gamers to look at. Most followers possible know him for his top-of-the-charts pace, which he reveals off in all aspects of his recreation. Let’s begin with essentially the most seen one: baserunning. Mondesi has a number of seasons beneath his belt with a mean dash pace above 30 ft per second, making him one of the crucial electrical runners within the recreation. Since his debut in 2016, 44% of his aggressive runs have been outlined as bolts, a mark bested by simply 4 others throughout that point. In fact, Mondesi has additionally used his pace to steal bases, and his mixture of aggressiveness and effectivity has allowed him to place up ludicrous stolen base numbers regardless of by no means getting a full season’s value of plate appearances:

Over the previous 5 seasons, Mondesi is fourth in complete steals, and if you account for the truth that he’s performed in far fewer video games than the remainder of the pack, he blows everybody else out of the water. And he’s achieved this regardless of having far fewer alternatives to steal even when he’s taking part in. See, Mondesi swings at every little thing, and never within the Vladimir Guerrero approach the place he might bloop a single towards a pitch within the grime. Mondesi chases about 40% of pitches off the plate, comes up empty on over a 3rd of his swings, and walks simply 4.4% of the time. His .289 OBP ranks close to the underside of the leaderboards, and the one different participant who has comparable stolen base numbers with equal ranges of on-base futility, Hamilton, had the good thing about 58 pinch-running appearances to spice up his steal totals; Mondesi has simply three. In 2019, he performed simply 102 video games, however stole 43 bases regardless of an OBP of simply .291, together with a dozen steals of third, 5 greater than the next-best finisher.

Whereas Mondesi has comparable stolen base numbers to different speedsters like Smith and Berti, the form of his offensive efficiency is sort of totally different. Most hitters who depend on pace for fulfillment prefer to pound the ball into the bottom and let their legs carry them down the road – Smith and Berti every hit about twice as many groundballs as fly balls. Mondesi, however, has a extra trendy batted ball profile, hitting grounders and fly balls in additional equal proportion whereas posting an above-average pull price. Typically this works nicely, like in 2018 when he slugged .498 and performed at a 5.2 WAR per 600 PA tempo. However he usually struggles with barrel accuracy, as evidenced by his poor line drive and pop up charges. And like most hitters with method points, his offensive efficiency can tank rapidly when the balls cease dropping for hits. With a strikeout price so excessive, Mondesi usually doesn’t give himself the possibility to make use of his pace and baserunning abilities, as a substitute taking a sluggish stroll again to the dugout. This is the reason, regardless of plus uncooked energy and elite pace, his profession wRC+ sits at a pedestrian 79.

Mondesi’s outlier pace additionally makes him a plus defender all around the infield. His near-limitless vary mixed with strong arms and actions has allowed him to not simply get to extra grounders than most others, however to additionally convert these performs into outs. Statcast’s defensive metrics take into account him stellar, averaging +12 RAA per 1,500 innings, functionally contributing over a full win per season with simply his glove. He’s additionally been above common in restricted reps at each second and third base, permitting him to serve in a utility position if the Purple Sox discover different choices at shortstop. Mondesi’s presence gives a serious increase to Boston’s infield protection as an entire, as he replaces Bogaerts, who was value -26 RAA and -50 DRS throughout his time there. Mixed with left-side companion Rafael Devers (-11 RAA, -44 DRS), the Purple Sox protection has produced the fifth largest distinction between precise and anticipated batting common on groundballs within the majors in the course of the Statcast period. And with Devers sticking round for the foreseeable future, Mondesi’s slick glove work will anchor their left aspect, no less than for now.

However whereas Mondesi is a serviceable participant resulting from his baserunning and defensive abilities at shortstop, he additionally has a major damage historical past that has value him a lot of the previous half-decade. He missed half of 2018 with a shoulder impingement, then was sidelined for 2 months in ’19 with shoulder and groin points. His solely full season occurred in the course of the shortened 2020 marketing campaign, however he has appeared in simply 50 video games since then. He suffered indirect and hamstring accidents in 2021 and noticed his ’22 season finish only a few weeks after it started resulting from an ACL tear. Certainly, he’s nonetheless rehabbing again from that damage, and his availability for Opening Day isn’t assured. It will be silly for the Purple Sox to pencil him in for 150-plus begins, each resulting from damage danger and the lackluster high quality of his bat. Absent different additions, Hernández looks like the very best guess to take over at shortstop if Mondesi is out, particularly with the addition of Adam Duvall, who initiatives nicely in middle subject regardless of taking part in in a nook for many of his profession. And whereas Trevor Story is likely to be again later within the season, his elbow accidents might stop him from returning to shortstop, as evidenced by his eighth-percentile arm energy and vital enhancements in OAA after shifting from shortstop to second base.

Headed to Kansas Metropolis in alternate for Mondesi is Josh Taylor. Like Mondesi, Taylor missed practically all of 2022, solely showing in minor league rehab video games earlier than being shut down for the season with a lingering again situation. When wholesome, Taylor virtually precisely defines the “95 and a slider” aid archetype, throwing fastballs and sliders every about half the time, with the warmers averaging 94.6 mph. Like many different center relievers, Taylor has a superb profession strikeout price (29.4%) however can be often susceptible to wildness, strolling 10% of hitters. In about 100 profession innings, he has a 79 ERA- and 75 FIP-, making him solidly above common when obtainable.

This commerce, together with the deal that despatched Michael A. Taylor to Minnesota in alternate for sidewinding lefty Evan Sisk and flamethrower Steven Cruz, dietary supplements the pitching depth of a farm system that hasn’t reached its desired developmental outcomes lately. The Royals system has been a lot maligned for its struggles getting quite a few big-name pitching prospects to pan out as main league starters. As for relievers, simply two of the eight arms projected to make their bullpen this season have been initially drafted or signed by Kansas Metropolis; the remainder have been acquired by way of free company or commerce. Maybe the Royals are hoping for strong main league outcomes from youthful pitchers who’ve already had a lot of their developmental work achieved by different groups. Taylor instantly slots right into a bullpen that completed twenty seventh in aid ERA (and starter ERA) final season, whereas Sisk and Cruz construct depth for the longer term.

I feel the Purple Sox will find yourself getting the higher hand on this commerce. Whereas Mondesi is in his final yr of arbitration, and his median projection for plate appearances might be within the 300s, Taylor doesn’t transfer the needle in any respect for a crew that misplaced 97 video games final yr and whose greatest offseason upgrades have been Jordan Lyles and Ryan Yarbrough – two gamers who will serve a much bigger position in permitting the Royals’ different starters to develop than contributing to wins. Taylor isn’t a foul pitcher, however he virtually definitely received’t be a member of the following aggressive Royals crew. It’s potential that he may be traded for prospects down the road, however they might have achieved the identical with Mondesi, presumably with out sacrificing one other prospect because the PTBNL. The Purple Sox, who’ve already signed a strong aid duo in Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin, are left with only one left-handed reliever, groundball specialist Joely Rodríguez. However with the ‘pen already bolstered and their shortstop situation far tougher to unravel within the free agent market, the Purple Sox seized the chance to attempt to patch their greatest gap.