The Red Sox are among the teams that go after free-agent outfielders Adam Duvalfirst reported by Chris Henrique of Beyond the Monster. MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo tweets that a resolution on Duvall’s free agency, whether it signing with the Sox or another club, could come as early as this week. The Red Sox, Cotillo adds, view Duvall as “much capable” of playing in midfield.
Pushing Duvall into midfield shuffles alongside left-handed hitting Jarren Duran would allow Boston to shift Enrique Hernandez back to the middle infield, in the wake Trevor story‘s recent elbow surgery. Duvall doesn’t have pronounced platoon splits – he walks a little more against lefties but hits similarly well and has an identical .230 average against lefties and righties – so it’s possible he’s even pushed into midfield on a regular basis. if the Sox are comfortable with the defensive component of that fit.
Duvall, 34, has career elite defensive grades in left field but only 593 innings in midfield — most of which came in the last two seasons with the Braves. He did well there, too, recording four saved defensive runs and five above-average outs in that limited time.
Duvall has significant plus-power with the racquet, but he never got much on base and has also become increasingly prone to strikeouts in recent years (30.4% over the last four seasons). His 2022 season was cut short by a torn tendon sheath in his wrist, leaving him with an ugly .213/.276/.401 batting line and a dozen home runs in 315 trips to the plate. Duvall has smashed 38 home runs as recently as 2021, but that has been accompanied by his typical mix of low average and OBP grades; In 555 plate appearances for Atlanta in ’21, Duvall hit .228/.281/.491.
That’s par for the course for Duvall, a career .230/.289/.465 hitter who has hit 30 home runs three times in a given season and also boasts a 2021 Gold Glove Award. If he returns to full strength after wrist surgery at the end of last season last year, he could give the Red Sox a much-needed right-hander in a lineup that only includes Hernandez, Justin Turner and Christian Arroyo Project for regular repetitions. banking options like Bobby Dalbec and Rob Refsnyder could give Boston some extra right bats on days when they face a left-handed starter.
Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said last week that he would likely target several additions down the middle of the lineup following Story’s injury. Duvall, provided he plays midfield, could fit that billing, but the Sox would likely have other additions in store. Boston has also been linked with the former Rangers, A’s and White Sox infielder Elvis Andres over the weekend. Boston is currently projecting about $183.5 million in payrolls next season and has a little over $209 million in luxury tax obligations on the books — both well below last year’s totals.