It seems the Boston Red Sox are coming into the Winter Meetings with a plan. Earlier in the day they were able to trade for Chris Sale.
Well, now they have made their second move of the day to help the team. It was reported by Ken Rosenthal that the Red Sox have signed free-agent first baseman Mitch Moreland to a one-year deal that should be official on Wednesday.
Moreland, a seven-year player who spent his career playing for the Texas Rangers, hit 22 homers and drove in 60 runs for the AL West champion Texas Rangers in 2015.
He is still young as he just turned 30 years old and could have a major impact for the Red Sox during the 2017 season. Since it is clear that the Red Sox are clearly going for it all, bringing in someone like Moreland makes sense, as he has a lot of playoff experience. Also due to David Ortiz retiring at the conclusion of the 2016 season, the Red Sox have been looking for someone to fill the void of being the team’s DH and could also see some time at first base during the 2017 season.
The assumption is that the Red Sox are far from done and will probably go after some bullpen help and really try to become a force in the American League. What will be interesting to see with Moreland is that how will he do playing in Fenway Park now over the Globe Life Park in Arlington.
What is also a positive thing with adding someone like a Moreland is he is still young enough that you can get production from him for a few years.
It will surely be interesting to see where the Red Sox go from here as they were able to sign Moreland and acquire a quality rotation piece in Chris Sale. We are still early in the MLB off-season and anything can happen.
So buckle up and welcome to the meat of the Major League Baseball off-season.