The Boston Red Sox are still in the free agent mix, and after trading for Garrett Crochet, their main concern is getting the righty slugger they need. According to MLB insider Hector Gomez, the Sox are showing strong interest in Orioles All-Star, Silver Slugger, and switch hitter Anthony Santander.
This past season, Santander slashed .235/.308/.506/.814 with 44 homers. As a switch hitter, he’s got pretty different splits. Against righties, Santander hit .239 with 32 homers for 77 RBI, and against lefties, he hit .225 with 12 homers for 25 RBI.
So while he’s definitely a power bat, it seems he isn’t a good contact hitter, and he is a better hitter as a lefty than a righty. Also, his strikeout rate is 20.7% for his career, which is pretty alarming. That means every five at-bats, Santander strikes out, which is a little crazy.
Getting Santander would be pretty good financially though, since he comes with a denied qualifying offer, so the Sox could pay him a respectable amount over time instead of a large sum over a year or two.
Hopefully, the Sox consider this, but only go with Santander if the Sox are desperate and he’s on the market still. Otherwise, it may be good to trust prospect Kristian Campbell to be their righty slugger when he comes up to play second.
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