The Red Sox added some much-needed center field help on Tuesday, acquiring a shortstop Adelberto Mondesi And a player to be named after the Royals instead of a lefty reliever Josh Taylor. Both teams announced the trade.
In Mondesi, Boston is getting an extremely talented 27-year-old infielder — but one of the most frequently injured players in MLB over the past few seasons. Heading into the 2018 season, Mondesi has appeared in just 40% of the Royals’ potential games, missing time with a right shoulder strain, groin strain, left shoulder dislocation, left hamstring strain, hamstring strain and most recently a torn ACL that cost him the 2022 season. Both left shoulder injuries and ACL tears required surgery.
It’s a tough injury list for Mondesi, but it’s hard not to miss with Mondesi’s combination of power, speed and defense. In 1,366 major league plate appearances, Mondesi has 38 home runs, 54 doubles, 20 triples and 133 stolen bases. He amassed an above-average 23 outs and a 13.3 Ultimate Zone Rating in 2,126 career innings at shortstop.
Beyond the downsides, that combination of raw skill also leads to sub-OBPs with an aggressive approach and sub-par bat-ball skills. Mondesi has a 4.4% walk rate in 30.2% of his plate appearances, and is hitting .244/.280/.408 in the big leagues. That includes a projected .140/.204/.140 hit in 2022, although that came in the form of 54 plate appearances in a small sample size.
Mondesi has tantalized scouts, fans, and evaluators for years now, but the Red Sox would be the first team other than the Royals to let Mondesi stay healthy and maximize the output of these raw tools. Despite struggling to stay on the field, Mondesi amassed more than five years of major league service time during his various stints on the injured list. He and the Royals avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $3.045MM salary in December.
Boston’s need for middle-of-the-pack help increased as the season progressed. Xander Bogaerts By going to the Padres via free agency and Trevor Story He is now sidelined for at least a significant portion of the 2023 campaign following internal brace surgery on his right elbow. Boston signed Adam Duvall To play in the middle of the field, thus pushing Enrique Hernandez to middle infield. With Mondesi aboard now, healthy, Hernandez can handle most of the workload at shortstop as he slides to second. Christian Arroyo Hernandez remains an option who can play second base regularly as a utility option if he has to slide to shortstop during Mondesi’s injury.
As for the Royals, the Mondesi trade represents a disappointing outcome for a player they once viewed as a potential cornerstone. The long-running infield scene now features a new cast of characters, highlighted Bobby Witt Junior and defensive standout Nikki Lopez. Mondesi’s trade should unlock more playing time for the 24-year-old. Michael MasseyIt is hoped that the organization will be able to give it a big place in the coming years.
Kansas City is getting three-year Taylor, a versatile and talented lefty who missed the 2022 season with a back injury. When healthy, Taylor pitched 102 1/3 innings at the MLB level, posting a 3.69 ERA with an impressive 29.4% strikeout rate against an even more troubling 10% walk rate. Taylor averages nearly 95 mph in warmups, has average groundball propensity and owns a career-high 15% swinging-strike rate — a standout for more strikeouts. He is set to earn $1.025MM in 2023 and is subject to arbitration control through 2025.
As talented as Taylor was, he had his share of health problems in his pro career. In the year The Griffins missed 2020 with shoulder tendinitis before dealing with back pain in late 2021 and then missed the 2022 season with persistent back pain. He’s also putting up a .283/.375/.429 batting line against right-handed hitters, as opposed to a .173/.247/.228 slash against greens.
It’s the second trade for the Royals in as many days, cutting more than $6.5 million from his 2023 salary cap by trading Mondesi and center fielder. Michael A. Taylor. New found Josh Taylor and left Ivan Sisk, acquired in last night’s trade with the Twins, gives Kansas City a pair of lefties who could impact the bullpen this season. It also frees up some additional resources for the royal to continue reported Pursuit a Zack Greinke A reunion or maybe another bat to add somewhere else in the lineup.
Univision’s Mike Rodriguez debut reported The two sides were approaching the Mondesi business. According to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, a deal is in place to send Mondesi and PTBNL to the Red Sox in exchange for Taylor (Twitter link).