Grady Sizemore was once one of the best young talents in baseball. A dynamic center fielder with the Cleveland Indians, he hit .281/.372/.496 with 107 home runs and 115 stolen bases from 2005-08 and received MVP votes all four seasons. His best season was 2008 when he hit .268/.374/.502 with 33 homeruns, 38 steals, and 90 RBIs. He even finished 10th in MLB MVP voting. With the prime of his career seemingly ahead of him, it was thought that Sizemore would be the franchise talent the Indians would build around.
However injuries got in the way and it was not meant to be. Since 2009 Sizemore has had seven different surgeries and played in just 104 games. He did not play a single game in either the 2012 or 2013 season, following micro-fracture knee surgery and the rehab that comes with that. Now, apparently healthy, Sizemore is looking for a baseball comeback.
He’ll get his chance with the Boston Red Sox who have signed Sizemore to a one-year deal worth just $750,000 guaranteed. Sizemore could further earn bonuses of up to $5.25 million depending on his performance.
“It’s been frustrating. No one likes dealing with injuries, and I’ve had my fair share,” Sizemore said Wednesday night. “Hopefully that’s behind me now and I’m just focused on moving on and starting the second half of my career.”
“Obviously they’re a great team and who wouldn’t want to be a part of this group of guys and this organization?” he said. “Medically, they did a good job of laying out a game plan for me. There’s a plan in place to keep me on the field and keep me healthy throughout the year.”
The 31-year-old presents a low risk, potentially high reward option for the Red Sox who are trying to replace Jacoby Ellsbury in centerfield. While it is expected that prospect Jackie Bradley Jr. will win the job, the addition of Sizemore adds a layer of spring training competition for the spot, and provides the Red Sox with another option should the youngster struggle.
“We added Grady because, one, he’s available and, two, it provides some competition,” Red Sox manager John Farrell told reporters Wednesday at a town hall event in Boston. “We have to see, once we get to spring training, Grady’s tolerance physically. We don’t have a projected number of games that we look at that he might be available for. We have to gradually build that up, build his endurance up. That’s how spring training will be spent with him.”\
Farrell is familiar with Sizemore as he was a member of the player development staff in Cleveland in 2002, when the Indians acquired the former third round pick, Sizemore, in a trade with the Montreal Expos.
Other clubs, specifically the Cincinnati Reds, were reportedly interested in Sizemore, but only on a minor-league deal. It was the full major league deal which got him to sign with the Red Sox, and at a bargain basement price (as far as MLB deals go).
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