The Boston Red Sox have signed 28-year old outfielder Hunter Renfroe to a one-year contract worth 3.1 million dollars. The contract also contains 600K in incentives. Renfroe is joining the Red Sox after spending the first four years of his Major League career with the San Diego Padres. He was also a member of the American League champion Tampa Bay Rays this past season after being included in the deal that sent Tommy Pham back to San Diego.
Hunter Renfroe with Red Sox: $3.1M plus 600K incentives
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 14, 2020
Renfroe’s Career
In Renfroe’s three full years with the Padres from 2017-19 he averaged 28 home runs per season during that time. He slashed .231/.291/.486 during that span for an OPS of .777. 2018 may have been his best season to this point. He hit a career-best .248 and totaled an .805 OPS while collecting 100 hits, 23 doubles, 26 homers and 68 RBI. Renfroe capped off his Padres tenure with a career-high in home runs (33). He was also a finalist for the Rawlings Gold Glove Award.
The outfielder’s lone season as a member of the Rays saw a major drop-off from the numbers he put up in San Diego. He appeared in 42 of the 60 games while batting .156/.252/.393 with eight home runs and 22 RBI. He played in 12 postseason games during the Rays run to the World Series. Renfroe batted .174 with four hits, two homers and seven RBI.
Potential End of the Line For Jackie Bradley Jr.
The Hunter Renfroe signing comes as the most significant move the Red Sox have made to this point in the offseason. Adding a power-hitting right fielder may be foreshadowing to what many believed to be the end of the line for Jackie Bradley Jr. in Boston. It has been reported that the team had remained interested in Bradley before the Renfroe signing; the door is certainly still open for a reunion with the center fielder. However, now that the team has addressed one of their needs at outfield, it seems more likely they’ll begin to survey the pitching market.
If the team doesn’t bring back Bradley or make an unlikely push for Marcell Ozuna, George Springer or Michael Brantley, the outfield in 2020 will likely be Andrew Benintendi in centerfield flanked by Alex Verdugo in right and Renfroe in left.
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