The Boston Red Sox need a plan for this winter. Ideally, that plan involves adding right-handed power.
The Red Sox lineup already had an imbalance, with a stockpile of talented lefties and a limited supply of righties. Now, there are three lefty top prospects threatening to join the fray, while righty outfielder Tyler O'Neill, the team home run leader, is set to test free agency.
The other thing dragging Boston down this season was the middle infield. Shortstop Trevor Story missed nearly the entire year with a shoulder injury, second base was a complete revolving door, and no one that took over 100 at-bats in the middle infield finished with a positive OPS+.
Those seem like a long list of issues to fix, but what if there's one player on the market that solves all of them? That player could be Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Willy Adames, who is getting set to hit free agency after a career year.
On Sunday, insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post predicted that Adames' price tag would be too high for the Brewers to take a real run at retaining him.
"Brewers would love to keep him but understand he’s probably out of price range," Heyman said.
If the Red Sox are looking to replace O'Neill's production, Adames is an ideal option. He hit one more home run than O'Neill (32 to 31) while racking up 40 more RBI. Plus, he plays a premium position at shortstop, could likely move to third base and relieve Rafael Devers of his full-time defensive duties, and has been remarkably durable.
Adames is currently projected to earn a $152 million extension according to Spotrac. There's always a chance that number could go higher, assuming some type of bidding war ensues. Heyman named the Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants, and Los Angeles Dodgers as top fits for his services.
It's also clear, from the words of both Adames and Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, that the shortstop and his current team are far apart on potential contract terms.
“I don’t know if I’m going to come back,” Adames said, per Robert Murray of FanSided. “Like I said, I hope. If not, it’s been a helluva time here. It’s been an amazing time.
“I think the free-agent contract is going to be very valuable for him and quite high. We’ll do what we can to stretch, but others have bigger pocketbooks, and we’ll see what happens," Attanasio said, per Murray.
If there was ever a player to break the bank for, Adames is that player. He presents the solution to all of the Red Sox's lineup issues in one fell swoop.
