Gio Urshela is a free-agent infielder that the Red Sox are interested in, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive. In contrast to other users on that platform, @iTalkStudiosYT and @GlenielGarcia2, Cotillo downplayed the circumstances more than they did. The Sox haven’t taken any action to set themselves apart from other interested teams like the Yankees, Mets, Angels, and Marlins, according to Cotillo, who also stated that no agreement was imminent.
The 32-year-old Urshela is coming off a disappointing season with the Angels. Before his season was tragically curtailed by a pelvic fracture, he only managed two home runs in 62 games.
Despite this, he has drawn interest from many organizations due to his prior performance, which blended defensive versatility, low strikeout rates, and a little pop.
He hit 54 home runs in 435 games between 2019 and 2022, striking out in just 19.3% of his plate appearances. Despite having a poor walk rate of 6.3%, he was still able to hit.290/.336/.463 throughout those years, giving him a wRC+ of 119, which put him 19% above league average. Although he has lined up at the other three infield positions and played one inning in left field, he has spent the majority of his career at third base.
With Rafael Devers, Trevor Story, Vaughn Grissom, and Triston Casas arranged left to right, the Sox now have a set infield. However, adding a good multi-positional infielder like Urshela would make some sense. Devers and Cases aren’t seen to be very good defensive players. Story had elbow surgery two seasons ago, which caused him to miss a lot of time. Grissom’s major league experience is limited to just 64 games.
He may occasionally spell someone in that group or move them to designated hitter if Urshela were inserted. Masataka Yoshida can occasionally play outfield while others have a break, but the club intends to employ him as the DH rather frequently.
Even if Cotillo makes sense, he downplays how quickly a deal needs to be completed, indicating that the Sox aren’t in a rush to sign him. Enmanuel Valdéz, Bobby Dalbec, Pablo Reyes, David Hamilton, and Romy González are their internal alternatives for a depth infielder if they are unable to reach an agreement with Urshela.
